草药

Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts.草药疗法是基于使用植物和植物提取物的传统医学或民间医学实践。 Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, and phytotherapy.草药疗法也被称为植物药，医学草药疗法，草药，草药学和植物疗法。 The scope of herbal medicine is sometimes extended to include fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts.草药的范围有时会扩展到包括真菌和蜂产品，以及矿物质，贝壳和某些动物部位。
Many plants synthesize substances that are useful to the maintenance of health in humans and other animals.许多植物合成了对维持人类和其他动物健康有用的物质。 These include aromatic substances, most of which are phenols or their oxygen-substituted derivatives such as tannins.这些包括芳族物质，其中大多数是酚或其氧取代的衍生物，如单宁。 Many are secondary metabolites, of which at least 12,000 have been isolated — a number estimated to be less than 10% of the total.许多是次级代谢产物，其中至少有XNUMX种已被分离出来-估计不到总数的XNUMX％。 In many cases, these substances (particularly the alkaloids) serve as plant defense mechanisms against predation by microorganisms, insects, and herbivores.在许多情况下，这些物质（尤其是生物碱）可作为植物防御机制，抵抗微生物，昆虫和草食动物的捕食。 Many of the herbs and spices used by humans to season food yield useful medicinal compounds.人类用于调味食物的许多草药和香料可产生有用的药用化合物。