ABSTRACT
The popularity of self-medication or prescribed therapeutic intervention with herbal products has burgeoned. These “natural” supplements* have been traditionally promoted and used for centuries in Asian and Indian medicine, and later in American folk medicine. The belief that carefully measured amounts of the leaves, ßowers, bark, stems, or seeds of botanicals can treat or prevent diseases has encouraged generations to trust the beneÞcial effects of ingredients contained within nature’s packages. As society questions the limitations, abilities, efÞcacy, and safety of Western medicine, it creates an opportunity for alternative therapies to demonstrate their potential. The platform for the introduction of alternative medicines into the Western medical establishment is based particularly on the prevention of diseases and the avoidance of adverse reactions associated with Western therapeutic modalities.
