Plants standardized remedies

St John s wort is a yellow flowering plant that was first used medicinally by the ancient Greeks as a diuretic and a treatment for wounds and menstrual disorders. This herbal remedy is widely prescribed in Germany, where it has been studied extensively in clinical trials as a treatment for depression. In most countries, including the UK, it is available over the counter. In Ireland it is available only by prescription. Recently, a team of German scientists led by Klaus Linde at the University of Munich published a comprehensive review of 29 clinical trials of St John s wort, involving more than 5,000 depressed patients. They concluded that it is more effective than placebos and as effective as standard antidepressants in the treatment of major depression. 

National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Site Remediation National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Miscellaneous Coating Manufacturing National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Mercury Emissions from Mercury Cell Chlor-Alkali Plants... 

Because of their increasing use worldwide, plant materials used in over-the-counter preparations, home remedies, or as raw materials for pharmaceutical preparations are receiving more and more attention. In 1998, WHO published a book. Quality Control Methods for Medicinal Plant Materials to fulfill the needs of quality control laboratories and to provide a basis for the development of national standards. ... 

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). 

A favorable review of Essiac and its anticancer components has been provided by Morton Walker in the December 1997 issue of the Townsend Letter for Doctors Patients. It should also be added that herbal remedies are not standardized as to activity or to ensure the identity of the plant species used, which makes objectivity elusive, if not impossible. Even if the correct herbs or plants are used, the concentration of the active ingredient or ingredients may vary widely with the plant parts used, the locale, the season, and even the time of day.)... 

URS/Radian proposed the use of phytoremediation to treat groundwater eontaminated with dissolved phase CHC at a ehemieal plant. The State of Louisiana regulatory ageney reeom-mended standard pump treat teehnology. However, Radian was able to eonvinee the State to use a new more eost effeetive remedy. Hybrid Poplar trees were planted to aehieve hydraulie eontainment and phytoextraetion of the entire dissolved plume. The shallow groundwater and long growing seasons were ideal for this remedial approaeh. Radian was eventually able to elose the site and obtain a no further aetion letter from the State of Louisiana. 

---