Herbs as medicines

Herbal medicine has a written history in Chinese medicine dating back over 2000 years. Dandelion, Comfrey, Digitalis (Foxglove), Poppy, Milk Thistle, Stinging Nettle have well-researched medicinal properties. Many of them, in fact, serve as the foundation for pharmaceutical drugs. Using anecdotal evidence, which has a history dating back thousands of years, appears to have escaped my esteemed colleagues entirely. Aspirin tablets contain salicylic acid, which was first isolated from the bark of the White Willow tree.

Comfrey, Dandelion and other herbs typically contain hundreds, if not thousands, of chemical compounds that interact. The extract from the bark of the White Willow tree does not generally cause stomach irritation. This is because it contains ingredients that protect the stomach lining and thus prevent ulceration. Herbal extracts can be just as effective but are rarely promoted and used by health professionals. Herbalists rarely prescribe herbal extracts as singles (a preparation which utilises only one herb) Herbalists typically combine a variety of medicinal plants to create a blend that addresses more than just the major symptoms. The presence of active ingredients in the primary or principle herb does not imply that other herbs are unnecessary in the preparation.

Herbs and medicinal plants have long been used to treat disease. Herbal medicine has a written history in traditional Chinese medicine dating back over 2000 years, and herbalists in the West have used "weeds" for just as long to treat what ails us. We've all heard about the benefits of garlic, chamomile, peppermint, lavender, and other common herbs.

The pharmaceutical industry, which is always looking for 'new drugs' and more effective substances to treat diseases for which there may be no or very few drugs available, is driving renewed interest in medicinal herbs.

Given the long history of herbal medicine use and the large body of evidence supporting its efficacy, why are we not generally encouraged to use traditional herbal medicine instead of synthetic, incomplete copies of herbs known as drugs, despite the millions of dollars spent searching for these seemingly elusive substances?

When it comes to ancient cultures and herbalists, herbs are considered treasures, and many so-called weeds are worth their weight in gold. Dandelion, Comfrey, Digitalis (Foxglove), Poppy, Milk Thistle, Stinging Nettle, and many other plants have well-researched and established medicinal properties that have few, if any, competitors in the pharmaceutical industry. Many of them, in fact, serve as the foundation for pharmaceutical drugs.

Scientists at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, west London, are investigating the medicinal properties of common herbs such as dandelion, believing it could be the source of a life-saving drug for cancer patients.

Early tests indicate that it may hold the key to preventing cancer, which kills tens of thousands of people each year.

Their research on the cancer-fighting properties of the dandelion, which has also been used to treat warts in the past, is part of a larger project to investigate the natural medicinal properties of hundreds of British plants and flowers.

"We aren't randomly screening plants for their potential medicinal properties," said Professor Monique Simmonds, head of Kew's Sustainable Uses of Plants Group. "We are looking at plants that we know have a long history of being used to treat certain medical problems."

"We'll look into them to see what active compounds they have that can treat the illness."

Unfortunately, as is often the case, this group of scientists appears to be looking for active ingredients that can then be synthesized and turned into pharmaceutical drugs. Herbs are not traditionally used in this manner, and their functions inevitably change when the active ingredients are used in isolation. That's like saying the engine is the most important part of a car and nothing else is necessary...

So, why is it necessary to isolate the 'active ingredients'?

As a scientist, I understand the scientific process of establishing the fact that a specific herb works on a specific disease, pathogen, or whatever, and the need to know why and how it does so. But, and this is a big but, as a doctor of Chinese medicine, I also understand the process of selecting and prescribing COMBINATIONS of herbs that have a synergistic effect to treat not just the disease, but any underlying condition as well as the person with the disease - that is a big difference that is not easily tested using standard scientific methodologies.

Using anecdotal evidence, which has a history dating back thousands of years, appears to have escaped my esteemed colleagues entirely. Rather than attempting to isolate the active ingredient(s), why not test these herbs on patients in vivo, using the vast array of technology available to researchers and medical diagnosticians, to see how and why these herbs work in living, breathing patients, rather than in a test tube or on laboratory rats and mice (which, by the way, are not humans and have a different, albeit somewhat similar, physiology to us...).

I suspect that one of the reasons for not following the above procedure is that pharmaceutical companies are more interested in whether they can isolate a therapeutic substance that can then be manufactured cheaply and marketed as a new drug - and of course, that's where the money is...

The problem with this approach is that medicinal plants such as Comfrey, Dandelion, and other herbs typically contain hundreds, if not thousands, of chemical compounds that interact, many of which are unknown and cannot be manufactured. This is why manufactured drugs based on so-called active ingredients frequently fail to work or cause side effects.

Aspirin is a classic example. Aspirin tablets contain salicylic acid, which was first isolated from the bark of the White Willow tree. Although Aspirin is a relatively simple compound to synthesize, it is well known for its ability to cause stomach irritation and, in some cases, ulceration of the stomach wall.

Due to other, so-called 'non-active ingredients' contained in the bark, which function to protect the stomach lining and thus prevent ulceration of the stomach wall, the herbal extract from the bark of the White Willow tree does not generally cause stomach irritation.

Consider whether you would prefer side effects or no side effects. It's a straightforward answer. Isn't that right?

So, why are herbal medicines not more widely used, and why are pharmaceutical imposters stuffed down our throats? The answer is that pharmaceutical companies make little or no money from herbs. They, the herbs, have already been invented; they grow quickly, multiply easily, and are generally abundant.

Furthermore, correctly prescribed and formulated herbal compounds generally resolve the patient's health problem over time, leaving no need to continue taking the preparation - which means no repeat sales... There are no ongoing prescriptions... no ongoing issues.

Pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, primarily aim to relieve symptoms - which means ongoing consultations, sales, and health problems - which do you believe is a more profitable proposition...?

Don't get me wrong: this is not to say that all drugs are forgeries or that none of the pharmaceutical drugs cure diseases or maladies; they do, and some are life-saving preparations that are undeniably valuable. Herbal extracts, on the other hand, can be just as effective but are rarely promoted and used.

The daily news is full of 'discoveries' of herbs discovered to be a possible cure for this or that, such as Dandelion and its anti-cancer properties. The point is that these herbs must be thoroughly researched. They are not just 'an active ingredient'. They typically contain hundreds of ingredients, and taking just one or two is not what makes medicinal plants work. Furthermore, herbalists rarely prescribe herbal extracts as singles (a preparation which utilises only one herb). Herbalists typically combine a variety of medicinal plants to create a blend that addresses more than just the major symptoms.

In Chinese medicine, for example, there is a strict order of hierarchy in any herbal prescription, which necessitates a significant depth of knowledge and experience on the part of the physician. The presence of active ingredients in the primary or principle herb, which has a specific physiological effect, does not imply that the other herbs are unnecessary in the preparation. This is a fact that appears to be overlooked by the pharmaceutical industry in its quest to develop new drugs that can control disease.

Knowing that medicinal plants are so effective, that these plants may hold the key to many diseases, that they are inexpensive, and that they have proven their worth time and time again over millennia, why is herbal medicine still not at the forefront of medical treatments, and is regarded as hocus-pocus by many orthodox medical professionals and pharmaceutical companies?