Herbal/Botanical Medicine

Herbal and botanical medicine involves using herbs for disease prevention, adjunctive therapies, and primary intervention treatments for specific conditions. Herb plants produce a variety of chemical substances that act upon the body, making herbal treatments highly effective. The prescription of specific herbal treatments is individualized, considering not only a person’s illness or condition but also their lifestyle factors.

Throughout history, herbs and other plants have been used as medicines in most cultures and civilizations, either as single entities or as complex mixtures of several herbs or herbs combined with other substances. Today, they form the basis for many modern Western medicines.

Herbal medicine is a major component of indigenous peoples’ traditional medicine and is commonly used in Ayurvedic, homoeopathic, naturopathic, and traditional oriental medicine.