Phytotherapy

Phytotherapy, also called herbal medicine or herbalism, is is the use of plants or herbs to treat diseases, to alleviate pain, or maintain good health. In the U.K., it is defined as an alternative method of "Group 1", or Professionally Organised Alternative Therapies.

Phytochemicals versus plant extracts

Traditional herbalists tend to emphasize the use of either the entire plant, or a simple extract from it, such as a water or ethanol extract, which explicitly do not attempt to extract specific chemicals. Part of the holistic tradition in many herbal approaches is that Nature provides a complete remedy, and the many compounds in a medicinal plant contribute to its beneficial effects.

Holistic versus evolutionary models

Evolutionary botanists, however, have questioned why a plant would evolve to have a wide range of substances that specifically benefit humans in an abnormal physiological state. It is not at all unreasonable that a plant might have an evolutionary advantage if it starts to generate a chemical that inhibits some parasite, and this chemical might well inhibit a related parasite in animals.

It is less clear why the plant might develop a spectrum of phytochemicals with a synergistic effect, but it is certainly not impossible; there are a number of cases, in medicine, where a prescribed drug is a deliberate combination. For example, several drugs contain an active beta-lactam antibiotic (e.g., ampicillin) with another chemical (e.g., clavulanic acid) that protects the antibiotic from a bacterial resistance mechanisms that destroys the antibiotic.

The problem of consistency

Few phytotherapies have a longer history, with real benefit, than the use of the foxglove plant, Digitalis purpurea for cardiac disease. The plant, which is extremely attractive and is often cultivated as an ornamental, contains potent digitalis glycosides that support the activity of the heart. These phytochemicals, however, have a narrow margin between the effective dose and the toxic dose. Foxglove plants, grown in different places and times, may have different concentrations of the glycosides, so water extraction (i.e., a tea or tisane), done in exactly the same manner, may produce more or less active phytochemical because the individual plants vary.

For a number of reasons, it has become standard practice to synthesize many plant-derived drugs. One of the most common reasons is to be able to measure the concentration of a single active chemical, and make certain tablets containing it have a constant concentration.

Availability of plants

Another reason to synthesize a phytochemical is that the plant that contains it is rare. There are real-world cases where meeting the medical demand for a phytochemical could lead to extinction of the plant that produces it. The Pacific yew tree, Taxus brevifolia, was found to produce a chemical, Taxol (brand name) for paclitaxel, useful against breast cancer. Further investigation showed that it produces a phytochemical precursor for another anticancer drug, Taxotere brand of docetaxel.

The tree itself is an endangered species, and it is home to another endangered species, the spotted owl. Ethical conflicts between human, tree, and owl needs have become a popular assignment for learning debate techniques.

Integrating herbalism with conventional medicine

Since plants do contain chemicals with significant pharmacologic effect, there is a concern with their interacting with conventionally prescribed drugs. Not infrequently, patients may not tell a conventional practitioner about their use of herbals, possibly fearing disapproval. Even if the conventional practitioner does not disapprove, there may be a lack of data about potential interactions; this does not preclude the joint use of herbal and synthetic preparations, but it does call for caution and active monitoring.

In a 2002 report, Safety of Medicines: A guide to detecting and reporting adverse drug reactions; Why health professionals need to take action', the World Health Organization observed "There are differences among countries (and even regions within countries) in the occurrence of" [adverse events], including:

the use of traditional and complementary drugs (e.g. herbal

remedies) which may pose specific toxicological problems,

when used alone or in combination with other drugs.

Culturally specific phytotherapy

Herbal plant preparations are part of traditional Chinese medicine. There are many European traditional uses.