HERBALISM

Herbal medicine (or herbalism) is the study and use of medicinal properties of plants. The scope of herbal ine is sometimes extended to include fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts. Pharmacognosy is the study of all medicines that are derived from natural sources. Plants have the ability to synthesize a wide variety of chemical compounds that are used to perform important biological functions, and to defend against attack from predators such as insects, fungi and herbivorous mammals. Many of these phytochemicals have beneficial effects on long-term health when consumed by humans, and can be used to effectively treat human diseases. At least 12,000 such compounds have been isolated so far; a number estimated to be less than 10% of the total. Chemical compounds in plants mediate their effects on the human body through processes identical to those already well understood for the chemical compounds in conventional drugs; thus herbal medicines do not differ greatly from conventional drugs in terms of how they work. This enables herbal medicines to be as effective as conventional medicines, but also gives them the same potential to cause harmful side effects. The use of plants as medicines predates written human history. Ethnobotany (the study of traditional human uses of plants) is recognized as an effective way to discover future medicines. In 2001, researches identified 122 compounds used in modern medicine which werte derived from ethnomedical plant sources; 80% of these have had an ethnomedical use identical or related to the current use of the active elements of the plant. Many of the pharmaceuticals currently available to physicians have a long history of use as herbal remedies, including aspirin, digitalis, quinine, and opium. The use of herbs to treat disease is almost universal among non-industrialized societies, and is often more affordable than purchasing modern pharmaceuticals. History Many of the herbs and spices used by humans to season food also yield useful medicinal compounds. The use of herbs and spices in cuisine developed in part as a response to the threat of food-borne pathogens. Studies show that in tropical climates where pathogens are the most abundant, recipes are the most highly spiced. Further, the spices with the most potent antimicrobial activity tend to be selected. In all cultures vagetables are spiced less than meat, presumably because they are more resistant to spilage. Many of the common weeds that populate human settlements, such as nettle, dandelion and chickweed, also have medicinal properties. Ancient times In the written record, the study of herbs dates back over 5,000 years to the Sumerians, who created clay tablets with lists of hundreds of medicinal plants (such as myrrh and opium). In 1500 B.C., the Ancient Egyptians wrote the Ebers Papyrus, which contains information on over 850 plant medicines, including garlic, juniper, cannabis, castor bean, aloe, and mandrake. Sanskrit writings from around 1500 B.C., such as the Rig Veda, are some of the earliest available documents detailing the medical knowledge that formed the basis of the Ayurveda system. Greek and Roman medicinal practices, as preserved in the writings of Hippocrates and especially Galen, provided the pattern for later western medicine. Sometime between 1

50 and 68 A.D. a Greek physician known as Pedanius Discorides wrote De Materia Medica, a compendium of more than 600 plants, 35 animal products, and 90 minerals. The book remained the authoritative reference of herbalism into the 17Th century. Similarly important for herbalists and botanists of later centuries eas Theophrastus Historia Plantarum, written in the 4th century BC, which was the first systematization of the botanical world. Middle Ages Benedictine monasteries were the primary source of medical knowledge in Europe and England during the Early Middle Ages. However, most of these monastic scholars efforts were focused on translating and copying ancient Greco-Roman and Arabic works, rather than creating substantial new information and practices. At the same time, folk medicine in the home and village continued uninterrupted, supporting numerous wandering and settled herbalists. Among these were the wise-women and wise-men, who prescribed herbal remedies often along with spells, enchantments, divination and advice. It was not until the late Middle Ages that women and men who were knowledgeable in herb lore became the targets of the witch hysteria. Medical schools known as Bimaristan began to appear from the 9th century in the medieval Islamic world among Persians and Arabs, which was generally more advanced than medieval Europe at the time. As a trading culture, the Arab travellers had access to plant material from distant places such as China and India. Herbals, medical texts and translations of the classics of antiquity filtered in from east and west. Muslim botanists and physicians significantly expanded on the earlier knowledge of materia medica. The experimental scientific method was introduced into the field of materia medica in the 13 th century by the Andalusian-Arab botanist Abu al-Abbbas al-Nabati. He introduced empirical techniques in the testing, description and identification of numerous materia medica, and he separated unverified reports from those supported by actual tests and observations. This allowed the study of materia medica to evolve into the science of pharmacology. Early modern era The first herbal to be published in English was the anonymous Grete Herball of 1526. The two best-known herbals in English were The Herball or General History of Plants (1597) by John Gerard and The English Physician Enlarged (1653) by Nicholas Culpepper. Gerards text was basically a pirated translation of a book by the Belgian herbalist Dodoens and his illustrations came from a german botanical work. The original edition containrd many errors due to the faulty matching of the two parts. Culpepperss blend of traditional medicine with astrology, magic, and folklore was ridiculed by the physicians of his day, yet like Gerards and other herbals enjoyed phenomenal popularity. The second millennium, however, saw the beginning of a slw erosion of the pre-eminent position held by plants as sources of therapeutic effects. This began with the Black Death, which the dominant Four Element medical system proved powerless to stop. A century later, Paracelsus introduced the use of active chemical drugs (like arsenic, copper sulfate, iron, mercury and sulfur). These were accepted even though they had toxic effects because of the urgent need to treat syphilis.

