In Quest of Active Ingredients Herbs

Many people seem to agree that artificial synthetic medicines can be replaced by natural ones, which are more compatible with the human body. Heibs have a distinguished place among the natural healing methods every illness seems to have a long-known remedy, which is less toxic and has fewer side effects. Was there ever a better example of wishful thinking  

There are a large nnmber of highly toxic natural compounds 1.3). Synthetic and natural active ingredients have already been compared in a separate stoty in this book (— 3.7). This chapter examines if plant-derived compounds have weaker effects than synthetically prepared analogues. 

There is no effect without side effects—this is a basic law in pharmacology. If plants contain effective compounds, they have side effects as well. Entire books have been written about the side effects of heibs—obviously without much of an effect on public opinions. 

Some alkaloids completely disappeared from medicine hsts. Strychnine is not used any more as a stimulant since a few dozen milhgrams of this substance is already lethal. Risk-cost-benefit analyses are very important in modem medicinal science, bnt this has not always been the case. In the case of strychnine, the risks are viewed today to be unacceptable compared to the expected benefits. 

Sometimes the effects of a synthetic compound may be marginally stronger than those of the natural alternative. D-Tubocmarine serves as an excellent example. South American indigenous people use a type of this substance as a special poison in arrows they relax breathing muscles fast, so the animal is unable to move and 

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