By S.K. Madarasinghe

1. S. K. Madarasinghe
University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka
HERBAL
DRUGS

2.  Herbs.
 What are ‘herbal drugs’?
 Available types.
 History.
 How they work inside body?
 Conditions where herbal medicine is used for treatments.
 Factors to be considered when recommending herbs.
 Common herbs and their uses. 2

3. 3
In general use, herbs are any plant used for flavoring,
food, medicine, or perfume.
An abbreviation of "herbaceous plant".
Have a variety of uses; culinary, medicinal, and
spiritual usage.
Medicinal herbs are,,,,
Plants contain phytochemicals that have effects on the
body.

4. Are dietary supplements, people take to improve
their health.
Also called ;
herbal medicine
botanical medicine
phytomedicine
4

5. tablets
decoctions
tinctures
capsules
powders
teas
extracts
fresh or dried plants.
Almost one fourth of pharmaceutical drugs are
derived from botanicals.
5

6.  Tisanes(herbal teas): resultant liquid of extracting herbs into
water.
 Decoctions: the long-term boiled extracts, usually of harder
substances like roots or bark.
6

7.  Tinctures : alcoholic extracts of herbs,
generally stronger than tisane.
 Herbal wine : maceration of herbs in wine.
 Extracts include liquid extracts, dry extracts and
nebulisates.
7

8.  Predates written human history.
 Non-human primates – ingested
medicinal plants to treat illness.
 Sumerians- clay tablets with lists of medicinal plants(5,000 y a).
 Egyptians- Papyrus, contains information on over 850 plant
medicines (3,000 BC).
 In India & Sri lanka Ayurveda medicine used many herbs (1900
BC).
8

9.  Scientists aren't sure what specific ingredient in a particular
herb treats a condition or illness.
 Whole herbs contain many ingredients.
 They may work together to produce a beneficial effect.
9

10.  Plants have the ability to synthesize chemical compounds
(phytochemicals).
 Many have beneficial effects on long-term health of
humans.
 They can be used to effectively treat human diseases.
 At least 12,000 such compounds have been isolated so far.
10

11. 11
Phytochemicals
primary
metabolites
secondary
metabolites
Secondary metabolites and pigments have therapeutic
actions in humans and can be refined to produce drugs.

12. Examples are ;
 Inulin from the roots of Dahlias (for diabetics)
 Quinine from the Cinchona (antifever agent
especially in treating malaria & for increasing
appetite)
 Morphine and codeine from the Poppy (as
painkillers )
 Digoxin from the Foxglove (for heart problems)
12

13.  Herbal medicine is used to treat many conditions,
such as:
Asthma
Premenstrual syndrome
Rheumatoid arthritis
Migraine
Menopausal symptoms
Chronic fatigue
Irritable bowel syndrome
Cancer
13

14.  Species and variety of the plant.
 The plant's habitat.
 How it was stored and processed.
 Whether or not there are contaminants.
(including heavy metals and pesticides)
14

15. 15

16. Aloe vera
 Contains compounds that reduce inflammation,
swelling, redness, pain and itching.
 Promotes healing, and helps injured skin from getting
infected.
 Gel - as an ingredient
in commercially available
lotions.
16

17. Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
17
Used in traditional medicine to treat circulatory
disorders and enhance memory.

18. Dandelion
(Taraxacum officinale)
18
 Nutritious healing herb.
 Use above ground parts and root to make medicine.
 Stimulates the flow of bile.
 Enhances the body’s ability to eliminate toxins.
 Prevents gallstones and cleanses the liver.

19. Garlic (Allium sativum)
 Used as an antibiotic and, more
recently, for treating cardiovascular
disease.
Neem (Azadirachta indica)
 used in India to treat worms, malaria,
rheumatism and skin infections.
19

20. 20

21. References:
 http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/herbal-medicine
 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/herb
 https://www.google.lk
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbalism
21

22. 22
Thank You!