HERBAL Medicine

Since time immemorial, plants have been used for healing and herbal medicine has made up part of every medicinal tradition all over the world. However, with the boom of the pharmaceutical industry in the last century, benefits of herbal medicine have been eclipsed with the new beliefs in the efficacy of synthetic products.

Although modern drugs are mostly derived from substances originating from plants, their dosage is more precise and controllable compared to herbal remedies.

This was the main argument to support the development of synthetic medications, as the determination of the effective dosage together with the elimination of undesired effects was regarded as more achievable.

Mechanisms underlying treatment with herbal medicine are complex and go beyond the mere understanding of chemical composition of the plant. Plants are living organisms subordinated to the same rules of Life on Earth as human beings. Like all living organisms, plants use deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as their genetic material and emanate electrochemical potentials, which can contribute to their interactions with other living forms.

Over the course of history, humanity has tended to change. Nowadays, the values, beliefs and priorities of mankind has been subject to transformation. Many people are tending more to nature and natural products and are reluctant to use synthetic ones. This current trend can also be observed in medicine.

It seems therefore, there is still an unexplored field of the healing interaction between plants and humans, which invites more precise scientific investigation. It is very possible that the benefit of herbal medicine will be reappraised in coming times.

Author of the review: Kristina Höschlová