Herbal Treatment for Dermatologic Disorders

Abstract

Herbal therapy for skin disorders has been used for thousands of years. Even our biologically close relatives, the great apes, use herbal self-medication (Huffman 2001). Specific herbs and their uses developed regionally, based on locally available plants and through trade in ethnobotanical remedies. Systems of herbal use developed regionally in Europe, the Middle East (Ghazanfar 1994), Africa, India (Behl and Srivastava 2002), China, Japan, Australia, and the Americas. Two well-known systems still in use are the Ayurvedic herbs in India (Kapoor 1990) and herb combinations developed as part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in China (Xu 2004). In Europe and the United States, use of herbs declined as purified extracts and synthetic chemical drugs became available. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of the use of herbs due to the following reasons: the side effects of chemical drugs became apparent, there was a call to return to nature, natural remedies became a part of the green revolution, and there was a return to organic produce. Herbal remedies, including those for skin disorders, are currently gaining popularity among patients and to a lesser degree among physicians. In Asia, especially in China and India, herbal treatments that have been used for centuries are now being studied scientifically. In Germany, the regulatory authority Commission E oversees herbal preparations and their recommended uses (Blumenthal et al. 1998). Currently, the United States does not regulate herbal products except as dietary supplements. There is no standardization of active ingredients, purity, or concentration. There are also no regulations governing which herbs can be marketed for specific indications.Included in this review of herbal medications are those medications that show scientific evidence for clinical efficacy, as well as the more common herbs found to be useful in the treatment of dermatologic disorders. Information regarding the safety of each herb is also included in this chapter to better enable physicians to decide which herbal therapies they may want to use in practice. Common drug interactions and the side effects of herbal medicines that may be seen in the dermatologic setting are also included in this discussion.