Understanding the role of botanicals in medicine

Understanding the role of botanicals in medicine Dr Erin C. Berthold from Planted in Science Consulting LLC discusses the uses and perceptions of botanical medicines, emphasizing the necessity for coordinated global efforts to understand and regulate these substances to ensure their safe integration into healthcare. Botanicals have long been used in traditional medicine practices. In developing nations, particularly in Africa, up to 80% of the population relies on traditional medicine as their primary source of care. (1) This historical use of botanicals as medicines also profoundly shaped modern pharmacology, with botanical compounds serving as frameworks or direct sources for roughly one-third of all drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2)