Jack Challem
See book keywords and concepts |
 Over the past several years herbal medicines have moved from folk-medicine status to scientifically supported treatments. Major drug companies routinely fund expeditions to the Amazon and other undeveloped regions to identify new plants and potentially therapeutic molecules. Almost half of all modem drugs have either been developed from plant compounds or are synthetic replicas of molecules found in plants.
Unlike pharmaceutical drugs, which are usually built around a single synthetic molecule, herbs may contain hundreds if not thousands of active principles. |
The Life Extension Editorial Staff
See book keywords and concepts |
 The Life Extension Foundation hosts the fastest and easiest source for comprehensive health and nutritional information, longevity teseatch, and pharmaceutical-grade nutritional products and herbal medicines. Join immediately and add your voice to the 50,000 members of the Life Extension Foundation who have changed the course of medicine in the world by demanding freedom of choice in health care. umw.virusmyth.com
The Group for the Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV/ AIDS Hypothesis came into existence as a group of signatories in an open lettet to the scientific community. |
volker schulz and Rudolf Hansel
See book keywords and concepts |
 The Complete German Commission E Monographs - Therapeutic Guide to herbal medicines. American Botanical Council, Austin, Texas, www.herbalgram.org.
Boerner RJ, Sommer H, Berger W, Kuhn U, Schmidt U, Mannel M (2003) Kava-kava extract LI 150 is as effective as opipramol and buspirone in generalized anxiety disorder - An 8-week randomised, double-blind multicenter clinical trial in 129 outpatients. |
Ray Strand, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
 No Quality Control in America
We have no such standard of quality control with the production of herbal medicines in the United States. Without this control we have absolutely no assurance that the tablet contains what the bottle claims it does. No organization or government agency certifies the accuracy of herb labels. This lack of safeguarding results in two major flaws: First, independent studies show that many herb products don't contain any active ingredients, or they contain only trace amounts. |
C. P. Khare
See book keywords and concepts |
 Herbal Medicines. 1996. CA Nowall et al, The Pharmaceutical Press, London. Pharmaceutical Basis of Therapeutics. 1996. Goodman and Gilman. McGraw Hill, New York. Pharmacopoeia of India. 1996. Ministry of Health, Government of India, New Delhi-110001. Physicians Desk Reference (PDR). 1991. Standard of Asian Herbal Medicine, Vol 1.1993. Jakarta.
Information regarding the active life span of the herb after collection, called veeryakaalaavadhi, has been incorporated in Vanoshadhi Nidarshikaa, Ramsushil Singh, but the same has not been quoted. It is not that easy to predict shelf-life of a herb. |
volker schulz and Rudolf Hansel
See book keywords and concepts |
| The Complete German Commission E Monographs - Therapeutic Guide to herbal medicines. American Botanical Council, Austin, Texas, www.herbalgram.org.
Bode-Boger SM, Boger RH, Schroder EP, Frolich JC (1994) Exercise increases systemic nitric oxide production in men. J Cardio Risk 1:173-178.
Bordia AK, Verma SK, Vyas AK, Khabya BL, Rathore AS, Bhu N, Bedi HK (1977) Effect of essential oil of onion and garlic on experimental atherosclerosis in rabbits. Atherosclerosis 26: 379-386. |
David Hoffman, FNIMH, AHG
See book keywords and concepts |
 PDRfor herbal medicines. Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Company, 1998.
20. Harborne JB, Baxter H. Phytochemical Dictionary:
A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. London; Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis, 1993.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
23. Ibid.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. Ibid.
29. Ghosal S, Singh S, Bhattacharya SK. Alkaloids of Mucuna pruriens, chemistry and pharmacology. Planta Medica 1971; 19:279.
30. Schultes RE, Hofmann A. The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, 1980.
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid.
35. |
| PHARMACOLOGY AND PHYTOTHERAPY
Pharmacology addresses important questions about herbal medicines and their therapeutic indications. Consider the following, which have been grouped into pharmacological subject categories.
Absorption and Distribution
• How do the physicochemical properties of the herb's constituents impact the bioavailability of the herb and thus patient outcomes?
