Herbal Remedies

A Comprehensive Guide to Herbal Remedies Used as Natural Antibiotics and Antivirals

Melanie Bailey

• Editorial: Youcanprint
• Año: 2022
• ISBN:
  9791220372664
• Categoría: Medicina
• Categoría: Medicina alternativa y complementaria

The book that will allow you to enhance health but also prevent illness and cure diseases thanks to the power of leaves, seeds and plant roots! As one of the most ancient practices that exist, Herbal Remedies became common in every community all around the world. People use herbal remedies to help prevent or cure disease but also use them to get relief from symptoms, boost energy, relax, or lose weight. Some herbals can really make you feel better and help keep you healthy in a very effective way. But you need to be a smart consumer because the word "natural" doesn't always mean "safe". Here's what you'll find inside: modern Herbal Medicine and Herbal Medicine in history traditional African medicine and its relationships with modern medicine challenges associated with monitoring safety of Herbal Medicines how to use Herbal Remedies safely Herbal Remedy recipes ...and much more!

Chapter One

What Is Herbal Medicine

Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the science of medicinal plants and botany. For most of human history, plants have become the foundation for medicinal therapies and this herbal medicine is still commonly practiced today. Modern medicine utilizes several compounds obtained from plants as the foundation for prescription medicines based on facts.

While herbalism that extend modern standards of efficacy testing to natural-derived herbs and medicines, there are few high-quality clinical trials and standards for purity or dosage.

Often the reach of herbal medicine expands to include fungal and bee materials, as well as rocks, shells and other pieces of animals.

Phytomedicine or phytotherapy is sometimes called herbal treatment. Paraherbalism defines complementary and pseudoscientific methods for the usage of unrefined extracts of plants or animals as unproven drugs or agents for health promotion. Throughout traditional pharmacology, paraherbalism varies from plant-derived drugs as it does not extract or standardize biologically active compounds, but instead focuses on the assumption that retaining specific substances from a single source with less refining is better or more efficient–little justification exists for this. Herbal nutritional products often commonly come into the umbrella of phytotherapy.

Herbal Medicine In History

Archeological data indicates that medicinal plant usage goes back to the Paleolithic period, around 60,000 years ago. Early proof of medicinal treatments stretches back more than 5,000

years to the Sumerians, who collected plant lists. Several ancient civilizations wrote in books called herbals regarding the plants and their medicinal uses. In ancient Egypt, herbs are listed in Egyptian medical papyri, portrayed in tomb drawings, or find in medicinal jars that contain trace quantities of herbs on rare occasions.

Of ancient Egypt's earliest, largest, and most significant medicinal papyri, the Ebers Papyrus dates from about 1550 BC

and contains over 700 substances, many of plant origin. The

oldest recorded Greek herbals come from Eresos ' Theophrastus who wrote in Greek Historia Plantarum in the 4th century BC, from Caryst's Diocles who wrote in the 3rd century BC, and from Krateuas who wrote in the 1st century BC. Just a few parts of these plays have remained unchanged, however scholars recognized similarities with the Egyptian herbals with what remains.

Seeds thought to be used for herbalism were discovered in bronze period China archaeological sites dating back to the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC). Over one hundred of the 224

compounds listed in an early Chinese medicinal text called the Huangdi Neijing are herbs.

Herbs are widely used in ancient India's folk medicine, where the main illness cure was diet. De Materia Medica, initially written in Greek by Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40–90 AD) of Anazarbus, Cilicia, a Greek physician, pharmacologist and botanist, is one example of herbal literature used for 1500 years up to the 1600s.

Modern herbal medicine The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 80 percent of citizens in certain countries in Asia and Africa are already using herbal medication for any type of primary health care.

With much of the world's populace, half of whom existed on less than $2 US a day in 2002, pharmaceuticals are prohibitively costly. In contrast, for little to no expense, herbal medicines may be produced from seed, to obtained from nature.

Several of the pharmaceuticals commonly prescribed to doctors, including artemisinin, morphine, creatine, digitalis, and quinine, have a lengthy tradition of usage as natural remedies.

Approximately 25 per cent of prescription medicines sold in the United States have been produced from plants, according to the World Health Organization.

At least 7,000 therapeutic substances are extracted from plants in the current pharmacopeia. For the 120 active compounds actually extracted from the higher plants and commonly employed today in conventional medicine, 80 percent display a strong connection between their contemporary medicinal application and the common usage of the plants from which they are produced.

Advantages Of Herbal Medicine Both American and conventional medicine come up with problems of their own. There are currently several western medications on the market which, given their medical claims, have many side effects. Likewise, ancient African natural remedies or curing methods have their own problems too. These were listed as some of the advantages

• African herbal medication is "holistic" in the way it discusses mind, spirit and body problems. Many people, particularly the rural community, consider it cheap and simple to reach. It is often known to be much healthier than traditional pharmaceutical goods, being of natural origin.

