Western Herbal Traditions and Ancient Greek Medicine

What "Western herbal traditions" means

Western herbalism is not one unbroken system. It is a set of traditions in Europe and, later, the Americas that draw on Greek and Roman medical writing, on local folk knowledge of plants and, for some plants such as echinacea, on uses first learned by Native Americans. [1] This page covers the Greek roots and what we can say about the herbs that came out of them. It does not treat all of "the West" as a single healing system.

Ancient Greek medicine and humoral theory

The US National Library of Medicine dates Classical Greece to about 800 BCE to 200 CE and says Greek medicine moved from divine and mystical explanations toward observation and logical reasoning. [2] Hippocrates (5th century BCE) is credited with using observation of the body as the basis of knowledge. In the humoral theory of health, four body fluids (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile) were kept in balance, and illness was thought to come from imbalance, sometimes treated by reducing a humor through bloodletting or purging. [2] The Hippocratic Corpus has about sixty works by several authors, and the treatises sometimes give contradictory advice. [2]

Galen (born 129 CE) built on the humors and on anatomical knowledge from Alexandria. His works came to symbolize Greek medicine for scholars in Europe and the Middle East for fifteen centuries. [2] The same Greek framework was also carried into Unani medicine. [3]

Dioscorides and the herbal tradition

Dioscorides of Anazarbus wrote De materia medica between about 50 and 70 CE, a five-book study of the preparation, properties and testing of drugs, which became the central pharmacological work in Europe and the Middle East for sixteen centuries. [2] By the mid-16th century, the NLM says, scholars began to insist on investigation and experiment, and modern research into medicines began. [2] What is useful from this tradition today is a set of plants and uses that can be tested one at a time.

How modern research treats these herbs

Humoral theory is a historical framework, not a biomedical mechanism, and no clinical test of the humors as a system was found in the sources we read. Individual herbs are judged on their own trials.

St. John's wort shows why "traditional" does not mean "safe with your medicines." NCCIH says it can interact in dangerous, sometimes life-threatening ways with many medicines. [4] Read St. John's wort interactions and the St. John's wort and echinacea profiles.

Safety and product quality

The NHS says herbal medicines are not available on the NHS, are not tested in the same way as standard medicines, are not recommended for children and should not be taken during pregnancy or breastfeeding or with kidney or liver problems. [5] It lists medicines that may not mix well, including statins, antidepressants, diabetes medicines, blood pressure medicines, warfarin and hormonal contraception. [5] In the United States, the FDA is not authorized to approve dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed. [6]

Regulation of herbal products and herbalists

The European Union has a simplified registration route for traditional herbal medicines. It requires use for at least 30 years, including at least 15 within the EU, and sufficient safety data and plausible efficacy; no clinical trials are required. [7] That means a "traditional use" label shows long use, not proof of benefit. In England, the NHS advises looking for the Traditional Herbal Registration (THR) mark and a product code from the MHRA, and notes that herbal medicine practitioners do not need to be registered by law; it suggests choosing one registered with an organization accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. [5] In the United States, licensing varies considerably by state and discipline. [8]

Who should seek conventional care first

Please talk to a clinician or pharmacist first if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant, have liver or kidney disease, or have symptoms that do not go away or keep coming back. [5] See medication interactions.

Related pages

Browse herbs and botanicals, herbal teas, the natural remedies hub and historical use vs clinical evidence.