The professional practice of herbal medicine in Australia has undergone massive change in recent decades. Studies indicate that there are at least 1.9 million herbal medicine and aturopathic consultations annually, in a country with a populace of around 20 million. A large proportion of naturopaths practice herbal medicine as a ...

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, two medicine circles existed in Indian country: one Native and one Euro-American. Traditional doctors among First Nations peoples approached disease in spiritual ways and also used herbal medicine to treat their patients. First Nations people tried to treat infectious diseases brought by ...

This paper reviews the recent advances and the key strategies in capillary electrophoresis (CE) with electrochemical detection (ECD) for separating and detecting a variety of bioactive constituents in traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). The subjects covered include the separation modes for the CE analysis of the constituents in TCMs, the CE-ECD ...

BACKGROUND: Pre-eclampsia is a common disorder of pregnancy with uncertain etiology. In Chinese herbal medicines, a number of herbs are used for treating pre-eclampsia. Traditional Chinese medicine considers that, when a woman is pregnant, most of the blood of the mother is directed to the placenta to provide the baby ...

As Americans use botanical medicines in ever-increasing numbers, they are moving beyond capsules and tinctures, and turning to assorted preparations that will complete their herbal medicine chest. According to The Arthritis Foundation, almost 45% of patients apply ointments or rubs for osteoarthritis. Topical preparations have a long history in traditional ...

The present ethnozoological study describes the traditional knowledge related to the use of different animals and animal-derived products as medicines by the inhabitants of villages surrounding the Ranthambhore National Park of India (Bawaria, Mogya, Meena), which is well known for its very rich biodiversity. The field survey was conducted from ...

The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of the Chinese herbal medicines Bupleuri radix, Ginseng radix and Zingiberis rhizoma on spontaneous lymphatic vessel activity. The effect of each herbal medicine on in vivo lymphatic flow was examined by injection of dye into the femoral regions of ...

Ethnobotanical information and traditional medicines were investigated and documented in Embu and Mbeere districts, Eastern Province of Kenya. Oral interviews were obtained from over 100 herbalists, both men and women aged between 40 and 80 years. All the herbalists interviewed were Christians and had little formal education. Non-Christian herbalists were ...

Modern medical practice relies heavily on the use of highly purified pharmaceutical compounds whose purity can be easily assessed and whose pharmaceutical activity and toxicity show clear structure-function relationships. In contrast, many herbal medicines contain mixtures of natural compounds that have not undergone detailed chemical analyses and whose mechanism of ...

BACKGROUND: Traditional herbal therapies have been used for a long time to treat gastrointestinal disorders including irritable bowel syndrome, and their effectiveness from clinical research evidence needs to be systematically reviewed. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness and safety of herbal medicines in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. SEARCH STRATEGY: We ...

Schisandra berry or Wu-Wei-Zi, meaning the "the fruit of five tastes" in Chinese, is a commonly used herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Based on the "Five-Element" theory in TCM, while the "five tastes" of Schisandra berry refer to its influence on the five visceral organs in the body, ancient ...

The Holy Land has absorbed millions of immigrants in recent centuries: Jews from East and West, Druze, Circassians, Muslim and Christian Arabs. The land is unique and diverse in geographical location and ethnic groups, and also in its cultural characteristics, including traditional medicine and use of materia medica. However, these ...

This article addresses primarily a connecting link in ministerial formation through the incorporation of certain practices of Christianity within an urban CPE curriculum and the impact on the development of pastoral identity and pastoral practice. Though the focus is identified as Christian the implications and practices are adaptable within all ...

By using lambda-lysogen as a model, the inhibitory effects of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) prescription I on the UV irradiation were investigated in this present study. It was found that the prescription I possessed obvious inhibitory effects on the UV induction of lambda-lysogen, the inhibitory ...

BACKGROUND: The district of Manang (2000 - 6000 m) is located in the Central Himalayas, Nepal. The majority of local inhabitants of the area are Gurungs, of Tibetan origin. The remoteness of the region has resulted in continued use of plants as medicine in an area where the ethnobotany has ...

Traditional plant use in Nepal has been documented for millennia. The importance of plants as medicine has not diminished in any way in recent times, and traditional medicines are still the most important health care source for the vast majority of the population. This paper examines the ethnobotany and traditional ...

BACKGROUND: There is growing concern that serious interactions are occurring between prescribed/over the counter and herbal medicines and that there is a lack of disclosure of herbal use by patients to doctors. This study explores women's perspectives about the safety of herbal remedies, herb-drug interactions and communication with doctors about ...

