- Herbalist redirects here.
Herbalism (
"herbology" or
"herbal medicine") is use of
plants for medicinal purposes, and the study of such use. Plants have been the basis for medical treatments through much of human history, and such
traditional medicine is still widely practiced today. Modern medicine recognizes herbalism as a form of
alternative medicine, as the practice of herbalism is not strictly based on
evidence gathered using the
scientific method. Modern medicine, does, however, make use of many plant-derived compounds as the basis for evidence-tested
pharmaceutical drugs, and
phytotherapy works to apply modern standards of effectiveness testing to herbs and medicines that are derived from natural sources. The scope of herbal medicine is sometimes extended to include
fungal and
bee products, as well as
minerals,
shells and certain animal parts.
