How good is herbal medicine
August 6, 2009
There are a lot of good things about herbal medicine. There are herbs that have very powerful pharmacological properties and others that are considered as gentle. It is usually the gentle ones that are used by modern herbalist as the stronger one have serious side effects.
To say that a herb is gentle does not mean that it is ineffective; it means that it does not have a serious toxic effect. It can therefore be taken for a long time without raising any question of safety. Examples of these herbs are chamomile, valerian, mint, and hawthorn.
Active principles
The active principles in plants are quite complex, and their curative effects results from this complexity. What is more is that herbs with gentle effects should be taken over a long period of time before they can produce the desired effects.
That is why modern scientific studies are not able to detect the effects of herbs because they measure only the acute powerful effects. That makes herbal medicine to be often ignored.
Valerian for instance has no effect on the central nervous system but it has an excellent sedative action. There are a lot of herbs that fall in between what is designated as gentle and strong. Examples of these are licorice and arnica.
Side effects are possible
It is good to know that excessive or long term use of certain herbs can lead to serious adverse effects. Prolong or excessive use of licorice for example can lead to edema, hypertension, and bradycardia.
Prolonged use of laxatives can cause some imbalances in the colon causing exhaustions and symptoms that resemble paralysis. However, using these laxatives briefly or for short periods is safe.
How herbs are studied
To know whether a herb is safe or not, scientists have developed certain principles to follow. The active principles in the plant should be isolated so that it could be studied scientifically. In doing so the impact of the substances are estimated through concentrations.
But at times there could be more questions about particular herbs. It is possible that the wider effect of the whole plant is ignored in following this method.
There may again be other active principles that a particular process may not be able to detect. Again, many useful plants could be ignored just because they cannot be studied using this method.
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