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

Latest News

Chinese Herb Lowers Cholesterol in New Way (11/11/2004, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_21221.html (*this news item will not be available after 12/11/2004)
Star Anise Tea Can Be Toxic to Infants (11/10/2004, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_21195.html (*this news item will not be available after 12/10/2004)
Herbs, Lifestyle Changes May Aid Prostate (11/10/2004, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_21184.html (*this news item will not be available after 12/10/2004)
More News on Herbal Medicine - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_h.html#HerbalMedicine

From the National Institutes of Health

Botanical Dietary Supplements: Background Information (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) - http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/botanicalbackground.html
Herbal Supplements: Consider Safety, Too (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/supplement-safety/
Also available in Spanish - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/supplement-safety/spanish.htm
What Is Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)? (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/
Also available in Spanish - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/spanish.htm

Overviews

About Herbs, Botanicals & Other Products (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) - http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11570.cfm
Arthritis Today's 2002-2003 Supplement Guide: Herbs and Other Remedies (Arthritis Foundation) - http://www.arthritis.org/conditions/supplementguide/herbs.asp
Also available in Spanish - http://www.arthritis.org/espanol/enfermedades/suplementos/es_herbs.asp
Herbal Health Products: What You Should Know (American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/364.xml
HerbMed (Alternative Medicine Foundation) - http://www.herbmed.org/

Pictures/Diagrams

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

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Herbal Medicine (National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/intervention=herbal+medicine&recruiting;=true
ClinicalTrials.gov: Medicine, Herbal (National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/term=herbal+medicine&recruiting;=true

Specific Conditions

Echinacea: What Should I Know about It? (American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/744.xml
FDA Warns Consumers Not to Purchase Green Hornet, Promoted as Herbal Version of "Ecstasy" (Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2004/NEW01026.html
Herb and Drug Interactions: 'Natural' Products Not Always Safe (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=SA00039
Herbal Diet Products (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=SA00041
Herbal Supplements: How They're Labeled and Regulated (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=NU00205
Herbal Supplements: What to Know Before You Buy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=SA00044
Kava-Containing Dietary Supplements May Be Associated with Severe Liver Injury (Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) - http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/addskava.html
Listing of Botanical Ingredients of Concern (Food and Drug Administration) - http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-bot2.html
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
Recall of PC SPES and SPES Dietary Supplements (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/alerts/spes/index.htm
St. John's Wort and the Treatment of Depression (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/stjohnswort/index.htm
Treatment of Colds with a Capsule Form of the Herb Echinacea (American College of Physicians) - http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/137/12/I-18

Related Issues

Herbal Supplements and Surgery: What You Need to Know (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=SA00040
Index of Herbal Medicines and Supplements (Harvard Medical School, InteliHealth) - http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8513/31402.html
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) - http://www.asahq.org/patientEducation/herbPatient.pdf

Research

Echinacea Not Effective in Treating Children's Colds: New Study Results (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/alerts/echinacea/index.htm
Ginseng Reduces the Effect of Warfarin in a Study of Healthy Volunteers (American College of Physicians) - http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/141/1/I-58
Liver Injury in 12 Patients Taking the Herbal Weight Loss Aids Chaso or Onshido (American College of Physicians) - http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/139/6/I-47

Organizations

Alternative Medicine Foundation - http://www.amfoundation.org/
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - http://nccam.nih.gov/
National Toxicology Program - http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/
Poison Help 1-800-222-1222 (American Association of Poison Control Centers) - http://www.1-800-222-1222.info/poisonHelp.asp

Law and Policy

Statement from FDA Deputy Commissioner Crawford Regarding Metabolife (Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2002/NEW00828.html

Women

Herbal Supplements: Their Safety, a Concern for Health Care Providers (March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) - http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_1815.asp
Phytoestrogens and Bone Health (Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases-National Resource Center) - http://www.osteo.org/newfile.asp?doc=r618i&doctitle;=Phytoestrogens+and+Bone+Health&doctype;=HTML+Fact+Sheet

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Alternative Medicine - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alternativemedicine.html
Cancer Alternative Therapy - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/canceralternativetherapy.html
Dietary Supplements - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dietarysupplements.html
Complementary and Alternative Therapies - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/complementaryandalternativetherapies.html
Procedures and Therapies - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/proceduresandtherapies.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/

Page last updated: 12 November 2004
Topic last reviewed: 13 April 2004