Herbal Medicines

As per available reports about 70 journals, 32 Conferences, 10 workshops are presently dedicated exclusively to herbal Medicines  and about 266282 articles are being published on the current trends in herbal medicines. In terms of research annually, USA, India, Japan, Brazil and Canada are some of the leading countries where maximum studies related to industry management are being carried out. As reported in Herbal Medicine: Is it Really Safe?, 3rd edition, Herbal medicine is now considered a very popular form of remedy even though its therapeutic efficacy needs to be investigated. People from different cultures even in advanced nations like to use natural products rather than drugs and other pharmaceuticals. Nevertheless the public is often misled to believe that all natural treatments are inherently safe, herbal medicines do carry risks, so research in this area must be intensified. Most of natural products have a narrow therapeutic index which simply means that their health benefits less than toxicity exerted by other unknown ingredients. The major question that needs to be answered is how our bodies deal with all these ingredients in term of absorption, metabolism and chemical modifications which is unsolved problem in most herbal therapy judged from their adverse side effects and potential toxicity. Most of the synthetic prescription drugs made today is based on naturally occurring substances and capabilities found in plants. There is a common misconception among consumers that because herbal remedies are “natural”, then they must automatically be safe to take. On contrast, many of natural products from plant species are poisonous and toxic to many organs. For instance, the Rhubarb plant is a nutritious vegetable, but the leaves from the Rhubarb plant, if eaten could cause someone to go into convulsions or possibly even die.

Alternative & Integrative Medicine is an academic journal – hosted by OMICS International – a pioneer in open access publishing–and is listed among the top 10 journals in herbal medicines. Each year research scientists have noticed a rise in the number of congresses being held in this field. Alternative & Integrative Medicine provides a unique platform to researchers and scientist to explore the advanced and latest research developments in the field of herbal medicines, thus bridging the gap between researchers and young scientists.

OMICS International – a pioneer in organizing international conferences which organizes scientific conferences on Clinical Sciences, Engineering & Applied Sciences, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, Omics & Management and Pharmaceutical/Chemistry and it is a perfect platform for global networking. 2nd International Conference and Exhibition on Traditional & Alternative Medicine (Traditional Medicine-2014) during August 25-26, 2014 Beijing, China. Traditional Medicine-2014 mainly aims to create a unique platform to bring experts and researchers in s Ayurvedic medicine, homeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractic, aromatherapy and anthroposophic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, traditional-medicine around the world, where they discuss the current research, achievements and advancements in the field.

Herbal Medicines are also called as phytomedicines or Botanical Medicines. Herbs have been used to transform, diagnose, and treat spiritual, emotional and physical ills in every tradition from the shamanic cultures. These Herbal Medicines can be divided as both in science and in arts. The word phytomedicines is used to describe the therapeutic application of the herbal medicine. Herbs are of many types, some of them are as follows adaptogenic herbs, alternative herbs, anodyne herbs, anti-inflammatory herbs, anti-microbial herbs, anti-spasmodic herbs, anti-bacterial herbs , anti-cancer herbs, Bitter drugs, carminative herbs, circulatory herbs, demulcent herbs, diaphoretic herbs, diffusive herbs, diuretic herbs, etc.

Some of the herbal medicines are  Aloe Vera,  Opium Poppy, Garlic, Ginger, Astragalus, Asafoetida, Ginkgo, Henna, Thyme, Barberry, Lemon, Marigold, Papaya, Neem, Belladonna, Bitter orange, Clove, Coffee senna, Digitalis, Eucalyptus, Turmeric, Ephedra, Rosemary, Tulsi, etc are some of the herbs use in medicine. Mostly herbal medicines use whole plant or any part of the plant and they are given in the form of capsules, tinctures, powders, gels, tablets, etc. the mechanism of action of a herb depends on , the type of environment (climate, bugs, soil quality) in which a plant grew will affect it, as will how and when it was harvested and processed. Whole herbs contain many ingredients, and they may work together to produce a beneficial effect.