• Are the most medically relevant constituents of the herb water-soluble?
Site of Action
• Which organs are impacted by the actions of the herb, and how?
• What mechanism of activity is involved? |
| In dispensing herbal medicines for children, it is important to educate both parents and child. The more the parents understand the disease, the treatment, and how to administer the medicine, the more likely the child is to take the remedy. It is often important to find out who is administering the medicines and where. The dosage regimen may have to be adjusted so that medications are always given at home, as opposed to at school or some other location that is not conducive to compliance.
PRESCRIBING ISSUES UNIQUE TO CHILDREN
Normal physiology in children is different from that of adults. |
volker schulz and Rudolf Hansel
See book keywords and concepts |
| The Complete German Commission E Monographs - Therapeutic Guide to herbal medicines. American Botanical Council, Austin, Texas, www.herbalgram.org.
Bos R, Hendriks H, Scheffer }JC, Woerdenbag HJ (1998) Cytotoxic potential of valerian constituents and valerian tinctures. Phytomedicine 5 (3): 219-225.
Bos R, Woerdenbag HJ, van Putten FMS, Hendriks H, Scheffer JJC (1998) Seasonal variation of the essential oil, valerenic acid and derivatives, and valepotriates in Valeriana officinalis roots and rhizomes, and the selection of plants suitable for phytomedicines. Planta Med 64:143-147. |
Heather Boon, BScPhm, PhD and Michael Smith, BPharm, MRPharmS, ND
See book keywords and concepts |
 Regarding herbal medicines, the 'Inclusion' list specifically identifies that the following will be classified as NHPs:
(i) a plant or plant material, alga, fungus or non-human animal material;
(ii) an extract or isolate of this material, the primary molecular structure of which is the same as that which it had prior to its extraction or isolation, as natural health products.5
In addition, the NHPD and the Food Directorate provide a list of herbs that are considered NHPs, regardless of their dosage form (this would include bulk form). |
volker schulz and Rudolf Hansel
See book keywords and concepts |
| The Complete German Commission E Monographs - Therapeutic Guide to herbal medicines. American Botanical Council, Austin, Texas, www.herbalgram.org.
Braquet P (ed) (1988) Ginkgolides. Chemistry, Biology, Pharmacology and Clinical Perspectives. Vol 1. JR Prous Science, Barcelona.
Braquet P (ed) (1989) Ginkgolides. Chemistry, Biology, Pharmacology and Clinical Perspectives. Vol II. JR Prous Science, Barcelona.
Bruchert E, Heinrich SE, Ruf-Kohler P (1991) Wirksamkeit von LI 1370 bei alteren Patienten mit Hirnleistungsschwache. Munch Med Wschr 133 (Suppl 1): 9-14. |
| In passing the German Drug Law of 1976, lawmakers were on solid medical and economic ground when they elected to retain herbal medicines and confer the necessary legal status upon the plurality of pharmacologic (drug) therapies that had long existed in practice. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 Keep in mind the contrast here between how conventional medicines are treated and how nutritional supplements or herbal medicines would be treated. Imagine, for a moment, that the FDA found out that some nutritional supplement or herb caused children to have a 180% increase in suicidal tendencies. Do you think that would be front-page news? You bet it would be! And the FDA would be grabbing headlines around the nation, warning people that herb X was killing their children. The herb would be taken off the market, and inventories would be confiscated. Importation of the herb would be banned. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 Nowhere is this more true than in medicinal herbs, where nature has already provided an abundance of disease-preventing herbal medicines all around us -- in the deserts, forests, plains and jungles of the world. And yet only around 2% of the world's plant species have even been studied for possible medicinal benefits. Clearly, there are miraculous phytochemicals just waiting to be discovered and leveraged for the healing of chronic disease. Yet biomimetics is really more about the physics of nature rather than the chemistry. |
Bradley J. Willcox, D. Craig Willcox, and Makoto Suzuki
See book keywords and concepts |
 This ninety-five-year-old dynamo not only lives the Okinawa way but also probably knows more about Okinawa's healing foods and herbal medicines than anyone else on the island. Fifteen years ago (when she was a mere eighty), Otasan wrote a book called Okinawa no Yakuso Hyakka (Herbal Medicines of Okinawa),' in which she shared the vast knowledge that had been passed down to her from her mother-in-law and had been part of the Ota family lore for generations. |
Michael Castleman
See book keywords and concepts |
 The most hazardous plants were not herbal medicines but ornamentals: jade, holly, poinset-tia, schefflera, philodendron and dieffenbachia. The typical victim was a child under age five who ingested the plant by accident.
