HERBOTHERAPY

*Peter A. J.; **Christiana A. P.; ***Chioma M.

Research & Development Unit; Ecolegal Services Nigeria Limited..

The clinical relevance of plants and the various parts is unlimited. All therapeutic substances are known to be
produced from proper and effective purification of raw, natural plant substrates. The whole parts of a living plant,
which include the leaves, branches, stems, roots, fruits and seeds, are relevant in the practice of herbal therapy.
Either the cold or hot aqueous extracts, alcoholic extracts or other un-common solvent extracts can be used to
separate the active components of the full plant part. This simply means that in the whole plant system, there are
other components which have little or no effect on the therapeutic tendencies of the plant. They may either exist
as impurity or just component with no use and may also have the ability to confer inefficiency on the active
component when in the applied system. The use of herbs for therapy should not be made to begin and stop in an
ex-vitro system, but should be monitored in-vitro. There is a need to also understand most microbial related
infections and therapy in relation to microbial metabolism. It should also be noted that micro-organisms can
metabolize the impurities into something capable of impairing the capability of the active components. They can
also be made to develop resistance to the active component, when exposed to an under or over dose of the
herbal substance in question. It is also possible to have a situation whereby the pathogens alongside the flora
can be destroyed, exposing the body system to opportunistic infection or infection as a result of invasion of
foreign organism or chemical substances. It may also create a sudden proliferation of depressed pathogen or
flora, which can become infectious afterwards. All these possibilities should not be ruled out when thinking about
‘Herbo-therapy’ as remedy.

It is a fact that prior to chemical synthesis most therapeutic substances today emanated from purified plant parts
and extracts. It should also be noted that they were made to undergo serious and professional fractionation
processes, which ends in the production of pure substances used as drugs. It is also true that intense studies and
research on the importance of the components of plant extracts brought about the laboratory chemical synthesis
of therapeutic substances in purer form, fit for consumption. It is simple to conclude that the active substances
were mimicked and reproduced through chemical synthesis. In this case, impurity level is infinitesimal if not zero.
Though other system friendly chemical components such as preservatives, colorants, flavours and other
additives are added, they play different roles in maintaining the integrity of the therapeutic substance in question
as regards, taste, colour and flavour for consumption convenience, preservatives to extend shelf life and others
additives for other reasons.

Returning back to herbo-therapy in its most impure form is like ‘re-visiting the previous’, which is not a good
index of medical or clinical development. In this same practice, a lot of unqualified persons parade themselves as
‘Doctors’, prescribing and advising patronisers unprofessionally, contributing to the menace in the health sector.
The system has a natural filtration unit with the capability of filtering and eliminating debris from the system;
Kidney. It is also better to note that when same unit is exposed to fatigue, it is bound to fail or drop in capability. It
is also necessary to note that improperly produced suspensions from herbs can alter and cause blockages in
normal systems. For the tolerance of consumption, most herbal mixtures can cause nausea conditions, which
may lead to vomiting and then de-hydration if not properly controlled. The basic problem with herbal substances
is the non-specificity in treatment, meaning they are all produced and tagged ‘Cure-of-all’. It is unscientific to
have an active substance from a plant curing all ailment and disease condition without exception, knowing fully
well that all organs and systems do not perform the same function and mechanism. It is also important to know
that infections are different from conditions, though most infections may result to conditions. A clear example is
in microbial infections, known to cause fever, vomiting, headache, dizziness among others. Pyrogenic
substances, which are mere non-living, can also cause same conditions. Knowing that microbes and pyrogen are
two different moieties, it is a pity that most herbal ‘Doctors’ advise and administer antimicrobials for both cases.
Whether harsh, mild or compatible, it is not usually considered, the major thing is the administration for trial and
change on persistence thereby exposing the system to serious hazards, which may remain over time. Most herbal
substances are never produced in sterile environment, with sterile water and materials.

If herbo-remedy must be embraced as a sure, reliable, dependable and an alternative means of treatment, all
measures should be employed to avoid consumption of ‘phyto-toxins’, freely existing in plant parts. There is a
need to involve experts in pharmaceutical, laboratory and medical sciences, if a perfect practice must be
achieved in herbo-therapy/herbo-remedy.

**All correspondence to: Peter Aniediabasi John: ecolegal.ng@gmail.com; peanijo@yahoo.com +234-803-9693897; +234-805-5288365
For: Ecolegal Services Nigeria Limited