Botanical (Herbal) Medicine is the use of plants as medicine.  Many plant substances are powerful medicines that are safe and effective when used properly.  A resurgence of scientific research in Europe and Asia is demonstrating that some plant substances are superior to synthetic drugs in clinical conditions. Plants have been used for thousands of years for their medicinal properties and many pharmaceutical drugs have their origins in plant substances. Naturopathic practitioners use blended teas, liquid herbal extracts and tinctures, tablets, encapsulations, salves and poultices to treat a myriad of health imbalances.

Most European countries recognize the effectiveness of medicinal plants, include them in their official pharmacopoeias and regulate them as drugs or over-the-counter remedies. Naturopathic physicians are trained in drug-herb interactions to insure safety with the use of herbal medicines. Naturopathic physicians fuse centuries’ worth of traditional knowledge about herbal medicine with the enormous amount of ongoing scientific research on botanical medicine to treat many health conditions.