THERE IS NO
BETTER SOURCE OF INFORMATION
CAUTION!
Just because herbs
and dietary supplements are natural substances doesn't mean that
they can be used indiscriminately. Herbs and supplements can be
strong medicine. Before trying any herbal remedy or
dietary/nutritional supplement, be sure that you know what it does,
how it is used, and any possible side effects or drug interactions.
A Herbologist should
monitor the use of any medicinal herb or dietary supplement, making
sure it does not conflict with medications already prescribed, and
will not worsen conditions already known. Also, the
sensitivity or allergic reaction can best be handled by a
Herbologist or aptly trained medical doctor who practices
integrative medicine. You may email the HONERI for FREE
information with respect to the safe and efficacious use of these
supplements.
As a general rule,
new medical problems may occur from ingesting herbal remedies or
dietary supplements, but the potential for an allergic or toxic
reaction is always there. In addition, about 1% of all plants are
poisonous. Therefore, it not recommended that people gather their
own herbs unless they are skilled Botanists/Herbologists.
Pregnant women should take these substances only under the direction
of a knowledgeable practitioner or midwife. Some herbs are
contraindicated in certain diseases and/or conditions. Parents
should check with a qualified practitioner before giving herbs to
children.
The information
provided is for educational purposes only. Used as a reference; not
as a means of diagnosis and/or treatment, it can act as a guide, but
only with the cooperation and advise of trained professionals.
It is not within the scope of any collection of information to
perform the medical duties of the health care profession.
Think of the body as
a test tube in a chemistry lab. Anything that is put into that
test tube, or taken out, will cause a reaction. If the reaction is
desirable, fine.... But if it is not desirable, it should be
changed with the help of medical advise. Even water causes a
change in body chemistry.
Some people think
that herbal tea is good, simply because it is a natural product.
This is not only foolish, but dangerous. Every herbal tea should be
weighed against possible complications, side effects, etc., before
taking on a daily basis. Everyone knows that a great many modern day
medications originated from herbs. Even aspirin was originally
discovered from willow tea. The herbs in herbal teas should be known
and checked against any medication, whether by prescription or
over-the-counter, for compatibility and/or side effects.
Databases -
Searchable:
Databases are available online at these
websites.
AGRICOLA:
AGRICOLA (AGRICultural OnLine Access) is a
bibliographic database of citations to the
agricultural literature created by the
National Agricultural Library, USA
American Indian Ethnobotany Database
Foods, drugs, dyes and Fibers of Native
North American Peoples. Dr. Moerman's
resource from University of Michigan
Carotenoid Database for US Foods
Collaborative effort between the
USDA and the Nutrition Coordinating Center
at the University of Minnesota. Mainly pdf
files. The complete database can be
downloaded.
HerbMed
Categorized, evidence-based resource for
herbal information, with hyperlinks to
clinical and scientific publications and
dynamic links for automatic updating,
produced by the nonprofit Alternative
Medicine Foundation.
IBIDS
International Bibliographic
Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS)
is a database of published, international,
scientific literature on dietary
supplements, including vitamins, minerals,
and botanicals, produced by the Office of
Dietary Supplements at the National
Institutes of Health
LIGAND Database
Ligand chemical database from
GenomeNet, Kyoto University.
Plants
for a Future
From Leeds University, UK, the
Species Database contains nearly 7000
plants, either edible, have medicinal
properties or have some other use such as
fibres, oils or soaps. Three websites for
searching and downloadable version.
PubMed
National Library of Medicine's search
interface to access the 10 million citations
in MEDLINE, and Pre-MEDLINE,
and other related databases.
Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical
Databases, Agricultural Research Service of
the US Department of Agriculture.
Tropical Plant Database
Each plant file contains taxonomy
data, phytochemical and ethnobotanical data,
uses in traditional medicine, and clinical
research from Raintree Nutrition, Inc,
Austin, Texas.
Non-Searchable:
Only description and access information
are provided at the WWW sites.
CABI -
CAB ABSTRACTS:
CAB INTERNATIONAL, Oxford, UK
Bibliographic database compiled by
CAB International. It covers agriculture,
forestry, aspects of human health, human
nutrition, animal health and the management
and conservation of natural resources.
Herb
Research Foundation
Provides a search service from an
extensive collection of herbal literature.
Lloyd
Library and Museum
The 200,000 volume collection contains
pharmacy, botany, and horticulture rare
books and other collections.
NAPRALERT
Large relational database of worldwide
literature on ethnomedical, chemistry,
pharmacology of plant, microbial, and animal
extracts from University of Illinois.
Glossaries:
Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
Searchable glossary
Garden
Gate Glossary of Botanical Names
Useful resource on primarily a gardening
site.
Ohio State University Interactive Plant List
Dictionary of plants - includes
medicinal plants.
Plantas Medicinais
Alphabetical listing of medicinal
plants and their characteristics.
Herbal
Monographs and Information Resources
Although they
are often described as databases, the
following resources are primarily sets of
monographs. They are all quality evaluated
or compiled from a particular perspective.
