Interest in medicinal herbs is on rise again and interest is primarily from pharmaceutical industry, which is always looking for ‘new drugs’ and more effective substances to treat diseases, for which there may be no or very few drugs available.

Considering very long traditional use of herbal medicines and large body of evidence of their effectiveness, why is it that we are not generally encouraged to use traditional herbal medicine, instead of synthetic, incomplete copies of herbs, called drugs, considering millions of dollars being spent looking for these seemingly elusive substances?

Herbs are considered treasures when it comes to ancient cultures and herbalists, and many so-called weeds are worth their weight in gold. Dandelion, Comfrey, Digitalis (Foxglove), Poppy, Milk Thistle, Stinging nettle, and many others, have well-researched and established medicinal qualities that have few if any rivals in pharmaceutical industry. Many of them in fact, form bases of pharmaceutical drugs.

Research into medicinal properties of such herbs as humble Dandelion is currently being undertaken by scientists at Royal Botanical Gardens, in Kew, west London, believe it could be source of a life-saving drug for cancer patients.

Early tests suggest that it could hold key to warding off cancer, which kills tens of thousands of people every year.

Their work on cancer-beating properties of dandelion, which also has a history of being used to treat warts, is part of a much larger project to examine natural medicinal properties of scores of British plants and flowers.

Professor Monique Simmonds, head of Sustainable Uses of Plants Group at Kew, said: "We aren't randomly screening plants for their potential medicinal properties, we are looking at plants which we know have a long history of being used to treat certain medical problems.”

“We will be examining them to find out what active compounds they contain which can treat illness.”

Unfortunately, as is so often case, this group of scientists appears to be looking for active ingredients, which can later be synthesized and then made into pharmaceutical drugs. This is not way herbs are used traditionally and their functions inevitably change when active ingredients are used in isolation. That’s like saying that only important part of a car is engine – nothing else needs to be included…

So, why is there this need for isolating ‘active ingredients’?

As a scientist, I can understand need for scientific process of establishing fact that a particular herb works on a particular disease, pathogen or what ever, and need to know why and how it does so. But, and this is a BIG but, as a doctor of Chinese medicine I also understand process of choosing and prescribing COMBINATIONS of herbs, which have a synergistic effect to treat not just disease, but any underlying condition as well as person with disease – That is a big difference and not one that is easily tested using standard scientific methodologies.

Using anecdotal evidence, which after all has a history of thousands of years, seems to escape my esteemed colleagues all together. Rather than trying to isolate active ingredient(s), why not test these herbs, utilizing knowledge of professional herbalists, on patients in vivo, using myriad of technology available to researchers and medical diagnosticians to see how and why these herbs work in living, breathing patients, rather than in a test tube or on laboratory rats and mice (which, by way, are not humans and have a different, although some what similar, physiology to us…).

We will look at: a) Where Essential oils come from, b) The way Essential oils effect mind and emotions, and c) The way Essential oils effect etheric body or physcho-spiritual level

a) WHERE DO ESSENTIAL OILS COME FROM ? - Essential Oils – Part 1

The odoriferous substances (Essential oils) themselves are formed in chloroplasts of leaves where they combine with glucose to form glucides and are then circulated around plant in this form. At certain times of day or year they are stored in particular parts of plant.

In some plants, essential oils are produced by secretory tissues, and in others they are combined with glycosides, and are therefore not detectable until plant is dried or crushed, e.g.: Valerian

Essential oils are considered to be an important part of plant's metabolism: some have hormonal activity and others are a stage in some other process, e.g.: oil found in rind of orange is a stage in Vitamin A synthesis.

Essential oils can be found in almost any part of plant, in differing concentrations, depending on plant itself, time of day and year. They may be found in roots (e.g.: Calamus and Valerian), flowers (e.g. Lavender, Rose,), bark (e.g. Sandalwood, Cedarwood), fruits (e.g.: Lemon, Cardamom, Orange), berries (e.g. Juniper), leaves (e.g. Thyme, Rosemary, Sage).

Plants which contain essences must be picked at correct time of day and in correct season, and in particular weather conditions in order that a maximum yield of essential oils can be obtained, and of course, as with all medicinal or nutritional plants, soil conditions, and climatic conditions will also dictate quality of oils obtained.

Heavy, concentrated oils are called ABSOLUTES e.g.: Rose, Jasmine, Oils which are solid at room temperature and which must be warmed before use are called BALSAMS, e.g.: Benzoin and Camphor.

HOW DO ESSENTIAL OILS WORK?

Essential oils are known to have an effect on us in three different, but overlapping, ways.

a) On physical body, both locally and systemically, via lymphatic and blood circulation. b) On mind and emotions via Sense of Smell and Limbic System. c) On “Etheric Energy System” of body via energy vibration of individual oils themselves.

The Way Essential Oils Effect Physical Body When Essential oils are applied to surface of body, either via Massage, Baths, Compresses, Creams or Lotions, they will have an effect locally (i.e. site at which they are applied), and Systemically (i.e. throughout body). The Systemic effect occurs when essential oils are absorbed through skin into Lymphatic Circulation, and they are then dumped from Lymphatic circulation into blood stream.