What are the differences between Pharmaceutical and Herbal drugs?
Many of the pharmaceutical drugs used today are based on plant constituents and, even now, when scientists are seeking new “cures” for disease it is to the plant world that they turn. They find, extract and then synthesize in the laboratory a single active constituent from the plant (the active constituent is the part of the plant that has a therapeutic value), this can then be manufactured on a large scale. Herbal medications, however, are extracts from a part of the whole plant (e.g. leaves, roots, berries etc.) and contain hundreds, perhaps thousands of plant constituents. Herbalists believe that the active constituents are balanced within the plant and are moderated by the numerous other substances present, thus greatly reducing the risk of side effects .
