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Biochemical Warfare:

Herbal Medicines vs
Modern Antibiotics

Priscilla Julia V. Acusar


BSPT 1D

MARCH 2016

Table of Contents
A. Introduction . 3
Definition of Terms . 5
B. Body
I. Historical Background of Herbal Medicine. 6
II.

Comparing

the

Effects

of

Herbal

Medicine

and

Antibiotics. 7
III.

Herbal

Medicine

as

an

Alternative

to

Modern

Pharmaceuticals. 10
C. Conclusion . 11

Introduction

Ever wondered what the ancient civilizations such as the


Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Aztecs used in order to heal
their diseased kin? How were they treated when at the time they
did not have access to certain luxuries such as those that we
have today? Let us take it back to the time of The Egyptians
where they were one of the first civilizations to develop in the
field of Medicine, treating certain injuries and diseases with
remedies that they developed, but with a hint of magic such as
spells,

incantations

and

rituals.

The

rise

in

treatment

of

disease in Egypt at the time became eminent, so the need for


herbal medicines were created two-fold. From this development in
Egypt, the Greeks soon found out about the news and they too,
began forming remedies of their own. Soon after, the use of
herbal

medicines

and

remedies

became

international

when

the

printing press was developed in the 1400s, where such recipes


were

shared

throughout

the

cultures

of

the

world.

These

civilizations only had access to these herbal remedies, and it


was recorded that many of these people lived healthier, and
longer such as Famous Chinese herbalist, Chung Yun, who was
believed

to

have

been

using

herbal

medicine

for

256

years.

Applying this history to the medicinal issues in our world today,


the researcher believes that herbal medicines could become a
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cheaper

alternative

when

choosing

treatment

rather

than

pharmaceutical antibiotics as the first option.


Throughout this Library Research Paper, the researcher will
determine

the

medicines

in

evidences
contrast

of
the

the

beneficial

continued

use

uses
of

of

herbal

pharmaceutical

antibiotics. The researcher will also elaborate the different


advantages and disadvantages of the use of herbal medicine and
why it may be a better option when choosing a treatment. This
research

also

aims

to

prove

whether

herbal

medicine

is

considerable option for treatment of certain common diseases such


as the common cold, cough and fever.
This research aims to benefit and to develop the readers
knowledge on the benefits of herbal medicines and if it would be
a considerable alternative to pharmaceutical antibiotics. This
research

strives

to

solve

the

financial

crisis

towards

the

expense of pharmaceuticals and deems to prove other possibilities


in treating disease.
This research is only limited to the remedies, recipes, and
treatments

of

herbal

medicine

and

the

basic

knowledge

of

pharmaceutical antibiotics. This research will not delve into the


needed

use

of

antibiotics

in

surgeries

and

other

medical

practices other than the treatment of common diseases such as

cough, common colds, allergies, fever and illness.

Definition of Terms:
1. Herbal Medicine / Traditional Medicine is use of plants for
medicinal purposes, and the study of such use.
2. Pharmaceutical Antibiotics over the counter and prescription
drugs. Those that are engineered in a laboratory using certain
chemical elements.
3.

Herbalism

The

use

of

herbal

medicine

for

treatment

of

disease.
4. Herbalist A person who uses organic ingredients to create
and use herbal medicinal recipes.

I. Historical Background of Herbal Medicine


Herbal

Medicine

as

mentioned

was

used

by

ancient

civilizations such as the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Chinese.


These civilizations were all considered to be herbalists. They
compiled their herbal expertise in scrolls like Shen Nungs Pen
Tsao, or also known as the oldest known list of herbal medicine.
During the Roman Empire, the surgeons of Rome came along with the
Roman army to spread their expertise to countries such as France,
Spain, Germany and England. Dioscorides (c. 40 c. 90) and Galen
(131-200 A.D.) were two of the surgeons of the Roman army whom
compiled

their

medica texts

expertise

into

whats

known

as

the

materia

that were used for more than 1500 years. Not only

the ancient Greeks, but also indigenous cultures such as the


Native and African Americans used herbal medicines for their
healing rituals, depending on these remedies as their only source
of treatment for their diseased.
From there, Arabic scholars acquired these Greek and Roman
texts.

Avicienna

traditions
Medicine

of

(980

Dioscorides

(al-Qanun

1037

AD),

and

Galen

fiat-tibb).

His

combined
creating

work

soon

the
The

texts
Canon

spread

and
of

through

Europe and was mass produced making herbal medicine accessible to


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everyone since it required no expertise or special skills, but


only needed to gather the plants used in the recipe and apply
them in the prescribed manner and dosage.
The users of herbal medicine soon aimed to revolutionize it,
one writer in particular, Paracelsus, emphasized the importance
of experience with patients and railed against the blind faith
of ancient physicians. He revived the first century doctrine of
signatures applying that herbs have its own sign. The appearance
of

the

plant,

and

its

indicated

color,

scent,

its

or

living

environment

medicinal

use.

