Treatment Of Common Ailments Using Traditional Medicinal Herbs

The use of traditional medical plants and herbs to treat common ailments has mostly been associated with countries such as India and China. However, in the recent years, Western nations have also started taking a second look at their traditional systems of medicine.

European nations are researching the effectiveness of the St John’s Wort in treating mental depression. Nearly 1,600 such patients have been successfully treated in Austria and Germany. Tests also indicate that the plant is as effective as allopathic drugs in treating mental depression and has fewer ill side effects.

Research is also underway to discover the effectiveness of the plant in treating cuts, bruises, rheumatism, neuralgia and sciatica.

An American scientist has discovered that an extract from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree is very effective in the treatment of ovarian cancer. This extract is now marketed in the form of a drug, commonly known as Taxol, which is widely used to treat such cases.

Effectiveness Of Western Medicinal Plants And Traditional Medical Herbs

In England, the results of the effectiveness of cranberry juice in treating bladder infections have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. An extract of Saw palmetto leaves has been synthesized into a drug called Finasteride which is used for treating hypertrophy of the prostate.

This drug is inexpensive as compared to synthetic drugs that are currently available and enables non-surgical treatment of this condition. The Feverfew plant (Tanacetum parthenium) is being used to treat migraines and tests indicate that close to seventy per cent of patients have greatly benefited from this treatment.

Research is also being carried out in testing the effectiveness of this plant in treating arthritis.

Submitted on January 16, 2014