While the vast majority of herbal medicines present no danger to health, using them does require knowledge and proper caution. Too much of any good thing can cause harm, and studies show that a few herbs that were once considered safe for internal use are in fact hazardous. In large doses, comfrey—a traditional digestive remedy—can cause liver damage. |
Dr. Gary Null
See book keywords and concepts |
 Combining acyclovir with historically used herbal medicines resulted in strong therapeutic anti-HSV-1 activity in mice, especially reduction of virus yield in the brain. The herbs demonstrating the most effectiveness were Geum japonicum, Rhus javanica, Syzgium aromaticum, and Terminal chebula.
M. Kurokawa et al., "Efficacy of Traditional herbal medicines in Combination with Acyclovir Against Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection in Vitro and in Vivo," Antiviral Research 27 (1995): 19-37.
Genistein inhibits the replication of herpes simplex virus type I.
Y. Yura et al. |
| Combining acyclovir with historically used herbal medicines resulted in strong therapeutic anti-HSV-1 activity in mice, especially reduction of virus yield in the brain. The herbs demonstrating the most effectiveness were Geum japonicum, Rhus javanica, Syzgium aromaticum, and Terminal chebula.
M. Kurokawa et al., "Efficacy of Traditional herbal medicines in Combination with Acyclovir Against Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection in Vitro and in Vivo," Antiviral Research 27 (1995): 19-37.
Genistein inhibits the replication of herpes simplex virus type I.
Y. |
Nicola Reavley
See book keywords and concepts |
 In fact, many of the pharmaceutical products sold today are synthetic chemicals based on herbal extracts. herbal medicines may contain a whole plant, parts of a plant, or extracts of either one or a combination of plants. Many people prefer to use herbal medicines because in many cases, they exert beneficial effects without the side effects caused by many pharmaceutical drugs.
In the western world, in the last 10 to 20 years, there has been a tremendous growth in interest in herbal medicine and more natural and less toxic therapies have become increasingly popular. |
Bradley J. Willcox, M.D., D. Craig Willcox, Ph.D., Makoto Suzuki, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
 The leaves of the plant are also used in tempura dishes, and the herb can often be found in the apothecary of traditional herbal medicines.
Weight and health benefits. Traditional medicine frequently uses peppers and hot spices such as hihatsu as well as cayenne, black pepper, ginger, garlic, and turmeric to increase metabolism. In Okinawan herbal medicine, hihatsu has been used to treat stomach problems and gout among other ailments. |
Ray Strand, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| Therefore, some manufacturers began marketing herbal medicines as "nutritional supplements"—a legislative loophole that allowed products with no proven efficacy to be sold as long as the manufacturers made no claims on the product label.
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) also classified herbs as nutritional supplements. Again, the labeling of dietary supplements could carry no claims of therapeutic benefit. Therefore, manufacturers had to market herbs as benefiting a natural body function and not as a treatment for a disease process. |
volker schulz and Rudolf Hansel
See book keywords and concepts |
| The Complete German Commission E Monographs - Therapeutic Guide to herbal medicines. American Botanical Council, Austin, Texas, 1998. www.herbalgram.org. Chatterjee SS, Koch E, Jaggy H, Krzeminski T (1997) In-vitro- und In-vivo-Untersuchungen zur kardioprotektiven Wirkung von oligomeren Procya-nidinen in einem Crataegus-Extrakt aus Blattern und Bliiten. Arzneim Forsch/Drug Res 47 (I): 821-825.
