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Herbal Medicine

 

Modern medicine makes use of many plant-derived compounds as the basis for evidence-based pharmaceutical drugs. Many of these pharmaceuticals got their start as herbal remedies, including opium, aspirin, digitalis, and quinine.

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 25% of modern drugs used in the United States have been derived from plants. Among the 120 active compounds currently isolated and widely used in modern medicine today, 80% show a positive correlation between their modern therapeutic use and the traditional use of the plants from which they are derived.