Herb Chemistry

The mode in which a particular herb acts on a specific disease, or its concrete action against disease causing agents are still uncertain and yet to be ascertained. However, researchers have a definite clue, as to how a particular herb can provide relief to specific diseases and illnesses; though the definite chemical pathway is yet to be studied in its entirety, one can attribute the success of herbs in treating a particular condition to their well defined chemical structure and biochemical compounds.

Herbal chemistry or Herbal pharmacology (as it is known in medical dictionary) is a complex subject that involves several hundred chemical compounds and their derivatives along with thousands of invisible biochemical molecules. A typical herb will contain almost 1000 different chemicals and molecules of varied biochemical compositions. Under usual circumstances, a herbal medicine may contain all or some of the following type of chemical compounds:

• Herbal Plant Acids
• Herbal Alcohols
• Herbal Volatile Oils
• Herbal Carbohydrates
• Herbal Phenolic Compounds
• Herbal Tannins
• Herbal Coumarins
• Herbal Anthraquinones
• Herbal Falvones
• Herbal Saponins
• Herbal Cardiac Glycosides
• Herbal Bitter Principles
• Herbal Alkaloids

Herbal chemistry is a challenging field, where a specialist can research and toil for many years and still fails to unravel the complete mystery of magical herbs. A day is not far away, and the time is not too distant, when you’ll be able to understand the amazing properties of thousands of herbs!