Blumenthal M, Hall T, Goldberg A et al. (2003) The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs. Austin, TX:
American Botanical Council. |
Mark Blumenthal
See book keywords and concepts |
 Newall C, Anderson L, Phillipson J. Herbal Medicines: A Guide for Health-Care Professionals. London: The Pharmaceutical Press; 1996.
Nisslein T, Freudenstein J. Effects of black cohosh on urinary bone markers and femoral density in an OVX-rat model. Osteoporosis International 2000; 11 (Supplement 2); World Congress on Osteoporosis 2000, June 15—18, Chicago, USA.
Petho A. Climacteric complaints are often helped with black cohosh, [in German].
Arztliche Praxis 1987;47:1551-3. Pizzorno JE, Murray MT, editors. Textbook of Natural Medicine. Vol. 1, 2nd ed. New
York: Churchill Livingston; 1999. |
Josef A. Brinckmann and Michael P. Lindenmaier
See book keywords and concepts |
 Regulatory status
Canada: Approved active ingredient in a few Schedule OTC Traditional herbal medicines (e.g. Floradix Multizyme Herbal Tablets, Flora Stomach Tea) and homeopathic medicines, requiring premarketing authorization. Food in absence of claims.
U.K.: Herbal medicine entered in the General Sale List, Table A (internal or external use) of Schedule 1 (requires full Product License). Food in absence of claims.
U.S.: Dietary supplement. Caraway, as a seasoning (§182.10), or its essential oils and natural extractives (§ 182.20) are Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). |
Mark Blumenthal
See book keywords and concepts |
| Regulatory Status of Herbal Medicines: A Worldwide
Review. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization Traditional Medicine
Programme; 1998:25-7. Wiistenberg P, Henneicke von Zepelin H, Kohler G, Stammwitz U. Efficacy and mode of action of an immunomodulator herbal preparation containing echinacea, wild indigo, and white cedar. Advs Ther 1999;l6(l):51-70. |
Josef A. Brinckmann and Michael P. Lindenmaier
See book keywords and concepts |
| Some of these combination products will still exist as Traditional herbal medicines with, for example, the following indications: "Traditionally used to improve the general state of health." A hydroalcoholic fluidextract (Crataegi extractum fluidum, solvent: ethanol 45%), containing not less than 1.0% flavonoids calculated as hyperoside, is official in the German Pharmacopoeia (DAB 2000).
Regulatory status
Canada: Schedule "A" drug not suitable as a non-medicinal ingredient at any level. Approved active ingredient in some Schedule OTC Traditional Herbal Medicine products (e.g. |
Stephen Cummings and Dana Ullman
See book keywords and concepts |
 Later he tested various herbs used in European folk medicine, and other homeopaths have since "proven" herbal medicines of many regions, and many other mineral- and animal-derived substances.
The homeopathic provings provide the experimental basis for learning what symptoms a substance causes and thus, according to the law of similars, what it cures. The provings allow the practitioner to individualize the choice of a medicine according to the totality of the patient's symptoms. |
Josef A. Brinckmann and Michael P. Lindenmaier
See book keywords and concepts |
| Regulatory status
Canada: Approved active ingredient in a few Traditional herbal medicines (e.g. Flora Asthma Tea) and homeopathic medicines, requiring pre-market-ing approval.
U.K.: Herbal medicine entered in the General Sale List, Table A (internal or external use) of Schedule 1 (requires full Product license).
U.S.: Dietary supplement. Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) natural flavoring substance (§172.510).
Authentication: Macroscopic (see: Description) and microscopic, following the Ph. Eur. |
| Regulatory status
Canada: Approved active ingredient in nearly 100 Schedule OTC Traditional herbal medicines and homeopathic medicines, requiring pre-marketing authorization.
U.K.: Herbal medicine in the General Sale List, Table A (internal or external
Wording of the package insert German Standard License
(St. Zul. 11th Suppl, Published February 1996)
6.1 Therapeutic category
Botanical sedative remedy.
6.2 Indications for use
Nervous restlessness.
6.3 Contraindications
None known.
6.4 Interactions with other drugs
None known.
6. |
Email this page to a friend
