Herbal Medicine Essay -- essays research papers

     herbal tea tea medicinal drug is the extraction of herbs or plants which have a medicative value in treating illnesses and diseases (Brody 1). A herb is known as a plant that does not have a woody stem and usually dies stomach at the end of each growing season. It is also known as a "natural" drug because they are derived from nature. This is unlike pharmaceutical drugs, which are synthesized from chemicals.      Herbal medicine dates back a very long time. More than 4,000 years ago, the Chinese emperor Qien Nong put a book together, or a herbal, of incompatible medicinal plants (O Sullivan 2). It contained descriptions of more than 300 plants. most of these plants are still used today. The Sumerians, at the same time recorded prescriptions on clay tablets. Also, the Egyptians recorded their discipline regarding medicine on rolls of papyrus. A very famous papyrus is the Ebers Papyrus, which includes specific information on h ow to use different plants (Brody 1).      The Greeks and Romans learned about herbal medicine from these early civilizations. They also recorded them in books. We know of these works because they are translated into Arabic. Monks in Europe studied and grew plants for medicinal use. They translated the Arabic and that helped them with the plants. The first drugstores were in capital of Iraq (which is present day Iraq) in the 9th century (Smith 1). In the 13th century, major trade of herbs and spices occurred in London. Since there were no standards, bad quality herbs and wrong substitutes were a lot sold. Carolus Linneaus introduced the binomial system of plant nomenclature in 1753 (OSullivan 1). This helped identify plants scientifically, which helped to avoid mistakes between different plants.      Many drugs commonly used today are of herbal origin. About one-quarter of the prescription drugs distributed by pharmacies in the United States contain at least one ingredient derived from plant material.      Today, everyone from health care consumers to providers are knowledge about natural options to help with being healthy. Herbalists, or individuals who use herbal remedies to alleviate pain, are on the rise in the United States (Tremmel 1). In 1995, a survey was taken with about 600 physicians across the count... ...umerous kinds of herbal medicines available today. The best way of getting you moneys worth is by asking for the roughly popular one. This isnt the only step, but also ask for any clinical trials, consult your doctor, and/or the company of the product. This way you can get the or so effective product and be safe at the same time.      I think that this new era of using natural herbal medicine is massive and I support it greatly. Trying something new for a change is good. Even though some kinds of herbal medicine can produce harmful effects, some of the others ar e good. The only problem I see is that the Food and Drug Administration didnt make it a requirement for the makers to submit studies on the drugs. Therefore, mayhap sellers can make specific claims about preventing a disease even though it isnt true. So if the FDA starts testing the medicines and helps separate the good from the bad so everything will be great.     Thus, herbal medicine is medicine made from different parts of plants. They have become very popular in modern times. Some of these herbal medicines can be helpful while others can be harmful.