How Effective is Herbal Medicine?
The modern use of plants as medicines is based upon thousands of years of empirical research. Professional herbalists add to this information with well observed case histories noting the effects of particular plants. Lots of new information is also available from the worlds of chemistry and pharmacology. Whilst very little research has been carried out by herbalists themselves, they have been very good at assimilating new information and adding this to their traditional knowledge base. Huge advances in organic chemistry over the last century mean that many of the constituent chemicals of medicinal herbs have been identified and their actions investigated. For hundreds of years it has been known that the bitter tasting aromatic herb chamomile has many useful applications. These include its use as an antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory for the digestive system. We are now able to say that the bitter taste is due in part to the presence of anthemic acid, and that the volatile oil that giv
