School of Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100102, China.
Research Unit for Complementary and Integrative Laser Medicine, Research Unit of Biomedical Engineering in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine and TCM Research Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 29, 8036 Graz, Austria.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2014;2014:525340. doi: 10.1155/2014/525340. Epub 2014 Apr 27.
In recent years, increasing numbers of people have been choosing herbal medicines or products to improve their health conditions, either alone or in combination with others. Herbs are staging a comeback and herbal "renaissance" occurs all over the world. According to the World Health Organization, 75% of the world's populations are using herbs for basic healthcare needs. Since the dawn of mankind, in fact, the use of herbs/plants has offered an effective medicine for the treatment of illnesses. Moreover, many conventional/pharmaceutical drugs are derived directly from both nature and traditional remedies distributed around the world. Up to now, the practice of herbal medicine entails the use of more than 53,000 species, and a number of these are facing the threat of extinction due to overexploitation. This paper aims to provide a review of the history and status quo of Chinese, Indian, and Arabic herbal medicines in terms of their significant contribution to the health promotion in present-day over-populated and aging societies. Attention will be focused on the depletion of plant resources on earth in meeting the increasing demand for herbs.
近年来，越来越多的人选择草药或产品来改善他们的健康状况，无论是单独使用还是与其他药物联合使用。草药正在卷土重来，世界各地都出现了草药“复兴”。据世界卫生组织称，全球有 75%的人口将草药用于基本医疗保健需求。事实上，自人类诞生以来，草药/植物的使用就为治疗疾病提供了一种有效的药物。此外，许多传统/西药直接来源于世界各地的天然药物和传统药物。到目前为止，草药医学的实践涉及使用超过 53000 种物种，其中一些由于过度开发而面临灭绝的威胁。本文旨在回顾中、印、阿草药医学的历史和现状，探讨其对当今人口过剩和老龄化社会促进健康的重要贡献。本文将重点关注地球上植物资源的枯竭，以满足对草药日益增长的需求。
