Herbal Products
June 5, 2008
Herbal products have many health benefits. Many of them are potent antioxidants. Some have antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, and antitumor properties.
Some improve general bodily functions such as digestion, mental clarity, circulation, hormonal balance, etc. Many people also consume Herbal products to prevent and treat common ailments and improve the overall well-beings.
Herbal products contain active constituents extracted from dry or fresh herbs. These active constituents can be divided into two main groups based on their chemical properties, hydrophilic (water loving) and lipophilic (oil loving). Traditionally, hydrophilic compounds are extracted in water and ethanol whereas lipophilic compounds are extracted in chemical solvents such as acetone and hexane.
The use of chemical solvents in extracting lipophilic compounds has raised some health, environmental and safety concerns in recently years. First of all, there is a small amount of toxic residues left after the extraction process, which can pose a health threat to the consumers. Secondly, the disposal of organic solvents is detrimental to the environment. And lastly, these chemical solvents are toxic and highly volatile, handling of these chemicals require extreme caution.
Unfortunately, the major active constituents in many herbs such as ginger, St. John’s Wort, valerian, rosemary are lipophilic. In the past, organic solvents such as acetone and hexane extracted them. But the advance in new technologies has provided safer alternative to the food industry. Supercritical fluid extraction is one of these new technologies. It allows health food manufacturers to produce cleaner, more potent and stable herbal products.
Herbal products are the use of botanicals (plants) either alone or in combination to prevent and treat certain ailments and illnesses. Singularly or in combination, the numbers of herbs available is astounding. There are over a half million known herbs that could be used as possible remedies.
Herbal products around the globe vary in strength from very mild, gentle remedies that we even use as food, to potential poisons if taken at the wrong dose. The old adage that, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” could not be truer. This is especially true when it comes to natural remedies.
People native to different geographical locations have long used plants and plant extracts to cure specific maladies.
Sometimes the use of herbs is referred to as “folk” medicine. Folk use of herbal remedies is familiar to all of us in some form or another, because this is how these remedies are learned. Remedies and recipes for Herbal products are handed down from generation to generation and are still remembered and used to this day. Unfortunately, that is what fuels the fire of the scientific community and their disdain. It really is their loss, because generations of experience and knowledge
Tinospora is a perfect health tonic as human studies established on Guduchi’s immune-boosting property showed it to be linked to enhance the function of protective cells present in the body known as macrophages.
* Immunity booster. The herb builds up immunity to remain unaffected by infections that we face daily.
* Fever and common colds
Gymnema helps decreasing the craving for sugar and neutralizes excessive glucose that is present in the body. This property is beneficial to sufferers of diabetes as the herb is often used as anti-diabetic drug.
Uses of Gymnema
* Great sugar regulator and hence it is best as diabetic support.
* Restores appetite
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