Modern herbal medicine Many of the pharmaceuticals currently available to physicians have a long history of use as herbal remedies, including opium, aspirin, digitalis, and quinine. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80% of the population of some Asian and African countries presently use herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care. The use of, and search for drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have accelerated in recent years. Pharmacologists, microbiologists, botanists, and naturalproducts chemists are combining the Earth for phytochemicals and leads that could be developed for treatment of various diseases. In fact, according to WHO, approximately 25% of modern drugs in the United States have been derived from plants. Biological background All plants produce chemical compounds as part of their normal metabolic activities. These phytochemicals are divided into (1) primary metabolites such as sugars and fats, which are found in all plants; and (2) secondary metabolites compounds which are found in a smaller range of plants, serving a more specific function. For example, some secondary metabolites are toxins used to deter predation and others are pheromones used to attract insects for pollination. It is these secondary metabolites and pigments that can have therapeutic actions in humans and which can be refined to produce drugs examples are insulin from the roots of dahlias, quinine from the cinchona, morphine and codeine from the poppy, and digoxin from the foxglove. Plants synthesize a bewildering variety of phytochemicals but most are derivatives of a few biochemical motifs. Alkaloids are a class of chemical compounds containing a nitrogen ring. They are produced by a large variety of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals, and are part of the group of natural products (also called secondary metabolites). Many alkaloids can be purified from crude extracts by acid-base extraction. Many alkaloids are toxic to other organisms. They often have pharmacological effects and are used as medications, as recreational drugs, or in entheogenic rituals. Examples are the local anesthetic and stimulant cocaine; the psychedelic psilocin; the stimulant caffeine; nicotine; the analgesic morphine; the antibacterial berberine; the anticancer compound vincristine; the antihypertension agent reserpine; the cholinomimeric galatamine; the spasmolysis agent atropine; the vasodilatator vincamine; the ant-arhythmia compound quinidine; the anti-asthma therapeutic ephedrine; and antimalarial drug quinine. Polyphenols (also known as phenolics) are compounds contain phenol rings. The anthocyanins that give grapes their purple color, the isoflavones, the phytoestrogens from soy and the tannins that give tea its astringency are phenolics. Glycosides is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to a non-carbohydrate moiety, usually a small organic molecule. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. These can be activated by enzyme hydrolysis, which causes the sugar part to be broken off, making the chemical available for use. Many such plant glycosides are used as medications, In animals and humans, poisons are often bound to sugar molecules as part of their elimination from the body. An example is the cyanoglycosides in cherry pits that release toxins only bitten by a herbivore. Terpenes are a large and diverse class of organic compounds, produced by a variety of plants, particularly conifers, which are often strong smelling and thus may have

had a protective function. They are the major components of resin, and of turpentine produced from resin. (The name terpene is derived from the word turpentine). Terpenes are major biosynthetic building blocks within nearly every living creature. Steroids, for example, are derivatives of the triterpene squalene. When terpenes are modified chemically, such as by oxidation or rearrangement of the carbon skeleton, the resulting compounds are generally referred to as terpenoids. Terpenes and terpenoids are the primary constituents of the essential oils of many types of plants and flowers. Essential oils are used widely as natural flavor additives for food, as fragrances in perfumery and in traditional and alternarive medicines such as aromatherapy. Vitamin A is an example of a terpene. The fragrance of rose and lavander is due to monoterpenes. The carotenoids produce the reds, yellows and oranges of pumpkin, corn and tomatoes. Herbal preparations There are many forms in which herbs can be administrated, the most common of which is in the form of a liquid that is drunk by the patient either a tisane or a (possibly diluted) plant extract. Whole herb consumption is also practiced either fresh, in dried form or as fresh juice. Tisanes, or herbal teas, are the resultant liquid of extracting herbs into water, though they are made in a few different ways. Infusions are hot water extracts of herbs, such as chamomile or mint, through steeping. Decoctions are the long-term boiled extracts, usually of harder substances like roots or bark. Maceration is the old infusion of plants with high mucilage content, such as sage, thyme, etc. To make macerates, plants are chopped and added to cold water. They are then left to stand for 7 to 12 hours (depending on the herb used). Tinctures are alcoholic extracts of herbs, which are generally stronger than tisanes. Usually obtained by combining 100% pure ethanol (or a mixture of 100% ethanol with water) with the herb. A completed tincture has an rthanol percentage of at least 25% (sometimes up to 90%). Extracts include liquid extracts, dry extracts and nebulisates. Liquid extracts are liquids with a lower ethanol percentage than tinctures. They can (and are usually) made by vacuum distilling tinctures. Dry extracts are extracts of plant material which are evaporated into a dry mass. They can then be further refined to a capsule or tablet. A nebulisate is a dry extract created by freeze-drying. Many herbs are applied topically to the skin ina variety of forms. Essential oil extracts can be applied to the skin, usually diluted in a carrier oil (many essential oils can burn the skin or are simply too high dose used straight diluting in olive oil can allow these to be used safely as a topical). Salves, oils, balms, creams and lotions are other forms of topical delivery mechanisms. Taking a food grade oil and soaking herbs in it for anywhere from weeks to months allows certain phytochemicals to be extracted into the oil. This oil can then be made into salves, creams, lotions, or simply used as an oil for topical application. Any massage oils, antibacterial salves and wound healing compounds are made this way.