Fürst Robert, Zündorf Ilse
Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
Planta Med. 2015 Aug;81(12-13):962-7. doi: 10.1055/s-0035-1545948. Epub 2015 Apr 29.
Medicinal plants represent the oldest source of pharmacotherapy used by mankind. A considerable number of traditional systems of medicine (folk medicine) have emerged over the last millennia under different cultural conditions. Even nowadays, the majority of people in less developed countries have to rely on herbal remedies as primary health care. Based on scientific and technical progress, the options to produce high quality herbal medicinal products have been largely improved in the last decades. The acceptance of phytotherapy as a "natural and mild alternative" to synthetic drugs is very high within the general public in developed countries and, from a global perspective, sales figures of herbal medicines are constantly rising. However, we still face many issues in this field. In contrast to the popularity of herbal medicinal products, physicians and their respective societies often have a very critical view of them. Besides dogmatic obstacles, this is based on the frequently missing clinical trials that clearly demonstrate their efficacy and/or safety. This perspective discusses the reasons and implications of the lack of scientific evidence and also of the wrong understanding of the principles of rational phytotherapy.
药用植物是人类使用的最古老的药物治疗来源。在过去的几千年里，在不同的文化条件下出现了相当多的传统医学体系（民间医学）。即使在当今，欠发达国家的大多数人仍不得不依靠草药作为基本医疗保健手段。基于科学技术的进步，在过去几十年里，生产高质量草药产品的选择有了很大改善。在发达国家的普通公众中，植物疗法作为合成药物的“天然温和替代品”的认可度非常高，从全球角度来看，草药的销售数字在不断上升。然而，我们在这个领域仍然面临许多问题。与草药产品的受欢迎程度形成对比的是，医生及其各自的协会往往对它们持非常批评的态度。除了教条主义的障碍外，这是基于经常缺乏能清楚证明其疗效和/或安全性的临床试验。这篇综述讨论了缺乏科学证据以及对合理植物疗法原则的错误理解的原因和影响。
