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Discoveries
have been made all over the world that offers significant
evidence of the fact that early man was reasonably aware of
the medicinal values of plants. However, in the ancient cultures
of India and China, there are ancient works which reveal that
these cultures actually had the very first forms of medicinal
practices which were rooted in herbal healing.
In China it
was the usual practice to use herbal essences, herbal tea
and herbal concoctions in the form of herbal medicines to
treat ailments. The practice of Chinese herbal medicine was
developed, just like its Indian counterpart, through practitioners'
experiences and accounts with one of the first books on traditional
Chinese medicine dating back to the reign of the Han dynasty.
In India too, the combination of herbs that were used to make
herbal drugs were gradually altered according to herbalists'
experiences.
Today, however, due to the perfection of those ancient techniques
and combinations, herbal medicines are more standardized and
effective than they were in that era. In fact, the whole world
has now awakened to the tremendous benefits of using herbal
medicines as opposed to chemical or alcohol based drugs. Herbal
medicines have been seen to work effectively while producing
fewer side-effects. Studies which have revealed how damaging
allopathic medicines can be have driven up the worldwide demand
for herbal products.
India and China, being the main countries
with experience in the field of herbal medicine have consequently
found a great demand for their traditional herbal products
and naturally this has led to an increase in the varieties,
brand names and range of herbal products that are manufactured
in these countries for sale locally as well as internationally.
Indian and Chinese herbal companies now manufacture not only
herbal medicines but they also cater to the demand for herbal
supplements and herbal cosmetics.
The manufacture of herbal products in India involves the use
of as many as seven thousand species of plants, whereas Chinese
herbal medicine also employs almost as many herbs. In India,
there are two main systems of herbal medicine that exist even
today. They are Unani medicine and Ayurveda, both of which
are ancient forms of healing through nature.
The word Ayurveda itself means the knowledge of life or how
to live. The subject of Ayurveda is therefore primarily concerned
with means to achieve healthy living. Ayurveda thus offers
a holistic approach to healing and medicines and treatments
strive to strike a healthy balance in all areas of living
combining measures to create mental, social, spiritual and
physical health.
In the modern world herbal medicine is also known as Phytotherapy
or alternative therapy. It is hence not the main form of healing
as the effects of the concoctions and treatments can be slower
than usual healing methods. However, herbal medicines have
also taken on modern appearances and are now sold in the form
of tablets, capsules, syrups, teas and powders. Such drugs
may occasionally cause side-effects if one is allergic to
some ingredient within them or they may, at times, react with
some chemical constituent of another drug one is taking.
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