Botanical medicine

Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine by Clare Hanrahan

Botanical medicine is a vital component of the healing arts that draws on the accumulated and developing knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants in the prevention and treatment of disease. Botanical medicine includes medical herbalism, a healing art that relies on the synergistic and curative properties of plants to treat symptoms and disease and maintain health, and pharmocognosy, the study of natural products. Botanical medicine is an important component of numerous traditional medical systems and therapies, including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Ayurvedic medicine , naturopathy, indigenous and shamanic medicine, homeopathy, flower essence therapy, and aromatherapy. Botanical medicine has survived for many thousands of years in some form and in all cultures throughout the world.

Plants have been used since prehistoric times as medicinal remedies applied in various ways to provide relief from irritations as minor as a mosquito bite to situations as catastrophic as the plague. In modern medicine, some drugs are derived from plants, and many of these medicines are used in ways that are similar to their traditional uses. Many more drugs in modern medicine, however, are synthetic, and part of the reason for this is economic: plants can rarely be patented, so a pharmacuetical company will not gain the exclusive right to sell even after expensive research and marketing. Also, the processing of plants into a medicine cannot be as easily standardized and controlled as the manufacturing of a synthetic. As a result, the efficacy and safety of only a relative few of the traditionally used botanical remedies have been verified by clinical research. Approximately only 5,000 of the estimated 500,000 known species (including subspecies) of plants have been identified and studied for their medicinal properties.

The knowledge of the healing properties of herbs has been preserved from the time of the clay tablets of the ancient Sumerians over 5,000 years ago, to the sacred texts and pharmacopoeias of the Hindu and Chinese cultures, to the works of Greek and Roman physicians preserved by Byzantine scholars, to the European folk herbalists and physicians such as Nicholas Culpeper and, more recently, to the Native American herbalists. One of the earliest records of botanical medicine is the Pen T'Shao Kang Mu, a work attributed to China's Yellow Emperor around 2500 B.C. Another is the Ebers papyrus, an Egyptian medical text dating from 1,550 B.C. The Rigveda, an ancient Hindu scripture, lists over 1,000 medicinal plants used in the ancient Ayurveda system of medicine, already well developed by 1,000 B.C. Theophrastus, who lived from 327-285 B.C. is considered the first scientific botanist; he recorded the use of over 500 medicinal plants. The Greek physician Dioscorides produced what has been called the first true herbal text, or herbal, the De Materia Medica in the first century A.D. By the Middle Ages, the monks in medieval European monasteries were working to preserve this ancient knowledge by copying texts and cultivating extensive gardens of medicinal plants. European folk medicine was passed from generation to generation through oral tradition, and later, with the introduction of the printing press, the information became more widely available in popular written texts. Colonists brought their herbal knowledge and plant specimens to settlements in North America and learned from the indigenous Americans how to make use of numerous additional plants, native to the New World. The first record of Native American herb use is the manuscript of the Native Mexican physician Juan Badianus in 1552.

The use of herbs for medicinal purposes has been developed over the centuries by personal experimentation, local custom, anecdote, and folk tradition. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 80% of the global population continues to rely on medicinal plant preparations to meet primary health care needs. The specific chemical constituents of herbs and their unique medicinal action is the subject of ongoing scientific experimentation.

Botanical medicines, when administered properly and in designated therapeutic dosages, can be effective, trigger fewer side effects for most patients than pharmaceutical drugs, and are generally less costly than the isolated chemicals and synthetic prescription drugs available in pharmaceutical drugs.

The benefits of botanical medicine may be subtle or dramatic, depending on the remedy used and the illness being addressed. Herbal remedies usually have a much slower effect than pharmaceutical drugs. Some herbal remedies have a cumulative effect and work slowly over time to restore balance, others are indicated for short-term treatment of acute symptoms. Botanical medicine may be especially beneficial when administered to help with chronic ongoing symptoms.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM): This system of healing employs ancient techniques, developed over many thousands of years. For example, among TCM's techniques are acupuncture, moxibustion, and herbal formulas to restore health. Moxibustion is a process that combines acupuncture with the traditional application of the herb mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris, known as Ai ye or Hao-shu. This is a method of heating specific acupuncture points on the body to treat physical conditions, particularly chronic pain. When burnt, the mugwort produces a mild heat able to penetrate deeply into the muscle. TCM also employs specific herbal formulas to restore health and maintain a dynamic balance between two distinct forces known as yin and yang, particularly with regard to the qi. Qi is the vital energy flowing along the meridians or energy pathways of the body. The TCM practitioner is a skilled observer, who relies on diagnostic techniques, including measuring pulse rate from several positions, and noting the general appearance of the patient, such as complexion, eyes, nails, hair, tongue, and posture. The assessment not only includes consideration of the patient's symptomatic complaints, but of numerous personal characteristics including family history, lifestyle, emotional health, environment, diet, and exercise. The medicinal herbs prescribed are usually prepared as a formula based on the unique needs of each patient.