What are medicinal herbs?
Medicinal herbs have been and still are used as a remedy for any kind of condition or illness or as a preventive measure. As the name suggests, these are herbs – parts of plants like fruits, seeds, stem, bark, stigma, root, leaf, and others with the only exception being wood-part, that can be used for medicinal purposes.
The role of medicinal herbs can not be denied. In more developed countries it might be considered sort of a trend or as an alternative in case of allergies to synthetic drugs, but in some places, traditional medicine could be the only thing people can afford as the World Health Organisation estimates that 75% of the population is relying on medicinal herbs.
The trust of medicinal plants and herbs traces back to ancient times – the prehistoric period. Historians have dated the use of medicinal herbs by the Mediterranean, Indian, Chinese, and other cultures 4000 years back in the past. In the use of rituals to achieve new spiritual hights or as a treatment for illness, these plants have been with us throughout history. Even further, has been summarized in systems like Ayurveda, Unani, and very popular Chinese Medicine.
Medicinal herbs in modern-day situation
The current trend of the role of medicinal herbs in medicinal chemistry and pharmacy is their use as a pool of many biologically active compounds. Chemists are isolating and identifying compounds responsible for their biological activity and even taking it a step further by creating chemical derivatives to enhance and tailor the biological properties for their specific needs.
Medicine
This way of extracting useful compounds for direct use or just as a structural elucidation has been used quite extensively. A prime example would be salicylic acid that can be found in the bark of willow. By simple modification one of the most used drugs in the world – aspirin was developed. Taxol – anticancer agent has also been found in nature and in the current situation is extracted from it nowadays as well.
Supplements
Another direction that medicinal herbs have taken is their use in supplements. Extracts and isolates have been included in various commercially available products. For example, birch bark extract has gained a lot of popularity due to its ability to heal and improve the condition of the skin, enhance your body’s metabolism – healthy weight regulation, and more.
Cosmetics
Cosmetics is another industry where medicinal herbs have gathered their attention. Most probably we all have seen these creams and oils with labels stating that they contain some kind of extracts like aloe vera or green tea. All of this dates back to simple compounds like resveratrol, daidzein, caffeic acid, and more. All of these compounds contribute to their ability to promote healing, enhance growth and nutrition, improve anti-oxidative conditions, and much more.
Various herbs and their role and value
To expand your knowledge more, here we have listed herbs and their potential use:
- Turmeric and hops can be used for their anti-bacterial properties
- Black pepper, chirata, safflower can be used as an antipyretic remedy
- To improve your appetite, coriander and cardamon can be used
- Ginger, Iceland moss, and lemon are typical sore throat remedies.
- Birchbark, black pepper, cinnamon, aloe, burdock can promote wound healing
- and much more
Conclusion
Medicinal herbs have been with us for centuries and still will be. The enormous pool of compounds, hence the properties that they exhibit is still not completely discovered. Therefore, we encourage you to trust the old known remedies in their new forms – extracts in cosmetics and supplements and new-discovered natural compound drugs end their derivatives. For more visit our products store to discover high-quality natural chemicals.
