| PDF (Download) | James A. Duke | | Date: April 30, 1999 | HC# 020991-155 |
Re: Interview with Botanist Jim Duke
Frederick, Sue. An Expert's Advice on Herbal Medicine Delicious. 1998 Annual Guide:28-32, 34.
James Duke, Ph.D., is one of America's leading authorities on medicinal plants. He has over thirty years' experience as a botanist and biochemist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, numerous publications and research projects and personal botanical research and exploration around the world under his belt. In this interview, Duke doesn't mince words when he explains that he prefers herbal medicine to pharmaceuticals because 'it's generally cheaper, more gentle on the body, as effective, environmentally friendly, and almost always safer than the pharmaceutical.'
In his widely known herb guide, The Green Pharmacy, Duke reviews herbal medicines used internationally for 120 ailments. Duke attributes the growing popularity of herbs to people's concern with the harmful side effects of pharmaceutical medicines. He contrasts findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association that pharmaceuticals cause over 100,000 deaths annually with the herbal fatality rate of only a few per year. Duke explains this discrepancy as a matter of adaptation: 'We've been exposed to the natural compounds in plants [and adapted to them] for thousands of years, but we've only had synthetic over-the-counter drugs for a few decades.' Duke notes that during one decade more than half the drugs approved by the FDA had to be re-evaluated due to side effects that had not appeared during the research phase.
Duke advises new herb users to stick with well-known herbs, sold by well-known brands. Although he prefers to use fresh herbs, he encourages the use of standardized extracts for beginners who feel less confident about seeing the desired effects. Duke also warns against herbs sold in bulk, containers that expose volatile medicinal compounds to damaging air and light. At the same time, Duke doesn't agree 'with the silver-bullet approach, whether it comes from a plant or synthetic medicines;' he is concerned that isolated, pure compounds may 'throw off the body's homeostasis in ways we don't even know about yet.'
There are very few unsafe herbs on the market, according to Duke, and allergic reactions and other complications are often overplayed; he cites over-
coverage of a fairly rare allergic reaction to chamomile. However, caution and informed use is always advised when consuming any new substance.
When pressed to list the ten most important medicinal herbs, Duke mentions bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), Echinacea spp., evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum), feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), garlic (Allium sativum), ginger (Zingiberis officinale), ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), kava (Piper methysticum), saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) and turmeric (Curcuma longa). Of these, he predicts popularity booms for kava (for relaxant properties) and turmeric (a multi-purpose antiinflammatory). He sees echinacea as holding the greatest benefit for Americans, for treatment of colds; personally, he has greatly benefited from celery seed (Apium graveolens) for treatment of arthritis and gout.
This article includes side bars about the forms in which herbs are sold, the standardization controversy, the conservation group United Plant Savers, and therapeutic uses for Duke's ten most important herbs. - Betsy Levy
Enclosure: Copyright( 1998, Delicious!, reprinted with permission Bin #155 |