Herbal Remedies.
Article Review from "Education in Chemistry" by Emma Carlin (Y10 of 2003/4)

 When someone mentions herbal remedies most people take the sceptical stance. After all in this modern world of prescription drugs and 24-hour pharmacies it’s hard to believe in something that your grandmother used to use and was prescribed way back in the dark ages. But even now with new drugs being developed every day and advances in the making of medicinal drugs coming in thick and fast, could it be that the old time cures and remedies are just as good as anything mass produced by laboratories? 

There are two branches of medicine involving plants and their healing properties, Homeopathy and Herbal medicine. Most people are not aware of these two different branches of medicine and the two are often confused: the main difference between them is that Homeopathy uses much lower doses than herbal medicine and uses minerals such as salts and animal products. In homeopathy “The Law of Similars” is used. This is the idea that by using minute amounts of substances that in larger amounts would cause you to develop the symptoms, will actually help you prevent them.  Herbal medicine is focused solely on plants, and is popular with people who do not trust conventional medicine because sometimes conventional drugs that are used do not work or can caused unwanted side affects.

 Still no matter how it’s explained the idea of herbal remedies is always treated uneasily and is scoffed at by most people. But did you know that most synthetic drugs of today are actually identically or very similar to plants and herbs that for years have been used to cure and treat the same aliments. Some plants are actually more effective than any drug because instead of just containing one compound, they contain many that work in harmony to cure symptoms.

 A good example of an herbal remedy that has been proven to be better than it’s synthetic counterpart is St. John’s wart.

St. John’s wart or hypericum perforatum, which has long been used as an anti-depressant, is actually starting to be preferred by doctors over manufactured drugs, especially in Germany where St John’s wart is prescribed up to 20 time as often as Prozac, which is the world most widely used drug at this time. Several scientists have carried out tests on the plant, and concluded that St John’s wart is as effective as any other anti-depressant and it has fewer side effects than drugs made in a lab. It is still not very clear how St John’s wart works, in fact scientists still haven’t agreed what is the active compound or compounds but they have an idea as to how this long used treatment for depression works. Depression is caused by abnormally low serotonin, serotonin is a chemical released by the brain to cause the feeling of happiness. St Johns wart contains a compound called hyperforin, which works in the same way as Prozac preventing serotonin from being reabsorbed back into the brain. This means that the person suffering from depression will have more serotonin and so will be happier because of it. Hyperforin also stops dopamine and norepinephrine, two more chemicals in the brain that cause happiness, from being reabsorbed. Because of the effectiveness of St. John’s wart, the fact that it is able to stop the re-absorption of three major pleasure causing chemicals, means it is more powerful than normal anti-depressants.

 The main problem facing herbal medicine is that it cannot be patented and so many companies are not interested in investing in this elusive branch of medicine. Also the lack of regulation of herbal medicines and because there are so few checks on their safety, patients have little way of knowing just what they are taking. There can be huge variations in the amount of active ingredient and in some cases the produce may not even contain the right herb. So it is always wise to consult with your doctor before trying a herbal remedy.

Here are some other plants and their uses in medicine:

 Thanks to Emma Carlin (Y10 class in February 2004)

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