Herbal medicine

Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of <a href="/facts/Pharmacognosy/X3rrkkA9">pharmacognosy</a> and the use of <a href="/facts/Medicinal_plants/KUvkVQ8q">medicinal plants</a>, which are a basis of <a href="/facts/Traditional_medicine/WLUmXCHz">traditional medicine</a>. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments remains limited, prompting ongoing regulatory evaluation and research into their safety and efficacy. Standards for purity or dosage are generally not provided. The scope of herbal medicine sometimes includes <a href="/facts/Fungi/BHo5DP59">fungal</a> and <a href="/facts/Bee/HglXpXty">bee</a> products, as well as <a href="/facts/Dietary_mineral/ACv8EG7f">minerals</a>, <a href="/facts/Exoskeleton/Wlmru4GW">shells</a> and certain animal parts.
Paraherbalism is the <a href="/facts/Pseudoscience/kdNzoLeS">pseudoscientific</a> use of plant or animal extracts as medicine, relying on unproven beliefs about the safety and effectiveness of minimally processed natural substances.
Herbal medicine has been used since at least the <a href="/facts/Paleolithic/I48SMHo5">Paleolithic</a> era, with written records from ancient <a href="/facts/Sumer/bxRz093q">Sumer</a>, <a href="/facts/Egypt/8Ttg0JwB">Egypt</a>, <a href="/facts/Greece/lqHw8bTB">Greece</a>, <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a>, and <a href="/facts/India/QW4TV4sy">India</a> documenting its development and application over millennia. Modern herbal medicine is widely used globally, especially in <a href="/facts/Asia/4IToYrrQ">Asia</a> and <a href="/facts/Africa/XkqQUP9s">Africa</a>. Traditional medicine systems involve long-standing, culturally-embedded practices using local herbs, animal products, and spiritual elements. These systems have influenced and contributed to modern <a href="/facts/Pharmacology/4Rx8s7Ie">pharmacology</a>. Herbalists believe that plants, having evolved defenses against environmental stressors, produce beneficial phytochemicals, often extracted from roots or leaves, that can be used in medicine.
Sick animals often seek out and eat plants containing compounds like <a href="/facts/Tannin/vKIvHoTX">tannins</a> and <a href="/facts/Alkaloid/m6hUXohz">alkaloids</a> to help purge <a href="/facts/Parasitism/HWPcgky7">parasites</a>—a behavior observed by scientists and sometimes cited by <a href="/facts/Folk_healer/F8h62kVY">indigenous healers</a> as the source of their knowledge.

Herbal medicine open-in-new

Herbal medicine