Intro

Question 1

what is phytotherapy?

Answer 1

the medical discipline that uses
plants either to treat disease or as health- promoting
agents.

Question 2

what is rational phytotherapy?

Answer 2

science-based, empirical
approach to the use of medicinal plants in the treatment
and prevention of diseases.It allows the correct use of medicinal plants, in relation to
the pharmacological properties of their chemical
constituents.

Question 3

what is a herb?

Answer 3

crude plant materials such as wood, flowers, leaves,
..etc or other plant parts, which may be entire, fragmented
or powdered.

Question 4

what is herbal material?

Answer 4

include, in addition to herbs, fresh
juices, gums, fixed oils, essential oils, resins and dry
powders of herbs.

Question 5

what are herbal preparations?

Answer 5

are the basis for finished herbal
products and may include powdered herbal materials, or
extracts, tinctures and fatty oils of herbal materials.

Question 6

what are finished herbal products?

Answer 6

consist of one or more herbal
preparations made from one or more herbs.
▪ Finished herbal products and mixture herbal products may
contain excipients in addition to the active ingredients.

Question 7

what is CAM

Answer 7

Complementary and alternative medicine(CAM): is a
group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices
and products that are not presently considered to be part of
conventional medicine.

Complementary medicine: used together with
conventional medicine, which is also called allopathy or
biomedicine.
▪ Alternative medicine: is used place of conventional
medicine.

Question 8

what does CAM include?

Answer 8

1. Whole medical systems (e.g. acupuncture, homeopathy).
2. Mind-body medicine (i.e. meditative, and relaxation
   techniques).
3. Biologically-based systems (e.g. natural products).
4. Manipulative and body-based practices (e.g. massage,
   chiropractics).
5. Energy medicine (e.g. Reiki therapy).

Question 9

why did the use of cam increase?

Answer 9

1. Expected benefits and perceived safety of CAM.
2. Availability and accessibility of CAM.
3. Influence from friends, family, and the mass media.
4. Dissatisfaction with conventional medicine.
5. The high prevalence of chronic diseases.
6. Cost.
7. Adverse effects of conventional medicine.

Question 10

what is the synergy effect

Answer 10

Synergy is an effect seen by a combination of
substances that is greater than would have been
expected from a consideration of individual contribution.
▪ If synergy is present the dose of the combination needed
to produce the same effect will be less than that for the
individual components.
▪ Example: the use of cannabis in multiple sclerosis to
control muscle spasticity and chronic pain.

▪ Mechanism of synergy?
I. Pharmacokinetic or physicochemical effects based on
improved solubility, resorption rate and enhanced
bioavailability.
II. Pharmacodynamic effects: multitarget effects.

Question 11

what is the polyvalent action

Answer 11

▪ Or multifactorial effects:
▪ Several compounds affecting a single target, either
directly or indirectly.
▪ A single compound affecting multiple targets.
▪ Multiple compounds affecting multiple related
targets.

Question 12

what is the unstable action ?

Answer 12

Sometimes the presence of all of the components
isolated from the plant material, which may
include antioxidants for example, may ‘protect’ the
actives from decomposition.
▪ Example: valerian (Valeriana spp.), and garlic.

Question 13

what are the unknown active constituents?

Answer 13

For some herbs, even those that are widely used,
the actives may not have been completely
identified.
▪ Example: passion flower.

▪ It is unusual for a plant to contain only one active
constituent.
▪ Example: cannabis.

Question 14

adverse effects in phytomedicine

Answer 14

▪ Natural is not equal to safe.
▪ Herbs can have undesirable side effects just as
conventional drugs do. Also, adverse effects are
attributable to factors such as excessive dosing,
allergic reactions, some herbal ingredients are
intrinsically toxic, and interacts with prescription
drugs.

Question 15

what are some quality problems with herbs

Answer 15

▪ Misidentified plant species.
▪ Contamination with heavy metals.
▪ Adulteration with prescription drugs.

