SCIENCE on Medicinal Plants

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Fresh Maca, Peruvian Andes. Photo by: Chris Kilham

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“Natural, plant based remedies are still the most widely employed health supporters on earth, far more than over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Today we are able to blend the very finely developed body of traditional medicinal knowledge, with modern technology and science.” - Chris Kilham, Functional Ingredients

There is a huge body of science on medicinal plants. Every day a new article or study on medicinal plants is published somewhere. Here are a few links that will help you to learn more.

To stay informed about this field, the single best thing you can do is to become a member of the American Botanical Council (ABC). Based in Austin, Texas and founded by noted herbalist Mark Blumenthal, The American Botanical Council is the leader in providing current science on medicinal plants.

For fast information on herbs and their benefits, check out a Healthnotes, founded by Skye Lininger. This quick and easy database gets you to good information fast.

The US National Institutes of Health provides access to vast medical and scientific databases, all under the banner PubMed.gov. With PubMed you can plug in the name of an herb and instantly receive a list of scientific studies on that plant. PubMed is an extraordinary resource, of value to anyone who wants to really understand this field.

If you are a researcher and want deep information about the compounds in medicinal plants and their bio-activity, check out Dr James Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. With a few minutes of grousing around, you’ll find a whole universe of remarkable in formation. And also, Dr. Duke's The Green Pharmacy is full of great science.

Zoe Gardner, the Herb Nerd, is author of the new American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) Botanical Safety Handbook, 2nd edition, scheduled to be published in March 2011. Anybody who is serious about herbs and their health effects needs this exhaustively-researched, fastidiously produced volume. AHPA is not known for their excellent promotional efforts. Google their site, and get this book. It is also available from American Botanical Council. Congratulations, Zoe.

We are planning to expand on this page to include some of the other fine resources outside of Medicine Hunter, Inc. There really are some brilliant, hard-working people out there doing wonderful work, and I want you to know about them. Also, our NEW TRIBE section is set to launch October 2011. New Tribe includes some of the top sciences working specifically in this field, as well as related fields.