Firenzuoli, F., & Gori, L. (2007). Herbal
medicine today: clinical and research issues. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: eCAM, 4(Suppl1), 37–40. Retrieved from
doi: 10.1093/ecam/nem096
This is a study of the complicated aspects of
herbal research. The study founds that most traditional medicines have a
foundation in magical or religious beliefs.
The article argues that relying on tradition is contradicting scientific
attitudes, therefore, explanatory and pragmatic studies are needed in the
acquisition of reliable data. The review
demands research on both herbal medicines and traditional procedure-based
therapies. In order to achieve this, the
article highlights the concepts of efficacy and effectiveness. Efficacy is defined as the benefit a
treatment produces under ideal conditions, while effectiveness defines as the
benefit the treatment produces in cumulative clinical practice. Pragmatic studies are needed in order to examine
how effective a treatment is, while explanatory trials are appropriate to asses
whether a treatment has any efficacy. The authors concluded that a world-wide pharmacological
assessment needs to be done to clarify the safety of natural-derived substances. According to the website of Integrative
Medicine Florence (n.d.), the authors are academically qualified experts in
herbal medicine. Their target would be
primarily medical researchers and clinician examiners but also medical students
and the general public. The study is
relevant because it discusses approaches to enhance herbal research methodology.
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