• History&Definition: The use of plant or animal derived substances for medicinal purposes. These products may be processed in various ways, including drying, alcohol extraction, cooking, and desiccating. They are not chemically altered, producing new compounds, to enhance their potency as with certain pharmaceutical drugs, although through extraction processes they may be concentrated. Botanical Medicine can be, and often is called Herbal Medicine. Herbal medicines can be given as single herbs or combination products. Some combination products blur the line in that they may contain nutritional therapies as well (A.H.V.M.A.). The Bible is filled with references to the healing power of herbs. In Genesis, there are many references to healing herbs. Moses instructed his followers to use herbs to heal both their bodies and their minds. The ancient Greeks and Egyptians began the systematic process of describing the medicinal aspects of herbs. The Greek physician Hippocrates, called the Father of Modern Medicine, included the practice of herbal medicine as a way of life, and described more than 300 plants. In the late 1700's, William Withering was able to isolate the specific active ingredients in foxglove (digitalis), claiming that it worked more effectively than the whole herb. This thinking set the stage for the split in medical theory that is responsible for today's traditional and holistic practices of medicine (B.N.A.).

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