Herbalism indigenous medicine

Practices of indigenous medicines occur in circumscribed parts of the world where traditional knowledge is still honored (Amazonia, sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, etc.). Phytotherapy is very much a part of these customary practices, and it usually follows that when a remedy is widespread in acceptance, its efficacy and safety has a sound therapeutic basis. As evidence of this worth spreads, it is not unusual for it to be incorporated into other established forms of herbalism or phytotherapy. Neo-Western herbalism is particularly prone to adopting these remedies. 

The World Wildlife Fund estimates that plants have contributed more than 7000 compounds produced by the pharmaceutical industry in industrialized nations. The folk medicine and indigenous medicine developed by different native cultures across the world is based mainly on herbs. Indeed, more than 200 of the herbal drags listed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia were used by Indians in Mexico, the West Indies, and Central and South America. The popular traditional medical systems—Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, and Unani—have suggested cancer cures involving herbal medicine. Dr. 

When we think of licorice, we typically think of the popular candy. Licorice, however, has an important history in herbal medicine. Licorice is a perennial shrub that is indigenous to the Mediterranean and is cultivated in the Middle East. Spain, northern A.sia. and the United States. The most common variety used for medicinal purposes is Clyiyrrliizti glabra var. typica. Licorice has been used. since Roman times and was described in early Chinese writings. 

The Anthemideae tribe of the Asteraceae comprises a large number of species that have been and are still used as medicinal plants, particularly in folk medicine. Most of them are used empirically by rural and indigenous populations, commonly as infusions or decoctions, for medicinal purposes. Due to the increasing interest in natural products, the urban use of some folk medicinal plants as herbal remedies is also increasing. In the present chapter, we analyze the past, present (1985-2005) and future of medicinal plants of the Anthemideae tribe, both as potential antimicrobial crude drugs, as well as a source for natural compounds. Some of these compounds were isolated after previously detecting antimicrobial activity on the part of the plant. 

Traditional and herbal pharmaceutical products are intended to be used in indigenous treatment as monographed in the official pharmacopoeia of traditional medicines or those notified by the Minister of Public Health as traditional pharmaceutical products or those permitted to be registered as traditional pharmaceutical products. The control and registration of the pharmaceutical products in this group are less stringent than those of the modern pharmaceutical products. 

Keywords Medicinal plants, indigenous knowledge, Himalaya, traditional herbal healers. 

Kala, C.P. (2004). Revitalization traditional herbal therapy by exploring medicinal plants A case study of Uttaranchal state in India. In Indigenous Knowledge Transforming the Academy, pp. 15-21. Proceedings of an International Conference, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA. 

Even when modern, Western medical services are available, Asians frequently consider using indigenous or alternative remedies, and folk or traditional medicine may be tried first for treatment of a psychiatric disorder. Such treatment must be noted and monitored to avoid adverse drug interactions between traditional Asian herbal medicines and Western psychotropic medications. Also necessary is assessment of drug efficacy and toxicity, as well as placebo effects. Several studies have found that compliance with psychopharmacotherapy may be more problematic in non-Westem than among Western populations. For example, Western medicines are believed to be more potent and more likely to cause side effects than are non-Western therapies, and interpretations and perceptions of side effects differ as well (Lee 1993 Smith et al. 1993). 

In definition, herbal remedies used as medicines may be traditionally or serendipitously derived, varying in formulation, preparation, and standardization, sometimes unreliable as to plant identification or to chemical composition, and depending on their cultural source, infrequently validated, in conventional ways, as to efficacy or safety. They may be prescribed by a healer of experience and training or of questionable skill, or they may be used in self-medication. As exemplified in American and African indigenous populations, prayers, mantras, or other forms of healing ceremonies may be used as an adjunct to phytotherapy. The applications of energy medicine to potentiate the curative process are still poorly understood (Elvin-Lewis, 2003, 2004). 

Herbal medicine is the art of restoring or preserving the health of humans physically, mentally, socially, spiritually and otherwise through the use of plant remedies. The term is often used interchangeably with traditional medicine or traditional remedies because it has evolved through the ages from the traditional and cultural practices of the indigenous people. In the industrialised countries of the West where biomedicine is conventional, herbal medicine is usually referred to as complementary or alternative medicine. Some people in the industrialised nations will even term elements of herbal remedies as health supplements. 

Most indigenous cultures in developing countries rely on heibal remedies for their medical care. The World Health Organisation has estimated that 80% of people in Africa rely on herbal medicine for their primary health care (7). In... 

Swaziland is one of the African countries where the overall plant diversity is at the highest level in terms of the number of species present 13). The rich and diverse flora has been greatly exploited in herbal medicine for symptomatic treatment of various ailments. The Herbal Medical Practitioners possess vast indigenous knowledge on almost any type of plant in the flora. Their knowledge on medicinal plants and skill in preparing remedies for various types of diseases is quite commendable. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that four billion people— 80% of the world population—use herbal medicine for some aspect of primary healthcare. Herbal medicine is a major component in all indigenous peoples traditional medicine and is a common element in Ayurvedic, homeopathic, naturopathic, traditional oriental, and Native American Indian medicine. Opinions about the safety, efficacy, and appropriateness of medicinal herbs vary widely among medical and health professionals in countries where herbal remedies are used. Some countries professionals accept historical, empirical evidence as the only necessary criterion for herbal medicine s efficacy. Others would ban all herbal remedies as dangerous or of questionable value. 

The purple coneflower (Genus Echinacea), indigenous only to North America, was widely used for many medicinal purposes by the American Indians of the Great Plains and subsequently adopted by white settlers. An extract of . angustifolia (narrow-leaved purple coneflower) was made available to medical practitioners by Lloyd Brothers Pharmacists Inc., at the end of the nineteenth century, and became widely used in the USA by eclectic physicians for infectious and inflammatory diseases [5]. With the introduction by the FDA of stricter requirements for testing of drugs, the use of Echinacea declined in the 1930 s, but its use in self-medication has seen a renaissance in recent years. Since 1994, herbal remedies have been defined as dietary supplements in the USA which has allowed manufacturers to make general claims about their efficacy. 

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