Phytotherapy

Phytotherapy refers to therapeutic treatment based on plant extracts and natural active ingredients, with the aim of curing, relieving or preventing disease. Since the dawn of time, people have appreciated the soothing and analgesic properties of plants. Two-thirds of pharmacopoeias still rely on their curative properties. Over the centuries, human traditions have developed the knowledge and use of medicinal plants. Despite the enormous progress made by modern medicine, phytotherapy offers many advantages. With the exception of the last hundred years, mankind has relied exclusively on plants to treat both benign and more serious illnesses such as tuberculosis and malaria. Today, plant-based treatments are back in the limelight, as the effectiveness of drugs such as antibiotics, considered to be the near-universal solution, declines. Bacteria and viruses have gradually adapted to drugs and are increasingly resistant to them.
Phytotherapy, which offers natural remedies that are readily accepted by the body, is often associated with conventional treatments. These days, it is enjoying an exceptional revival in the West, especially in the treatment of chronic illnesses. In addition, the side-effects of drugs are worrying users, who are turning to treatments that are less harmful to the body. It is estimated that 10 to 20% of hospital admissions are due to the side effects of chemical drugs. Although plants are easy to use, some of them can also cause side effects. Like all medicines, medicinal plants must be used with care. It is advisable to use a plant only on the advice of a specialist. The action of phytotherapy on the body depends on the composition of the plants. Since the eighteenth century, when scientists began to extract and isolate the chemical substances they contain, plants and their effects have been considered in terms of their active ingredients. While it is vital to control the action of the various active ingredients taken in isolation, phytotherapy, unlike traditional medicine, recommends using the whole plant, rather than extracts obtained in the laboratory. There are nutritive and curative plants, for digestion, breathing, to evacuate toxins and soothe the skin, to care for the hair, and for the body's beauty, for the body's regulatory system, the nervous system, the immune system, the respiratory, urinary, muscular and skeletal systems, digestive organs, circulation and the heart.