HERBAL MEDICINE: Weird but Effective

Herbal medicine sometimes referred to as Herbalism, Herbology or Botanical Medicine is the use of herbs for their therapeutic or medicinal value. A Herb is a plant or plant part valued for its medicinal, aromatic or savory qualities. Herbs produce and contain a variety of chemical substances called phytochemicals (alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, tannins e.t.c) and these are responsible for their pharmacological actions.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 80% of the population of developing countries rely on herbal medicine for their primary health needs. WHO also stated that about 70% of those in developed countries also use herbs or herbal products as a form of complementary/ alternative medicine. The reasons behind this recent surge in the use of herbs include:

1. Rising costs of medicinal care.
2. As these are from natural origin, they are believed to be free of side effects in several cases.
3. Herbs go to the root cause and removes it so that the diseases does not occur again.
4. Freedom from approaching various specialists
5. Cure for many obstinate diseases
6. Easy availability of drugs from natural sources.

Herbal preparations called 'phytopharmaceuticals' or ' phytomedicines' are preparations made from different parts of herbs or plants. They come in different formulations and dosage forms including tablets, capsules, elixir, powder, extract, tincture, cream and parenteral preparations.

Many orthodox drugs in use today were derived from plants. Typical examples include Aspirin derived from White Willow Bark, Morphine derived from Papaver somniferum, Quinine from Cinchona succirubra e.t.c. Substances derived from plants still remain the basis for the discovery of orthodox drugs today. Once a lead structure is identified (a lead is a prototype compound for a given biological activity), it is then subjected to chemical modification or scaffolds to arive at the therapeutically important molecules which are usually more potent than the lead.

Are Herbs Poisonous?
Paracelsus (1493- 1541) was one of the first to distinguish between the therapeutic and toxic properties of substances. He thought that the only difference between a medicine and a poison was the dose. All herbs can therefore be harmful but most would have to be ingested in large amounts to cause harm. However, some herbs have high toxicity profiles. Such herbs can be used safely and effectively if taken in small, therapeutic doses.

The potential risk of herbal medicine interacting with prescribed orthodox drugs is also a concern with the increased use of phytomedicine. Several interactions have been reported. The complexicity and potential gravity of drug-herb interactions calls for caution and consulting a pharmacist or physician important.

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