Alternative medicines such as herbal/natural cures historically predates conventional medicinal products (medicines backed with scientific data).  In Germany, 70% of physicians prescribes herbal medicine to patients, and in the USA, one third of the USA population use herbal medicine (University of Maryland medical center, 2012).  One of the major reasons why “alternative medicine” is back on the rise is due to the plethoric cost of modern day medicine.  It will be very interesting to look at today’s modern drugs and separate plant-derived drugs from chemically synthetic-derived drugs. Surprisingly, most of the drugs produced are derived from plant or natural sources (about.com, 2012).

In this note, the important information that scientists considers when extracting molecules from plants for use as an active molecule in a drug is its potency state as a single molecule. The missing link is that when a molecule is in plant, the molecule may be diluted and/or chelated with other molecules, which may effects its efficacy and toxicity. Thus, the safety and efficacy of herbal medicine is based, not just on a single active molecule, but how an active molecule interacts with other molecules to maintain its potency.

Most pharmaceutical, nutritional, and beverage companies are investing billions of dollars in an effort to find the next blockbuster herbs that can be used to treat diseases.   For instance, Hutchison Medipharma Ltd developed a new drug from Andrographis paniculata to treat inflammatory bowl, ulceration and crohn’s disease (Chao, L. 2011).  It is important to realize that plants has evolved over the years with some important toxic and yet helpful chemicals for their survival and defense, and perhaps can cure some diseases and infections.   The challenge facing scientists is whether ethnobotany is the study of dark ages and should be forgotten, or a misunderstood concept that should be revisited to derive cures for most dangerous diseases, and re-discover that which is already in existence

References:

About.com. (2012). Drugs from Plants. Retrieved from http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa061403a.htm.

Chao, L. (2011). New Drug Made From Herb, Naturally.wsj.com.Retrieved from   http://online.wsj.com/ article/SB1000142405311190488830            4576477660151748104.html.

University of Maryland Medical Center. (2012). Herbal medicine. Retrieved from http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/herbal-medicine-000351.htm.