It is important to question the criteria
underlying the collection and presentation
of these resources.
Publicly
available:
Longwood Herbal Task Force
Monographs, patient and professional
information from the faculty, staff and
students of the Children's Hospital, the
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health
Sciences and the Dana Farber Cancer
Institute.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center-
Herbs, Botanicals, & Other Products
Provides information evaluated by
oncologists and healthcare professionals at
MSK, including a clinical summary for each
agent and details about constituents,
adverse effects, interactions, and potential
benefits or problems.
Subscription-based:
HealthGate
General medical information and herb
monographs, aimed at licensing for
commercial outlets. Advisory board and
sources of information specified on web
site.
HealthNotes
UK based company provides consumer
information on health, food, and lifestyle
information for in-store touchscreen kiosks.
States that all information is verified by
compilers in peer-reviewed journals.
Intramedicine
Management team and advisory team
specified on web site. Provides a Chinese
herbal database as part of resources.
Professional pharmacist and patient
oriented.
Natural Medicines
Large collection of monographs aimed at
medical professionals generally. Also
available in book format. Editorial team
listed.
Natural Standard
Monographs compiled by a
multidisciplinary team. High profile
advisory team. Methodology, selection
criteria, and evaluation clearly described.
Primarily oriented to clinicians and
pharmacists.
Online Journals,
Libraries, and Citations:
Bibliography from Bastyr University
A collection of citations from the
literature on herbals from the Bastyr
library. The categorized listing is
extensive and also cites the journals used
for the compilation.
Cathay
Herbal Library
Collection of articles on Traditional
Chinese Herbal Medicine for western doctors
and TCM practitioners from the Cathay Herbal
Laboratories Education Department.
European Phytojournal
Official newsletter of ESCOP, the European
Scientific Cooperative on phytotherapy
International Journal of pharmacognosy
Research on the bioactivity of plants and
extracts from all parts of the globe.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Interdiscipliniary journal from Elsevier
devoted to research on biological activities
of plant and animal substances used in
traditional medical systems.
Journal of Natural Products
Joint publication of the American Chemical
Society and the American Society of
Pharmacognosy, for natural product
chemists,biochemists, taxonomists,
ecologists, and pharmacologists.
Journal of Naturopathic Medicine
lOfficial publication of the American
Association of Naturopathic Physicians.
Medical Herbalism
A full text clinical newsletter for the
herbal practitioner.
Natural Products Reports online
Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry,
UK.
Pharmaceutical Biology
Formerly the International Journal of
Pharmacognosy. Research on the bioactivity
of plants and extracts from all parts of the
globe.
Phytochemistry
Published by Elsevier, covers research on
all aspects of plant chemistry, plant
biochemistry, plant molecular biology and
chemical ecology.
See also the
American Society of
Pharmacognosy listing of
related journals
Mailing
Lists:
Instructions on how to join or leave lists
are provided at the urls below.
Centre
for International Ethnomedicinal Education
and Research
CIEER is an international network
of ethnobotanical researchers and provides a
public discussion forum and listserv to
exchange information on the safe and
effective use of medicinal plants.
Herbal
Hall
Interactive site for professional
herbalists, students, and public
Herb
Bulletin Board
Click on The Green House for entry to an
unmonitored, Web based, open discussion
group.
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Discussion
List
Three lists are featured at this site: The
Medicinal Herblist; The Culinary Herblist;
and The HerbInfo-list archives. There is
also a newsgroup: Alt.folklore.herbs.
Medicinal Plants Working Group
A consortium of federal agencies and
groups concerned with native plant
extinction, native knowledge, and habitat
resoration. Anyone can join by contacting
and subscribing.
Paracelsus
Email based, clinical practice mailing list.
Free subscription required to join.
Related
Links:
Algy's
Home Page
One of the earliest herb sites on the Web.
Click on The Apothecary for information on
medicinal herbs.
Alternative Nature Online Herbal
Miscellany of links and resources for
herbalists.
American Botanical Council
Educating the public on the use of herbs and
phytomedicinals. ABC publishes HerbalGram
and has an extensive list of publications in
the herbal Education Catalog.
American Herbalists Guild
Non-profit educational organization
representing herbalists. AHG also provides a
large database of certified herbalists,
educational programs, and publications.
American Herbal Pharmacopoeia
The goal of AHP is to produce
authoritative herbal monographs containing
accurate, critically reviewed information on
botanicals to provide guidance in the
appropriate use of herbal therapeutics.
Botanical.com
Collection of resources and links on
botanicals. Features a hyper-text version of
A Modern Herbal, 1931, by Mrs. M.Grieve:
Center for
Botanical Dietary Supplement Research in
Women's Health
Center at University of Chicago, funded
by NIH, studies botanicals with potential
benefits for women's health.
Eclectic Medical Publications
Collection of books and articles by
Francis Brincker and other naturopathic
herbalists.
