For some time the term herbal medicine has been used to indicate natural forms of medicine given to patients who prefer to use natural forms of treatment rather than taking synthetic drug-type prescriptions manufactured by pharmaceutical companies.

Herbal medicine is the oldest form of medicine and is still used today all over the world as a primary form of treatment in the management of disease. Unlike Western herbal medicine, Chinese medicine does not focus on deriving medicinal compounds from plants only. As has been widely publicized in the media of late, Chinese medicine makes use of animal parts, and in the case of Bear-bile, it utilizes bodily fluids.

I am not about to start a discussion on the rights and wrongs of this, rather, I am thinking about the overly simplistic term 'Herbal medicine' that is used to refer to substances that are strictly speaking not herbal. For example trees, grains, minerals and vitamins. While they are usually part of the chemical composition of plants, they are not as such herbs. Herbs are herbaceous plants that are often seen as weeds. So, they are definitely not trees, or grains.

In a Forum on natural skin care, alternative medicine and aromatherapy I've come across recently, the moderator suggests using the term 'Botanicals', as it is more encompassing and includes trees, grains and non-herbaceous plant parts, as well as indicating that the substances referred to as Botanicals are of natural origin.

The term 'Botanicals' also contains the idea of herbal, but is less limiting. Botanicals also indicates natural and has possibly a slightly more 'medical' sense to it... Pharmaceuticals, Botanicals? I don't know, but they sound somewhat similar and provide the information that people are looking for. Pharmaceutical: made by pharmaceutical companies - Botanical: made by nature... What do you think?