'XUESETONG' injection, one of the most widely used proprietary medicines in traditional Chinese medicine, consists of total saponins made from Panax notoginseng, which is a highly valued and important Chinese medicinal herb. It is used to treat cardiovascular diseases. In order to control the quality of XUESETONG injection, a rapid ...

INTRODUCTION: Serious cutaneous adverse reactions to traditional medicines are not well described or reported in the literature, despite growing use of these medicines. METHODS: This is a case series of four patients who were found to have various serious cutaneous adverse reactions to the traditional Chinese medicines that they had ...

The use of medicinal plants and animal-derived remedies for treating illness by Africans goes back many years. Traditionally, rural African communities have relied mainly on the invaluable spiritual and practical skills of traditional medicine practitioners (TMPs) for their healthcare. Today's society has differing views about sickness, but to the traditional ...

Valeriana procera Kunth (Mexican Valerian) is a commercially important species, sometimes used as a substitute for Valeriana officinalis L., an important sedative in herbal medicine. A detailed macroscopic and microscopic account was provided for V. procera Kunth and a comparison was made between the wild and cultivated samples of V. ...

This paper is the result of ethnobotanical survey on the Turkmens of Golestan and Khorasan Province (Iran) conducted from June 2002 to the end of 2003. Turkmens are traditionally an isolated ethnic group residing in northern parts of Iran. We studied the folk herbal medicine among Turkmens of Iran. Totally, ...

Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicine (TIM) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) remain the most ancient yet living traditions. There has been increased global interest in traditional medicine. Efforts to monitor and regulate herbal drugs and traditional medicine are underway. China has been successful in promoting its therapies with more research ...

Herbal medicine is widely practiced from ancient period throughout the world.These medicines are safe and environment friendly. According to WHO about 80% of the world’s population relies on traditional medicine for their primary health care. India, being one of the world’s 12 mega biodiversity countries, enjoys export of herbal raw ...

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), including herbal medicine, are popular in the general population worldwide. Parallel to the increasing interest in 'modern' CAM therapies and the historical importance of Arab medicine, there is also a similar trend in research activities dealing with the efficacy and safety of medicinal plants in ...

A cross-cultural comparison of traditional household remedies in primary health care and ritual healing practices in two economically and socio-demographically similar communities in Lucania (inland southern Italy) was considered: Ginestra/Zhurë, inhabited by ethnic Albanians, who migrated to the area during the 15th century, and Castelmezzano, inhabited by autochthonous South-Italians. In ...

An estimated 70% of South Africans regularly use traditional plant medicines. Incorporation of these medicines within the formal health care system, which is the stated intention of the Health Ministry, requires the establishment of standards for quality control. Except in the case of a handful of South African plant species, ...

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history of efficacy in treating chronic illness. TCM views fibromyalgia and related conditions as disorders in the movement of energy (Qi) and body fluids (including blood) in the body and gets excellent treatment results using acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage, diet, and exercise to ...

Trichodesma indicum is found as a weed throughout the greater part of India. The decoction of the root is used for diarrhea, dysentery, and fever in Indian traditional medicine. However, the traditional claims need to be validated by suitable experimental animal models. Therefore, this study was undertaken to evaluate its ...

PURPOSE: There is sparse population-based data on health factors related to medicinal herb use and use of medicinal herbs in children. For a sample of American adults, we estimated the prevalence and frequency of medicinal herb use, factors related to use, reasons for use, patient-physician discussion, and the proportion of ...

Extract: Misunderstanding usually stems from ignorance. This is the case for comments directed at each other by western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Modern biomedical scientists insist that herbal remedies need quality control, rigorous clinical trials, and illumination of active ingredients and their action mechanisms. In fact, almost all ...

The reasons why the standards of evaluating Western medicine are not suitable for testing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are explicit in the therapeutic objective and principles of TCM. TCM aims to correct maladjustments and restore the self-regulatory ability of the body, and not to antagonize specific pathogenetic targets. Maladjustments in ...

BACKGROUND: Virtually no research has been conducted on patient assessments of traditional medicines and allopathic medicines for cancer care in poorer countries marked by pluralistic medical environments. Pakistan represents an excellent case for such a study because of the coexistence of culturally and historically specific indigenous traditional medicine, the strong ...