• No adverse side effects.

• Medical medications frequently induce harmful effects in people consuming them, and the worst thing is that firms producing such medicines sometimes do so without their knowledge.

• Herbal medicine utilizes the automatic cycle of body regeneration to cure illnesses. The ingredients used are the ones that are generated daily inside the body.

Cost-efficient. The quality remains one of the biggest downsides of western medicine. Even generic prescription medications are not unusual in spending hundreds of millions. Of starters, a ride

to emergency department to cure a headache will cost too much money quickly. You may even purchase certain natural remedies off the counter, ensuring you don't have to get costly health benefits.

Other benefits include: Throughout comparison to prescription drugs there are a variety of benefits involved with utilizing natural medicines. These as:

• Lower risk of adverse effects: The patient tolerates most natural drugs well, with less negative complications than prescription medicines. Herbs usually have less adverse effects than prescription drugs, so over time can be easier to use.

• Effectives for medical conditions: Herbal medications appear to be most beneficial with long-term health problems that do not respond well to conventional medication.

• Reduced cost: Cost is another advantage of herbal medicine.

Herbs cost much less than pharmaceutical medications. Testing, research, and promotion dramatically contribute to the expense of pharmaceutical drugs. Herbs appear to be inexpensive as contrasted with narcotics.

• Wide range: Their supply is just another benefit of herbal medicines. No prescribed Herbs are eligible. Any basic herbs may be cultivated at home, such as peppermint and chamomile.

In certain distant areas of the world, medicines can be the only medicine certain people will receive.

Adverse effects of herbal medicines

An adverse drug reaction is described as "a harmful or upsetting reaction due to intervention related to the use of a healing substance which envisages danger from future administration and involves preventive or specific treatment, modification of dosage and method of administration, or removal of the medicinal substance." Any substance with a healing effect may produce unexpected or adverse side effects. Like for pharmaceutical medicines, the consistency, efficacy and health of medicinal plants do need to be assured.

These are not absolutely harmless given the common usage of herbal remedies worldwide, and their documented benefits.

However often however medicinal herbs have proven beneficial properties, if used inappropriately or in excess they can do have the ability to cause harmful effects. Because of indiscriminate, irresponsible or uncontrolled usage and lack of adequate standardization, the probability of harmful consequences is more evident. Such issues became the subject of several foreign fora on study and publications on medicinal plants.

Several of the disadvantages entail incorrect treatment and may be deceptive. Quite times, the dose is ambiguous, and the medicines are processed in unhygienic circumstances, as shown

by the microbial degradation of certain herbal formulations marketed in the markets. Knowledge lies shrouded in secret and not readily disseminated. Any of the activities including rites and divinations go outside the reach of non-traditionalists such as Christians who consider these programs nonsensical, unethical and impossible to obtain.

Africa's diverse flora includes many poisonous species, although with fascinating therapeutic applications. Such plants can damage the main structures of the human body (cardiovascular system, digestive system, endocrine system, urinary system, immune system, muscle system, nervous system, reproductive system, respiratory system, etc.) through their toxic constituents (e.g., neurotoxins, cytotoxins, and metabolic toxins).

In a survey of herbal medicine users in Lagos metropolis, Nigeria, it was found that herbal medicine was common among respondents but they appeared to be unaware of its possible toxicity. There have been studies of adverse effects on different herbal medicines. Present systems are ineffective for monitoring side effects of herbal medicines.

Consumers typically regard herbal medicines as natural and hence healthy, and find them as alternatives to traditional medicines. Very a few people who have been using herbal medications have told their primary care physicians. Therefore, several harmful drug effects are likely to go unrecorded for

either patients refusing to reveal details to health providers, so no pharmacovigilance analyzes are conducted, or the findings are not disclosed to appropriate quarters such as health regulatory bodies. It may be challenging to draw up a report of herbal toxicity. Even if the herbal toxicity is suspected, it is challenging to develop a conclusive diagnosis without adequate drug or plant substance review. Very few adverse reactions for herbal medicines have been recorded, especially when used simultaneously with traditional or orthodox medicines.

The findings of several research reviews indicate that herbal remedies ' recorded adverse drug reactions are likely related to a lack of knowledge of their preparation and proper application.

A analysis of liver and kidney functions in consumers of medicinal plants in South-East Nigeria showed that liver disorders were the most common measures of toxicity related to chronic use.

Serum enzyme rates in herbal medicine users (test group) and non-users (control) relate to the impact of herbal medicines intake and duration of usage on serum enzymes, respectively, as an indicator of liver function. Toxic elements, such as alkaloids, tannins, oxalates, etc., may be responsible for such found

toxicities in such herbs.

Serum enzyme levels in herbal medicine users (test group) and nonusers (control).

Effect of length of use of herbal medicine on serum enzyme levels

Another significant cause of h...