Herbalism - the
idology of LesBalm,
Beautiful Skin Food
Herbalism
is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the
use
of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical
medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore,
and phytotherapy. The scope of herbal medicine is sometimes
extended
to include fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells
and
certain animal parts. Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines
derived
from natural sources.
Traditional use of medicines is recognized
as a way to learn about potential future medicines. In 2001,
researchers identified 122 compounds used in mainstream medicine
which were derived from "ethnomedical" plant sources; 80%
of these compounds were used in the same or related manner as the
traditional ethnomedical use.
Plants have evolved the ability to
synthesize chemical compounds that help them defend against attack
from a wide variety of predators such as insects, fungi and
herbivorous mammals. By chance, some of these compounds, whilst
being
toxic to plant predators, turn out to have beneficial effects when
used to treat human diseases. Such secondary metabolites are
highly
varied in structure, many are aromatic substances, most of which
are
phenols or their oxygen-substituted derivatives. At least 12,000
have
been isolated so far; a number estimated to be less than 10% of
the
total. Chemical compounds in plants mediate their effects on the
human body by binding to receptor molecules present in the body;
such
processes are identical to those already well understood for
conventional drugs and as such herbal medicines do not differ
greatly
from conventional drugs in terms of how they work. This enables
herbal medicines to be in principle just as effective as
conventional
medicines but also gives them the same potential to cause harmful
side effects. Many of the herbs and spices used by humans to
season
food yield useful medicinal compounds.