ABSTRACT
The use of medical plants for treatment of ailments has played an important role in almost every culture on Earth. Herbal medicine was practiced by ancient cultures in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The recent popularity in the use of herbs and plant products can be related to the ancient school of thought that herbs can provide some benets over and above Western medicine and allow users to be personalized for individual needs. The widespread use of herbs has raised many scientic questions although Chinese medicine has been in practice for thousands of years. One of the major concerns is herbal safety. Herbs can interact with therapeutic drugs resulting in reducing or enhancing their efcacy. The interactions can pose some risk of inadvertently reducing the half-life of drugs such as indinavir, cyclosporine, and cyclophosphamide. In contrary, herbal products may act in a pathway similar to pharmaceuticals yet without undesirable side effects. Natural anti-inammatory polyphenols and avonoids are present in herbs and green tea too. As the use of nonsteroid anti-inammatory drugs (NSAID) is associated with a reduced risk for cancers, it is probable that natural NSAID should be explored for cancer prevention [1]. The dosage of herbs that are aimed at the same function as the drugs such as sedative should be reduced to alleviate concerns about any effects that cause inhibition on the drug actions.
