Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2014
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/525340
Abstract
In recent years, increasing numbers of people have been choosing herbal medicines or products to improve their health conditions, either alone or in combination with others. Herbs are staging a comeback and herbal “renaissance” occurs all over the world. According to the World Health Organization, 75% of the world’s populations are using herbs for basic healthcare needs. Since the dawn of mankind, in fact, the use of herbs/plants has offered an effective medicine for the treatment of illnesses. Moreover, many conventional/pharmaceutical drugs are derived directly from both nature and traditional remedies distributed around the world. Up to now, the practice of herbal medicine entails the use of more than 53,000 species, and a number of these are facing the threat of extinction due to overexploitation. This paper aims to provide a review of the history and status quo of Chinese, Indian, and Arabic herbal medicines in terms of their significant contribution to the health promotion in present-day over-populated and aging societies. Attention will be focused on the depletion of plant resources on earth in meeting the increasing demand for herbs.
Rights Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, v. 2014, art. 525340
Scholar Commons Citation
Pan, Si-Yuan; Litscher, Gerhard; Gao, Si-Hua; Zhou, Shu-Feng; Yu, Zhi-Ling; Chen, Hou-Qi; Zhang, Shuo-Feng; Tang, Min-Ke; Sun, Jian-Ning; and Ko, Kam-Ming, "Historical Perspective of Traditional Indigenous Medical Practices: The Current Renaissance and Conservation of Herbal Resources" (2014). Pharmacy Faculty Publications. 72.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/pharm_facpub/72
