Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-8zxtt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-13T23:41:30.915Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Herbal medicine: from the past to the future

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Varro E Tyler
Varro E Tyler
Affiliation:
Purdue University, P.O. Box 2566, W. Lafayette, IN 47996-2566, USA
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

A brief discussion of the history of the use of herbal medicines from prehistoric times to the mid-twentieth century precedes an explanation of why usage of such remedies in the United States declined in the 1940s but returned to popularity in the 1980s. The provisions of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 are presented together with its perceived influence, both positive and negative, on the health of the American people. Possible futures of herbal medicines are considered. The negative viewpoint that they will ultimately be rejected is refuted, and the more optimistic prediction that herbs are ultimately destined to become a part of mainstream medicine is defended. Stumbling blocks to such acceptance are evaluated and methods of overcoming them suggested. The urgent need for the development of a sensible regulatory environment encouraging the approval of botanicals as drugs is emphasized. After predicting a bright future for rational phytomedicines, the author opines that many of them will eventually play significant roles in medicinal practice.

Keywords

HerbsDietary supplementsRational phytotherapyRegulationsIntegrated medicine
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 3 , Supplement 4a , December 2000 , pp. 447 - 452
Copyright
Copyright © CABI Publishing 2000

References

1Solecki, M. Shanidar: The First Flower People. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1971: 245–50.Google Scholar
2Emboden, W. Narcotic Plants. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1979: 50.Google Scholar
3Booth, M. Opium. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998: 15.Google Scholar
4Capasso, L.5300 years ago the Ice Man used natural laxatives and antibiotics. Lancet 1998; 352: 1864.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Tyler, VE, Was Lydia, E.Pinkham's Vegetable Compound an effective remedy? Pharm. Hist. 1995; 37: 24–8.Google Scholar
6Tyler, VE. Three proprietaries and their claims as American ‘Indian’ remedies. Pharm. Hist. 1984; 26: 146–9.Google ScholarPubMed
7Robbers, JE, Speedie, MK, Tyler, VE. Pharmacognosy and Pharmacobiotechnology. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1996: 1–14.Google Scholar
8Robbers, JE, Tyler, VE. Tyler's Herbs of Choice. New York: The Haworth Herbal Press, 1999: 3, 128.Google Scholar
9Schulz, V, Hänsel, R, Tyler, VE. Rational Phytotherapy. Berlin: Springer Verlag, third edition, 1998: 306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10Brevoort, P.The booming U.S. botanical market: a new overview. HerbalGram 1998; 44: 33–46.Google Scholar
11Tyler, VE. When will there come a savior…? HerbalGram 1997; 41: 27–8, 56.Google Scholar
12Brimelow, P, Spencer, L.Just call me ‘doc’. Forbes 1993; 152, (12): 108, 110.Google Scholar
13Israelsen, LD. Botanicals: a current regulatory perspective in the United States. In: Lawson, LD, Bauer, R, eds. Phytomedicines of Europe. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society, 1998: 37–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14McCaleb, R, Blumenthal, M.Presidents' Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels Issues Final Report. HerbalGram 1997; 41: 24–6, 57, 64.Google Scholar
15Blumenthal, M.FDA proposes new rules on dietary supplement structure-function claims. HerbalGram 1998; 43: 26–8, 57.Google Scholar
16Tyler, VE. The quality of herbal products in the United States today. Healthnotes 1999; 6: 178–81.Google Scholar
17Brinker, F.Variations in effective botanical products. Herbal-Gram 1999; 46: 33–50.Google Scholar
18Skinner, WJ. Court stops HPF. Nat. Med. Law Newsl. 1999; 3(3): 1, 3.Google Scholar
19Tyler, VE. The herbal market in the United States today. Lloydiana 1999; 4(4): 2–4.Google Scholar
20Ondrizek, RR, Chan, PJ, Patton, WC, King, A.An alternative medicine study of herbal effects on the penetration of zonafree hamster oocytes and the integrity of sperm deoxyribonucleic acid. Fertil. Steril. 1999; 71: 517–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21Jaroff, L.What will happen to alternative medicine? Time 1999; 154(11): 77.Google ScholarPubMed
22Schulz, V, Hänsel, R. Rationale Phytotherapie. Berlin: Springer Verlag, fourth edition, 1999: 380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23Tyler, VE. An introduction to the medicinal use of botanicals. In: Eskinazi, D, ed. Botanical Medicine: Efficacy, Quality Assurance, and Regulation. Larchmont, NY: Mary Ann Liebert, 1999: 13–16.Google Scholar
24Tyler, VE. Recognizing the challenges. In: Fechter, S, Wohlmeth, H, Waterman, P, Perdriau, I, Leach, D, Body, J, Oliver, C, eds. Herbal Medicine into the New Millenium. Lismore, Australia: Southern Cross University, 1999: 36–47.Google Scholar
25 Anon. 1989–1991 Annual Survey Report: U.S. Pharmaceutical Industry. Washington, DC: Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, 1991: 35.Google Scholar
26Rose, J, Nilsson, A.Drug research endures the pain of globalization. Science 1999; 286: 2063.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27Foster, S, Tyler, VE. Tyler's Honest Herbal. New York: Haworth Herbal Press, fourth edition, 1999: 377–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28Tyler, VE. Phytomedicines: back to the future. J. Nat. Prod. 1999; 62: 1589–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
29Awang, DVC. Siberian ginseng toxicity may be case of mistaken identity. Can. Med. Assoc. J. 1996; 155: 1237.Google ScholarPubMed
30Blumenthal, M sr ed. The Complete German Commission E Monographs. Austin, TX: American Botanical Council/Boston, MA: Integrative Medicine Communications, 1998: 684.Google Scholar