Herb, defined

Basil (Sweet Basil). Basil consists of the brown, dried leaves and tender stems of Ocimum basilicum L. (Labiatae), an aimual native to India, Africa, and Asia, and cultivated in Egypt, southern Erance, Morocco, the Mediteranean countries, and the United States. Basil is one of the oldest known herbs, and it is reported that there are perhaps 50—60 poorly defined Ocimum species which can only be identified according to their chemical components. The flavor of the basihcum type is warm, sweet, somewhat pungent, and pecuhar, ie, methyl chavicol and linalool. It is used with meats, fish, certain cheeses, and tomato-based salads. The fresh leaves are ground and known as pesto with pastas. It is the main component of the Hqueur Chartreuse. 

Unfortunately, many clinical studies evaluating the efficacy of dietary supplements are flawed. Some of the flaws in the studies include non-randomization, being unblinded, lack of standardized products, small sample sizes, short treatment durations, and poorly defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Many studies do not give detailed information about the dietary supplement used. When an herb is studied, the following information should be described plant species, part(s) used, product form (e.g., powdered crude herb, aqueous extract, ethanol extract, or aqueous alcohol extract) with stated proportions of water to alcohol, specifically extracted fractions, and quantities or concentrations used [48]. 

Native to tropical America, sweet potato (I. batatas) is a perennial morning glory vine that has been cultivated for over 5,000 years for its edible tubers in Mexico, Central and lowland South America, and the West Indies. Today, sweet potato is cultivated around the world, especially in developing countries (Plate 4). A decoction made from the leaves of this plant is used in folk remedies as a gargle to treat mouth and throat tumors, and poultices are prepared for inflammatory tumors (64). In Mexico, leaf decoctions are considered to be of cold nature , to reduce excessive body heat, contemporarily defined as such illnesses as diarrhea, dysentery, heart disease, stomach distress, fever, and gastrointestinal infection. In Chinese traditional medicine, the tubers have been used as a medicinal herb to eliminate secretion in perceived abnormal quantities of blood or other body fluids (79). 

The term valence, of which ambivalence is not merely a variation, but a decidedly new and separate concept, derives from chemistry and atomic physics. Valence can refer to an extract or tincture, usually from an herb. In this connotation, it has obvious ties with the field of medical alchemy, or iatrochemistry. In the mid-i8oos, valence theory began to be used to signify the normal number of bonds that a given atom can form with other atoms—a register that links valence with philosophical materialism, matter, and Epicurianism. In recent scientific work, valence refers specifically to the number of electrons in the outermost shell of atoms. It is not provisional or occasional in its relation to the atom. Valence is atomicity. It defines a given chemical element, perhaps not in its essence, but in its capacity to combine with other elements—its potentiality. Valence is denoted by a simple number, and elements are said to be monovalent, bivalent, trivalent, quadrivalent, and so on. About one-fifth of all elements have a fixed valence (sodium is always i, or monovalent calcium is always 2, or bivalent and so on). Many elements have valences that are variable, depending on the other elements with which they are combined. 

People have always been interested in the odour and use of essential oils (from herbs and spices). This is probably attributable to their aromas, and also to the bacteriostatic and antiseptic properties of many of the aroma chemicals they contain. While the use of essential oils is associated with mankind s history, the beginning of perfumery is more difficult to define. 

As noted above, all available information on the historical use of botanical preparations will be accepted for safety consideration. But for FDA clinical reviewers, such experiences are often poorly documented and difficult to interpret or correlate with the paradigm of conventional (Western) medicine. In the alternative medical system, almost all the diagnoses to be treated with herbal medicine are defined in imprecise and foreign terms. Typically, one herbal medicine is indicated for numerous seemingly unrelated conditions, most of which are symptomatic relief without clear mechanisms. Furthermore, many botanicals are combinations of multiple herbs, but few references are available for the rationale of combining so many ingredients. 

The largest seizures worldwide are for cannabis (herb and then resin), followed by cocaine, the opiates and ATS. All cannabis related seizures amounted to more than 9,700 mt in 2005, including 5,947 mt for cannabis end products (herb, resin and oil). Cocaine seizures amounted to 752 mt, opiate seizures, expressed in heroin equivalents, amounted to 125 mt and ATS seizures (methamphetamine, amphetamine, non-defined amphetamines and ecstasy) amounted to 43 mt. 

Category 3 - plants etc. and parts of these or products thereof normally consumed as food items, herbs or spices in Europe that contain defined active principles or other chemical components requiring limits on usage levels. 

Echinacea is derived from the root and seeds of the Echinacea plant that grows in parts of the Midwestern United States. This herb is used primarily to stimulate or support the immune system, and is often used to treat cold symptoms and other relatively minor respiratory tract infections.8 38 Although the exact reasons for beneficial effects are unclear, there is considerable evidence that echinacea preparations can reduce symptoms of the common cold when taken soon after symptoms appear.5,71 The ability of echinacea to prevent colds and other infections, however, is less well defined.49 Echinacea can also be administered topically to treat burns and other localized wounds. The most common side effects associated with echinacea are gastrointestinal (GI) upset, skin rash, and other allergic or hypersensitivity reactions.36... 

United States Congress passes Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which expressly defines a dietary supplement as a vitamin, a mineral, an herb or other botanical, an amino acid, or any other dietary substance. This law prohibits claims that herbs can treat diseases or disorders, but it allows more general health claims about the effect of herbs on the structure or function of the body or about the well-being they induce. Under this law, the FDA bears the burden of having to prove an herbal is unsafe before restricting its use. This law also establishes the Office of Dietary Supplements within the National Institutes of Health to promote and compile research on dietary supplements. 

Herbs are specifically defined as non-woody, low-growing plants such as basil and parsley. Herbal medicine is considered to be the use of crude drugs of plant origin to treat illness or to promote health. A more correct term for this would be botanical medicine. Phytomedicinals are those common preparations, including capsules, tablets, tinctures, and fluidextracts that have been prepared from plant sources. This should be distinguished from plant-derived drugs that have been isolated, purified, and standardized from plant sources. 

In the United States, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 (United States Public Law 103-417) amended the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by defining as a dietary supplement any product (other than tobacco) that contains a vitamin, mineral, herb or other botanical, or amino acid and is intended as a supplement to the diet. Food is considered safe by definition, but new foods or food additives must be demonstrated to be generally recognized as... 

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