Question 16

talk about herb-drug interactions

Answer 16

▪ 20-30% of prescription drug users take medications
concomitantly with herbal supplements.
▪ Less than 40% of patients reveal use of herbal dietary
supplements to their physicians or other heath care pro
fessionals.
▪ Therefore, there are no overall reliable statistics for the
incidence of clinical herbal–drug interactions.

Question 17

what is a monograph

Answer 17

▪ A monograph is written work on one subject.
▪ A medicinal plant monograph is generally
described on different heads such as selected
vernacular names; synonym; geographical
distribution; general identity tests; purity tests;
chemical assays; major chemical constituents;
medicinal uses; pharmacology; contraindications; warni
ngs; precautions; drug interactions; adverse
reactions; dosage forms and references.

Question 18

what is a herbal medicine?

Answer 18

Herbal medicines include herbs, herbal materials, herbal
preparations and finished herbal products.

Question 19

what is the regulation of herbal medicine?

Answer 19

a principle,
rule or law designed to control or govern manufacturers
and producers of herbal medicines.

Question 20

what are the different categories of herbal medicine

Answer 20

▪ Prescription medicines: medicines/drugs which can only
be purchased with a prescription or a physician’s order.

▪ Non-prescription medicines: medicines/drugs which
can be purchased without a prescription or a physician’s
order, often at a pharmacy. The definition of “non-
prescription medicines” may also often include the terms
“self-medication” and/or “over-the-counter (OTC)”
medicines.

▪ Dietary supplements: a dietary supplement could be
intended to supplement the diet and will contain, for
instance, a vitamin, a mineral, a herb, a botanical or an
amino acid.

▪ Health foods (including functional foods): any natural
food popularly believed to promote or sustain good health
by containing vital nutrients.
Examples include cereals, breads or beverages which are
fortified with vitamins and herbs.
▪ Health foods and/or functional foods may be advertised
or marketed with specific health claims and may
therefore be regulated differently than other foods

Question 21

what are the regulations status in jordan

Answer 21

▪ In 1990:
✓ Expert committee was established.
✓ Drafted requirements for registration of herbal medicine.
▪ In 1996:
✓ The committee established guidelines and rules for
herbal medicine and preparations.
✓ The rules were updated in 2016.
▪ The regulations of herbal medicines are partly the same
as those for conventional pharmaceuticals.

Question 22

what are the different classes of herbal meds in jordan

Answer 22

▪ Herbal medicine: claim to treat or cure.
▪ Herbal product: do not claim to treat or cure; and divided
into three groups:
i. Group (1): includes medicinal plants that implement in
Jordan with common used in Jordan at least for ten years.
ii. Group (2): includes medicinal plants for which the
international traditional use is well known (e.g. Ginkgo).
iii. Group (3): it’s include the new medical plants which still
not evaluated their safety and efficacy yet.

Question 23

what is quality control?

Answer 23

▪ It is a multi-step process that covers all stages from the
growing of the botanical material to the final control of
the finished product and the evaluation of its
stability and quality over time.
▪ It is essential at all stages of the production of the
botanical material, including collection, processing,
transportation, extraction, storage and preparation of the
finished pharmaceutical product.
▪ Reproducible quality is a goal, which is, among others, a
chieved by the process of “Standardization”.

Question 24

what is standardisation

Answer 24

The term “standardization” is a process that guarantees
specific levels or ranges of certain constituents occurring
in the final preparation and the use of consistent,
documented processes, and standards throughout every
step of production.
▪ Standardizing herbal products does not necessarily
guarantee potency.

▪ It is a requirement to have a minimum amount of one or
several compounds or groups of compounds in the
extract.
▪ In the field of phytomedicines standardization only
applies to extracts.
▪ The range has to be declared on lab
Truly standardized extracts are extracts for which the
active constituents (single or groups) are known. They
can thus be standardized to a defined content of the
active constituent(s) giving a clearly defined amount of
an active natural product.

Question 25

what is quantified extract

Answer 25

▪ The active biochemical principle is not known and a
characteristic compound is used as a “marker,” which
signifies the presence of the other biochemical compound
s that give the herb its therapeutic properties.