Environmental Estrogens (Phytoestrogens)
Scientific information on
environmental estrogens and other hormones.
Flavornet
Compilations of aroma compounds
sorted by their chromatographic and sensory
properties - from Cornell University.
Henriette's Herbal Homepage
Collection of medicinal and culinary herb
resources.
Herbal
Bookworm
Herbal book reviews by Jonathan
Treasure. Idiosyncratic and insightful.
HerbNET
Herb growing and marketing network.
Herb
Research Foundation
Information resource for the worldwide use
of herbs for health, environmental
conservation and international development.
Howie
Brounstein's Home Page
Collection of sites and resources.
Natural Products Branch
National Cancer Institute's Natural
Products Branch tests and screens crude
natural products for anti-cancer activity.
Medherb.com
Categorized links to information on
medicinal herbs and herbalism in the
clinical setting from the journal, Medical
Herbalism.
Michael Moore's Home Page
Mounted by the Director of the Southwest
School of Botanical Medicine, features a
collection of publications and images.
Michael Tierra's Planetary Herbology
Idiosyncratic, lively site to explore.
Phytochemistry of Herbs
Focuses on the phytochemistry of popular
herbal medicines.
Phytotherapies.org
A reference resource for herbal
practitioners.
Robyn's Recommended Reading
Quarterly review of literature on
herbalism and phytotherapy from Robyn Klein,
herbalist.
Cultivation and
Conservation Issues
Directory of forest Products, Wood Science,
and Marketing
Resource compiled by Steve Shook
from the University of Idaho.
Ecocrop
Information resource for plants,
environments, uses, and environmental
requirements.
Herb
Society of America
Membership organization,
founded in 1933. Concerned with the
cultivation of herbs and the study and
history of their uses, past and present.
The Society is committed global
environmental protection and encourages the
practice of environmentally sound
horticulture.
Horizon Herbs
Source of roots and seeds for
medicinal plants
Laboratory of Ethnobotany
The Ethnobotany laboratory houses
extensive collections of domesticated plants
from around the world as well as specimens
recovered from archaeological sites.
MedPlant
A global network committed to the
sustainable and socially equitable use of
medicinal plants.
National Center for the Preservation of
Medicinal Herbs
Research on conservation of at-risk
botanicals
National Plant Germplasm System
NPGS is a cooperative effort by
public (State and Federal) and private
organizations to preserve the genetic
diversity of plants.
People
and Plants Online
International initiative in applied
ethnobotany, focusing on the interface
between people and the world of plants. It
promotes sustainable use of plant resources,
and the reconciliation of conservation and
development.
Plant
Conservation Alliance
The PCA is a consortium of 10 federal
government member agencies and over 145
non-federal Cooperators: biologists,
botanists, habitat preservationists,
horticulturists, resources management
consultants, soil scientists, and
enthusiastic supporters, working to solve
the problems of native plant extinction and
native habitat restoration.
PLANTLAX
PLANTLAX is a pioneering
organization in Mexico with an emphasis on
organic herb products under a sustainable
management.
Illustrations:
Botany
Texts and images from the Vatican Library
herbal collection.
CalPhotos
Searchable database of over 21,000
images from University of California,
Berkeley.
Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
Scroll down to Michael Moore's collection of
Medicinal plant images.
Rare
Books from the MBG Library
Missouri Botanical Garden rare books
collection has been scanned and made
available - includes medicinal plants and
their uses.
Wild
Herb Medicinal Flowers
Herb pictures, medicinal plans,
wild flower photos and descriptions of uses
in alternative medicine.
Adverse Effects/Safety
and Standards:
Botanical Dermatology Database
Electronic version of book. Search on
plant families or main index.
Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System
Information resource from
Agriculture and Agri-Food, Canada
ConsumerLab
Independent laboratory testing of health
and nutrition products.
ESCOP
European Scientific Cooperative on
Phytotherapy contains the herbal adverse
drug reactions database, PhytoNet.
FDA:
Poisonous Plant Database (PLANTOX)
Little known resource compiled by D. Jesse
Wagstaff, DVM, with plant names and
citations accessable from an alphabetical
listing.
HerbMed
HerbMed hyperlinks to the evidence on
contraindications, toxic and adverse
effects, and drug/herbal interactions.
Herbs
and Pregnancy
Information on herbs helpful and
counterindicated in pregnancy from
GardenGuides.com.
Index of Poisons
From Mrs. M. Grieve: A Modern Herbal.
MedWatch
FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event
Reporting Program, serves healthcare
professionals and the public by providing
information on medical product safety issues
including dietary supplements and medical
foods.
Ohio
State University - Herb and Drug
Interactions
Table of possible herb-drug interactions -
referenced and authored.
Review
of Herb-Drug Interactions: Docmented and
Theoretical
Review article with look up tables
published in US Pharmacist.
ToxAgents
Information resource from Cornell
University.
Toxic Plant Database
Compilation from the veterinary
Medicine Library, UIUC |