Medicinal Plants (II)
Many times the alleged activity was associated with healing from one plant to the similarity it had, in form and feature, the unit on which it was intended to act. Consequently, it was given a name allegorical. Thus, the root of the mandrake-very toxic plant, has a shape that resembles the shape of a human body for what our ancestors understood that should be adequate to promote fertility. And in the same way, pulmonaria (believed to represent stained leaves the surface of a diseased lung with tuberculous nodules) would be appropriate to treat lung ailments, the fruit of the walnut (nuts) would be good to improve brain activity etc.
In short, the conventional wisdom about the healing properties of plants is part of the cultural heritage of peoples. Ethnobotany denominating the part of the science that deals with the study of the information accumulated over many years.
More modernly, from this knowledge, science begin to investigate the curative or therapeutic actual usable plants, determine their chemical composition and separate the different active principles.Why and for what? Because the activity of a drug depends, first, the active substance containing a majority but they are often accompanied by other principles that power-or better-modulate the action of the former. The proportion in which they find each other is highly variable. It is also great variability exists with regard to the chemical formula of each principle in isolation. And considering that just by changing a chemical group position pharmacological activity can be completely opposite and that some principles are simple but sometimes other substances are complex mixtures (such as essential oils) it is clear that the most practical from scratch is not and look at what already exists and further work. And that it is best to observe nature.
Then, once separated the active and successful experience relevant evidence, scientists agree that this plant can be used with curative intent.
The pharmaceutical industries in the laboratory to synthesize a new drug, it often from these active and then proceed to “improve” their activity by altering its chemical formula or with other synergistic principles (to enhance the action), regulatory or remedial and other substances-natural or non-dependent characteristics and the dosage form to use (so-called pharmaceutical form).
In general, the trend today is to manufacture industries called herbal drugs, which can become very complex mixtures of active ingredients from natural sources (plants) of similar or different pharmacological action for the treatment of certain diseases. In some cases, correcting the undesirable traits such as odor or unpleasant taste (organoleptic correction) – adding other drugs or early demulcent (soothing) to those that are irritating, and so on. Sometimes he uses the full drug (leaves, flowers, roots …), others use only a few more active and more active ingredients are mixed in the same or different plants.
It is encouraging that now, to the misuse and abuse of synthetic drugs, their side effects and contraindications and interactions with other drugs (although many plants possess these disadvantages are not so frequent at therapeutic doses) is chosen increasingly by a medicine that uses natural agents based on the Hippocratic principle, “Primum non nocere (above all, do no harm) and to stimulate the life force of the individual, medicatrix Vis Naturae.
credit to: Maria Jose Valcarcel