Herbal Medicine (Print Version)

MedlinePlus Health Information: A service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health

Herbal Medicine

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/herbalmedicine.html

Also called: Also called: Botanicals, Phytotherapy

An herb is a plant or plant part used for its scent, flavor or therapeutic properties. Herbal medicine products are dietary supplements that people take to improve their health. Many herbs have been used for a long time for claimed health benefits. They are sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, extracts and fresh or dried plants. However, some can cause health problems, some are not effective and some may interact with other drugs you are taking.

To use an herbal product as safely as possible

Consult your doctor first
Do not take a bigger dose than the label recommends
Take it under the guidance of a trained medical professional
Be especially cautious if you are pregnant or nursing

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Start Here

Botanical Dietary Supplements: Background Information(National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) - http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/BotanicalBackground.asp
Herbal Products and Supplements: What You Should Know(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/otc-center/otc-medicines/860.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/otc-center/otc-medicines/860.printerview.html

Overviews

About Herbs, Botanicals & Other Products(Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) - http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11570.cfm
Dietary Supplements Labels Database(National Library of Medicine) - http://dietarysupplements.nlm.nih.gov/dietary/
MedlinePlus: Herbs and Supplements(Natural Standard) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/herb_All.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/druginfo/herb_All.html

Latest News

Green Tea May Block Activity of Common Cancer Drug(02/11/2009, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_80133.html

Specific Conditions

Aloe Vera(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/aloevera/
Asian Ginseng(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/asianginseng/
Astragalus(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/astragalus/index.htm
Bilberry(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/bilberry/
Bitter Orange(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/bitterorange/
Black Cohosh(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/blackcohosh/
Cat's Claw(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/catclaw/
Chamomile(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/chamomile/
Chasteberry(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/chasteberry/
Cranberry(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/cranberry/
Dandelion(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/dandelion/
Echinacea(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/echinacea/
Echinacea: What Should I Know about It?(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/articles/744.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/articles/744.printerview.html
Ephedra(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/ephedra/
European Elder(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/euroelder/
European Mistletoe(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/mistletoe/ataglance.htm
Evening Primrose Oil(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/eveningprimrose/
Fenugreek(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/fenugreek/index.htm
Feverfew(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/feverfew/
Flaxseed and Flaxseed Oil(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/flaxseed/index.htm
Garlic(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/garlic/index.htm
Ginger(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/ginger/index.htm
Gingko(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/ginkgo/
Goldenseal(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/
Grape Seed Extract(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/grapeseed/
Green Tea(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/greentea/index.htm
Hawthorn(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/hawthorn/
Hoodia(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/hoodia/
Horse Chestnut(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/horsechestnut/index.htm
Kava(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/kava/index.htm
Lavender(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/lavender/
Licorice Root(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/licoriceroot/
Milk Thistle(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/milkthistle/ataglance.htm
Noni(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/noni/
Peppermint Oil(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/peppermintoil/index.htm
Red Clover(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/redclover/
Saw Palmetto(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/palmetto/
Soy(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/soy/
St. John's Wort(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/stjohnswort/
Thunder God Vine(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/tgvine/
Turmeric(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/turmeric/index.htm
Valerian(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/valerian/index.htm
Yohimbe(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/yohimbe/index.htm

Related Issues

Herbal Supplements: How They Can Interfere with Surgery(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/herbal-supplements/SA00040/METHOD=print
Questions and Answers about Valerian for Insomnia and Other Sleep Disorders(National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) - http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/valerian.asp
St. John's Wort and Depression(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/stjohnswort/sjw-and-depression.htm
Warnings and Safety Information(Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) - http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-warn.html
What You Should Know about Herbal and Dietary Supplement Use and Anesthesia(American Society of Anesthesiologists) - Links to PDF - http://www.asahq.org/patientEducation/herbPatient.pdf

Pictures & Photographs

Medicinal Herb Garden(National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Northwest Region) - http://nnlm.gov/pnr/uwmhg/

Research

Garlic Does Not Appear to Lower "Bad" Cholesterol(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/022607.htm
St. John's Wort Does Not Help Kids with ADHD(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/research/stjwort.html

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Addiction and the pharmacology of cannabis: implications for medicine and... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19306615&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Fermented ginseng improves the first-night effect in humans. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19294962&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Clinical approach to clinical herbal toxicity. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19292026&tool=MedlinePlus
Herbal Medicine -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=(phytotherapy[majr]+OR+medicine,herbal[majr]+OR+plants,medicinal[majr]+OR+drugs,chinese+herbal[majr])+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
Herb-drug interactions -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=herb+drug+interactions[mh]+AND+(humans[mh]+OR+clinical+trials[mh])+AND+english[la]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Organizations

Alternative Medicine Foundation - http://www.amfoundation.org/
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - http://nccam.nih.gov/

Women

Menopausal Symptoms and CAM(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/menopause/menopausesymptoms.htm
Questions and Answers about Black Cohosh and the Symptoms of Menopause(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) - http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/BlackCohosh.asp

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Cancer Alternative Therapies - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/canceralternativetherapies.html
Complementary and Alternative Medicine - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/complementaryandalternativemedicine.html
Dietary Supplements - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dietarysupplements.html
Complementary and Alternative Therapies - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/complementaryandalternativetherapies.html
Wellness and Lifestyle - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/wellnessandlifestyle.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Herbal Medicine is the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - http://nccam.nih.gov/

Herbal Medicine - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/herbalmedicine.html

Date last updated: May 07 2009

Topic last reviewed: February 26 2009