Introduction:
Along ago, Plants were used as a source of vegetables and fruits only ,but with time it’s leaves, flowers, seed, stems ,bark roots, rhizomes were found to have extracts that can be used for treatments as medicines known as “herbal medicine” or “herbalism”.
It was found that herbal medicines were majorly used by patients suffering from chronic diseases like:
Cancer
Diabetes
Asthma
Chronic renal disease
Advantages over conventional ones:
They are cheaper.
Less side effects
Ex: St. John’s wort herb which is used for its anti-depressant effect has less side effects than most prescriptive anti-depressants.
One herb can treat more than one condition.
Disadvantage:
Allergy reaction
Medication interactions
Poison
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Echinacea is of family (Asteraceae).
Active constituents and actions:
The parts of Echinacea plant which are above ground, have less oils and pyrrolizidene alkaloids, as “tussilagine and isotussilagine” than the root parts. The main costituents of the upper plant are thought to be “caffeic and ferulic acid derivatives” (such as cichoric acid and echinacoside) and complex polysaccharides, such as “acidic arabinogalactan, rhamnoarabinogalactans, and 4-O methyl-glucuronyl-arabinoxylans”. The roots of Echinacea are helpful in treatment of snake poisoning, blood poisoning, syphilis, rabbis and skin disease.
- There are polysaccharides and fractions of polyacetylenes which activate the phagocytosis of macrophages and produce TNF alpha factor and cytokines like interleukine-6, interleukine-1, and interleukine-10. These actions are immune system stimulatory [1].
- Polysaccharides of Echinacea purpurea also have a bactericidal effect, so used in the treatment of respiratory tract and lower urinary tract infections.
- There are also, alkylamides which have effects on the immune
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Generally, Echinacea is a safe herbal medicine, as it has mostly no severe side effects. There is no report of overdosing. A report of interactions with other medication is with
“Immunosuppressant medications and Warfarin”. It is also safe to be taken during pregnancies (with consultation of a physician) and safe for long term use.
Echinaforce® has a prophylactic effect in athletes: 71% of athletes had no cold episodes when it. Conclusion:
In short these herbal plants are used due to their marked importance in treating various kinds of cases naturally from the active constituents extracted from them. but some storage techniques must be taken into consideration because they are affected by some factors that might deteriorate them and make them uneffective and toxic. .from these medicinal herbs Echinacea plant which happened to be classified as a medicinal herb due to it’s several medicinal importance that has proved its effectiveness in the following cases such as urinary tract and respiratory infections , common cold , coughs ,bronchitis . as well as it has anti-oxidants ,anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-immunosuppressant activities. and those activites can be attributed mostly to polysaccharides , alkylamides , caffeic acid as chicoric acid active
Echinacea is common herb that is often used to make herbal medicines. The leaves, flower and root are all typically used. It can be taken in pill form, as a liquid, or brewed as a tea. There are also many cough drops that contain echinacea. Echinacea is commonly used to fight infections, such as the common cold and other upper respiratory infections. Some individuals will take it at the first sign of the cold, while others will take it when symptoms have already started, in hopes that it will reduce the duration of the cold.
Depression and anxiety treatments are gaining new, albeit actually traditional, grounds. Herbal medicines used for the treatment of depression are becoming widely used. For example, St. John's wort is gaining renewed and increased attention in its practical use to treat depression. Another herb, the hypericum is even now beginning to overtake other pharmacological medications in the use for depression treatment.
Throughout history people have used Echinacea to treat scarlet fever, syphilis, malaria, blood poisoning, and diphtheria. Although this herb was popular during the 18th and 19th centuries, its use began to decline in the United States after the introduction of antibiotics. Echinacea is widely used to fight infections, especially the common cold and other upper respiratory infections. Sometimes people apply Echinacea to their skin to treat boils, abscesses, skin wounds, ulcers, burns, eczema, psoriasis, UV radiation skin damage, herpes simplex, bee stings, and hemorrhoids. Many scientific studies show that taking some Echinacea products when cold symptoms are first noticed can modestly reduce symptoms of the common cold in adults. Echinacea is also used against many other infections including the flu, urinary tract infections, vaginal yeast infections, genital herpes, bloodstream infections (septicemia), and gum disease. Although Echinacea is usually used internally for the treatment of viruses and bacteria, it is now being used more and more for the treatment of external wounds. It also kills yeast and slows or stops the growth of bacteria and helps to stimulate the growth of new tissue. It combats inflammation too, further supporting its use in the treatment of
The use of natural products as medicine has initiated the isolation of active compounds. The first commercial pure natural product introduced for therapeutic use is generally considered to be
During the last decade, St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) has gained popularity as an alternative treatment for depression and a natural remedy for reducing inflammation due to its especial chemical composition(1, 2). H. perforatum is a perennial herb of the Hypericaceae family native to parts of Europe and Asia (middle-east and other parts) and also has spread worldwide, including temperate regions of India, China, Africa, and some parts of the United States and is distinguished by its golden yellow calycles(1) . In addition, when flower buds are crushed, a reddish liquid would be exposed. This reddish liquid contains numerous compounds with biological activity such as phloroglucinols hyperforin, adhyperforin, the naphthodianthrones hypericin and pseudohypericin, the flavonoids hyperoside, quercetin, rutin, quercitrin and isoquercitrin, and the dimeric flavonoids amentoflavone(3). Oily Hypericum preparations have been used for centuries as a medicinal plant to treat burns, wounds, alcoholism, dermatitis, neuralgia and myalgia beside its antidepressant, antiviral, and antibacterial effects(4-7). Nowadays,
Making an echinacea tincture at home is not difficult at all. This tincture is perfect when you want one of the best ways to get rid of a cold. All you need to get started is some echinacea. You cam grow your own or buy some at any store that sells dietary supplements or health products.
