DEFINITION Also called herbalism a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts The type of environment (climate, bugs, soil quality) in which a plant grew will affect its components, as will how and when it was harvested and processed
Why do people use herbal medicines? Provide a sense of control a mental comfort from taking action e.g. cancer, AIDS Cultural religious beliefs Use differs by ethnic group, income, age educational level
Disclaimer Critical evaluation is extremely important here I am not making any endorsements nor should you use this information to treat yourself without the consultation of a doctor!
Medicinal plants 1. Approximately 25% of today's prescription drugs come from plant extracts 2. Only about 15% of the known plant species have been screened for medicinal purposes 3. Most medicinal plants come from the Tropics
Forest Loss is severe in the tropics g 口Asia■ Africa■ Latin america■ World The rapid destruction of our tropical rainforests threatens the development of potentially useful drugs
Medicinal Plants in the tropics Most medicinal plants have been identified by the indigenous people by trial and error 50% of the 250,000 plant species are from the Tr topICs At least 10,000 species in the Tropics have not yet been identified
Problems associated with use of Herbal medicines Lack of Qc& standardisation Adulteration with other plants, pharmaceutical drugs or heavy metals Inappropriate use/ misleading claims