(http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/herbs, 2007)
Herbalism has evolved through the years of development, but
as science began to grow and develop, change soon took place in
the occurrence. Modern Medicine soon overruled herbal medicine as
it

began

to

use

plant-derived

components

to

produce

pharmaceutical drugs or antibiotics and no longer applied the


untested raw material.
II. Comparing the Effects of Herbal Medicine and Antibiotics
During those centuries, man did not have access to certain
sciences like biochemical engineering, pharmaceutical engineering
or chemical sciences, that today work to improve and produce new
ways of developing medicine. Before this age, man was dependent
on herbal medicine because of the lack technology to test, study,
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and improve their current knowledge of medicine. New-age medicine


or also known as pharmaceutical antibiotics, are widely being
used throughout the world as treatments and prescription drugs
for patients with disease. Nowadays, new-age medicine is usually
the first option when choosing treatment for certain diseases and
illnesses. But even with this presence of new-age medicine, the
World

Health

Organization

(WHO)

says

that

80%

of

the

World

Population is dependent and is currently using herbal medicinal


recipes. It may seem illogical to some that 80% of the world
still are active users of herbal medicine when this type of
treatment is not prescribed by most doctors. One of the reasons
for this is that Herbal Medicines are not approved by the Food &
Drug Administration (FDA) due to the lack of laboratory testing
and inexact dosage of this type of treatment. Intake of Herbal
Medication is solely at a persons own risk. But that begs the
question, why is this type of treatment still being widely used
throughout the world? This treatment, although lacks testing, has
many proven advantages as a treatment for illnesses. Here are a
few of the collated advantages of Herbal Medicine:
Reduced
antibiotics

risk
use

of

side

organic

effects.

substances

Herbal

and

Medicines

therefore

are

unlike
natural

towards the interactions to the body, making herbal medicines


more tolerable to the patient. It also has fewer unintended

consequences

than

pharmaceuticals

with

lessened

side

effects

Medicine

recipe

making herbal medicine safer to use over time.


Widespread

Availability.

Most

Herbal

ingredients can be easily found at the local drug store or at


your own garden. This is one of the reasons that inclines those
who live in ruralized areas to use Herbal Medicines because of
its convenience.
Lower Cost. Since Herbal Medicines use organic ingredients,
making a remedy costs immensely less than purchasing chemicalbased drug store pharmaceuticals.
Comparing the collected research, the researcher sees that
these advantages of herbal medicine towards the patient outweighs
the

few

disadvantages

that

Herbal

Medicine

entails.

Some

Herbal

Medicines

have

disadvantages of Herbal Medicine are:


Longer

healing

period.

Although

potential to cure many ailments, the healing process takes longer


than

using

modern

medical

treatments.

But

with

its

organic

nature, it is also accepted by the body better.


May cause unknown allergic reactions. Because of the organic
nature of Herbal Medicines, it lacks the anti-allergen chemical
that

most

conventional

medicines

have

to

avoid

allergic

reactions. But with the proper Herbal Medicine Practitioner, the

dosage and knowledge of certain ingredients can be checked much


before application of treatment.
III. Herbal Medicine as an Alternative to Modern Pharmaceuticals
With the Philippines under poverty, 55% of the Philippine
population find it difficult to pay for their medical bills and
to buy medicines. Insurance usually does not comply for extra
hospital fees such as purchasing the treatments needed after
hospital

care.

Essential

expenses

such

as

buying

medical

treatments at the local drug stores are becoming difficult for


many of the low earning citizens because they cannot afford the
higher priced pharmaceuticals. But what if more of these people
used Herbal Medicinal remedies for treatment? It will evidently
cost less comparatively. Roughly 60% of the money used to buy a
single prescription of a pharmaceutical antibiotic can pay for
all of the ingredients of a simple anti-allergy herbal treatment.
The common cold, cough, and a low fever can be eased by an
herbal tea. A skin allergy or irritation can be soothed by a
teaspoon of aloe vera oil. Easy herbal medicinal fixes for simple
ailments, this will reduce the expense for medicine in a persons
budget.

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Conclusion
With the rising economy and increased cost of essential
needs, it is imperative that the people find more ways to become
thrifty; with poverty on the rise, many families begin with no
income or low income to care for their children. Learning about
traditional

techniques,

and

traditional

healthcare

can

be

enormously beneficial for these families. Not only that, but the
researcher believes that with the proper introduction towards
this way of living, the person may acquire new knowledge on
alternatives towards how he lives.
This research concludes that when looking for alternatives
in

treatment,

Herbal

Medicine

can

be

viable

option

for

beneficial, low-budget, and economical alternative to expensive


pharmaceutical antibiotics.

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Bibliography
1.

Article Title: The growing use of herbal medicines: issues


relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring
safety
Website Title: Frontiers in Pharmacology
URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3887317/

2.

Article

Title: Advantages

Medicine
Website Title: Advantages

and
and

Disadvantages
Disadvantages

of

Herbal

of

Herbal

Medicine
URL: http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/12415/1/Advantagesand-Disadvantages-of-Herbal-Medicine.html
3. Article Title: Herbal medicine
Website Title: University of Maryland Medical Center
URL: http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/treatment/herbal4.

medicine
Article

Title: A

Brief

History

of

Herbalism

Herbs:

Friends of Physicians, Praise of Cooks


Website Title: Herbs Friends of Physicians Praise of Cooks
URL: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/herbs/brief-history/

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