Echinacea is a favorite plant used by people all over the world. It helps improve your body’s immune system naturally, and it works wonders on the common cold.
“Traditional pharmacologic therapies although widely used must be assessed for a favorable risk-benefit ratio. One such plant that has
During a person’s older years, there are different offsprings of multiple health problems that need to be treated with multiple medications. With aging, risks of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and hypertension, can increase with the body. These disease may require multiple medication use and drug therapies. If someone cannot afford these treatments, they turn to affordable and over the counter medicine for help. The elderly may also use multi-vitamins and supplements. Dramatic increases in the use of herbals/supplements has prompted similar concerns about those products, both alone and in combination with FDA-regulated pharmaceuticals (Kaufman, Kelly, Rosenberg,Anderson, & Mitchell, 2002). Herbal remedies and natural
It is the oldest and still extensively used in many parts of the world today. Herbal medicines played an important role in maintaining the human health for thousands of years, and have gained growing popularity and extensive usage in the world over the last decades5. Using plants as medicine provides remarkable advantages for treating many conditions5. Different parts of the plant provides certain therapeutic effects therefore, it can be used to treat many different diseases. They are usually sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, or even as dried plants6. Pharmaceutical drugs contain specific active constituents, while herbal medicines contain relatively unprocessed mixtures of phytochemical constituents and their holistic efficacy is usually produced by the unresolved integrative effects between the constituents
Death, physical debilitation, heart conditions, stroke, cancer, dizziness, and nausea. These are some of the many side effects of prescription medication, and you might be wondering why I chose to list them. I chose to list them because these are side effects that can be prevented, but are not. From a young age I would get extremely aggravated when a commercial would advertise medicine because at the end, the commercial would list the countless side effects of the medication. I could never understand why people would sell medication with more side effects than positive health benefits. Personally, I go to natural remedies, also known as Herbalism, when I do not feel well. Herbalism is the practice of medicinal use of plants; it is a form of alternative medicine. The study of Herbalism is a major factor that motivates me to continue pursuing a career in medicine, along with my goal to treat patients safely and effectively.
This literature review aims to provide an overview of the efficacy of plant medicines that were developed and used for inactivation of the cyst content intraoperative. This paper presents the first critical review of literature on the use of plant medicines in surgery of the hydatidosis. The review begins with an introduction about the importance of plants and their products on hydatid cyst surgery and then an outline of the search strategy. Next in results and discussion, we provide an overview of the plants characteristics and a summary of their impact against Echinococcus granulosus
Echinacea is a perennial herb of the family Asteraceae native to North America, which reaches a height of 10-60 cm. Contains: carbohydrates, glycosides, alkaloids, alkylamide, polyacetylene and others. The healing species: Echinacea angustifolia, E. palida and E. purpurea are the types of Echinacea that are commonly used in medicine. (McGregor, R. (1968) Bauer R, (1990). The term "Echinacea ˝ comes from the Greek word echinos, meaning hedgehog, because of its tapered thorny seed in the head. It is used in the prevention and treatment of infections of the upper respiratory tract, and in the prevention and treatment of viral, bacterial and fungal infections. The primary purpose of the soil to produce food and raw materials. Agricultural production may significantly
Herbal medicine has been used for many, many years and is a great natural alternative to modern medicine.
Herbal medicines are great alternative for commercially manufactured medicines available in the market. The major reason why herbal medicine differ from modern medicine is because they are produced with 100% natural content. Therefore the plant extract has all the medicinal values that are as effective as modern medicine. Commercially prepared drugs show results quickly but have numerous side effects. However herbal medicines don’t show any side