Botanical Medicine

The use of plant substances have been used for centuries and includes components from flowers, leaves, root, stems, barks and seeds. The active medicinal compounds are extracted via water soluble means (alcohol solutions, water) or fat soluble means (glycerol, and other oils). These products can be supplied in the form of tinctures, teas, powders, ointments, creams, and supplements.

These active plant constituents were responsible for the creation of most of the modern pharmaceutical medications. For example, the discovery of salicin in the bark of the willow tree had anti-inflammatory properties and relieved pain. This compound is now the main ingredient in aspirin. The efficacy of botanical herbs can be equivalent or superior to commonly utilized medications, but unlike these conventional treatments, botanical herbs have less of a risk of antibiotic resistance, they offer treatment for chronic conditions when there are limited or no western options readily available, and most herbal remedies have less side effects. With that being said, all medicinal products should be supervised and controlled by a professional as there always is a risk of potential side effects or interactions with other medications.