Traditional Chinese herbal Medicine (TCHM) has been gaining interest and acceptance world wide. TCHM provides on the one side promising perspective of scientific interest and on the other side possible health risks if TCHM drugs are not controlled with respect to quality standards or if practitioners for TCHM are not ...

Traditional medicine and medicinal plants, in general, continue to be a powerful source of new drugs, now contributing about 90% of the newly discovered pharmaceuticals. Traditional medicine continues to provide health coverage for over 80% of the world population, especially in the developing world. The past and the present are ...

OBJECTIVES: Exploring the attitudes and knowledge of household members and health staff in Lao PDR regarding the use of traditional medicine. BACKGROUND: Along with modern medicine, traditional medicine utilisation is officially supported in Laos, being part of the cultural heritage and considered useful for this low-income country in relation to ...

OBJECTIVES: To survey the pattern of traditional Chinese medicine usage among chronic hepatitis B patients. DESIGN: Self-administered questionnaire survey. SETTING: Hepatitis clinic at a university hospital in Hong Kong. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of chronic hepatitis B patients who have ever used traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of chronic ...

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that as many as 80% of the world's more than six billion people rely primarily on animal and plant-based medicines. The healing of human ailments by using therapeutics based on medicines obtained from animals or ultimately derived from them is known as zootherapy. The ...

The traditional use of medicinal plants in southern Africa is widespread with over 80% of South African households using medicinal plants. A mushrooming of research into the study of medicinal plants in the developing world has occurred but most of Africa is lagging behind in research output despite long traditions ...

Due to the rich cultural heritage and relatively rich flora, a wealth of knowledge on traditional and folk medicine has been accumulated in the Middle-East. However, except Turkey, the number of ethnobotanical field studies is few and mainly focused on Unani medicine, which is practised widespread in the southern communities. ...

Ethnopharmacology and natural product drug discovery remains a significant hope in the current target-rich, lead-poor scenario. Many modern drugs have origin in traditional medicine and ethnopharmacology. Traditional Indian Medicine - Ayurveda has a long history and is one of the great living traditions. Considerable research on pharmacognosy, chemistry, pharmacology and ...

To establish a quality control method for the Chinese Patent Medicine (CPM)-Bo Ying Compound (BYC), a comparison study was carried out on it with microscopy. The micro-morphological characteristics of its 22 components in the CPM and in the crude constituents have been documented and compared with each other. Their corresponding ...

Herbal medicine has become a popular form of healthcare. Even though several differences exist between herbal and conventional pharmacological treatments, herbal medicine can be tested for efficacy using conventional trial methodology. Several specific herbal extracts have been demonstrated to be efficacious for specific conditions. Even though the public is often ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Increasing numbers of patients taking herbal medicine products are presenting for anaesthesia and surgery. Anaesthetists need to consider the perioperative implications of herbal medicines and should, therefore, have some knowledge of this subject. METHODS: A postal questionnaire survey was sent to a random 5% of practising members ...

Aquilaria agallocha can produce fragrant agarwood used for incense, traditional medicine and other products. An efficient plant regeneration system was established via organogenesis from shoots developed from seedlings of Aquilaria agallocha. Shoots generated many buds on MS medium supplemented with 1.3 micromol/L BA (6-benzylaminopurine) in the first 7 weeks, and ...

We have surveyed, by means of a questionnaire, the preoperative use of traditional Chinese medicines in 259 adult Chinese patients admitted to a Hong Kong teaching hospital. The spectrum and use of herbal remedies differed from that reported by Western sources. Of those patients surveyed 90% used Chinese herbs on ...

The MEDLINE database is an important resource for locating up-to-date information on herbs and other botanical therapies. However, the evolving nature of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and the complexity of herbal terminology can make it difficult to identify useful citations. This paper describes optimal search strategies for finding clinical ...

OBJECTIVES: To present Western herbal medicine from the perspective of a "food" model of herbs in contrast to the pharmaceutical "drug" model derived from mainstream medicine. Historical, political, and regulatory aspects of herbal medicine in the United States; core principles of herbal medicine in terms of the natural link between ...

Herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and -2) are important pathogens for humans, especially in the case of highly susceptible adults. Moreover, HSV-2 has been reported to be a high risk factor for HIV infection. Therefore, the discovery of novel anti-HSV drugs deserves great efforts. In this paper, we review anti-HSV substances ...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide public health issue with poor outcomes and high cost. There is growing evidence that some of the adverse outcomes of CKD can be prevented or delayed by early treatment using angiotensin II-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II-receptor blockers. A great amount of the ...