Unlike
synthetic drugs, which
are single active
chemical substances, phyto-pharmaceuticals contain complex mixtures of hundreds
of natural components. Among them, several isolated
lead substances are well known to be pharmacologically active
while others are
still under scientific investigation. The
efficacy of herbal
medicinal products results from
complex interactions the
active components with molecular
target structures, such
as receptors, enzymes, and transport systems. Herbal medicine was also the origin of
conventional academic medicine. Even today,
about 70% of
medicines contain active
ingredients that were originally
derived from natural
substances. Many
classical active
components, such as
the pain reliever morphine, the cardiac
glycoside digoxin or the anticholinergic agent atropine originate from plants. Today, however, such
isolated substances are
no longer considered as
phyto -pharmaceuticals as they
are either produced
by chemical synthesis or are isolated and purified to be used as single
substances
