Traditional medicine, deeply rooted in cultural practices and historical wisdom, has faced surging challenges due to the escalating demand for plant-based remedies. This comprehensive review critically emphasizes the urgent need for sustainable practices within traditional medicine, with a special focus on the potential of plant part substitution. Case studies that illuminate successful instances of substituting plant parts and providing a deep insight into viable alternatives to conventional practices are presented. Opportunities and challenges inherent in plant part substitution are discussed by addressing key considerations such as phytochemical and pharmacological aspects, safety and toxicity profiles, cultural insights, standardization, clinical validation, and regulatory compliance. This review serves as a guide for navigating the delicate balance between tradition and conservation within indigenous medicine practices. It underscores the importance of embracing sustainable approaches through plant part substitution, ensuring the preservation of cultural heritage while meeting the evolving healthcare needs of society. Please cite this article as: Srivastava B, Sharma H, Meena AK, Bharthi V. Balancing tradition and conservation: exploring plant part substitution in traditional medicine. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(3): 209-217.
Medicine, Traditional/methods* ; Humans ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry* ; Phytotherapy/methods* ; Conservation of Natural Resources

This perspective review explores the transformative potential of personalized herbal medicine, examines the integration of ancient herbal knowledge with modern personalized medicine, delves into the principles of personalized medicine particularly in the context of herbal treatments, and investigates the principles of personalized medicine and elucidates how they are being applied to herbal medicine. It emphasizes the individualized nature of this approach and how it is facilitated through genetic analysis and health profiling. This review also highlights key advancements in herbal medicine, such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis and bioinformatics, and their role in the development of precise and personalized herbal remedies. The outcomes of personalized herbal medicine reveal how genetic variations are being considered to tailor treatments, create target-specific therapies, and customize dosage regimens. Furthermore, this review illustrates the evolution of herbal medicine with technological advancements, particularly DNA analysis and bioinformatics, to enhance precision and personalization. The challenge associated with implementing personalized herbal medicine more broadly includes issues of accessibility, regulation, education and ethics. It underscores the transformative potential of personalized herbal medicine. It calls for continued exploration, research and collaboration in this burgeoning field. This emerging field encourages researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders to engage in advancing healthcare practices that are increasingly personalized, evidence-based, and centered on patient's needs. Please cite this article as: Aslam MS, Kim YJ. Herbal medicine in the modern age: The era of personalized precision. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(6):591-604.
Precision Medicine ; Humans ; Herbal Medicine/methods* ; Phytotherapy

Covid-19 pandemic has caused hundreds of thousands deaths and millions of infections and continued spreading violently. Although researchers are racing to find or develop effective drugs or vaccines, no drugs from modern medical system have been proven effective and the high mutant rates of the virus may lead it resistant to whatever drugs or vaccines developed following modern drug development procedure. Current evidence has demonstrated impressive healing effects of several Chinese medicines (CMs) for Covid-19, which urges us to reflect on the role of CM in the era of modern medicine. Undoubtedly, CM could be promising resources for developing drug candidates for the treatment of Covid-19 in a way similar to the development of artemisinin. But the theory that builds CM, like the emphasis of driving away exogenous pathogen (virus, etc.) by restoring self-healing capacity rather than killing the pathogen directly from the inside and the 'black-box' mode of diagnosing and treating patients, is as important, yet often ignored, an treasure as CM herbs and should be incorporated into modern medicine for future advancement and innovation of medical science.
Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use* ; COVID-19/therapy* ; Disease Outbreaks ; Drug Development/standards* ; Drug Resistance, Viral/genetics* ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/trends* ; Mutation Rate ; Pandemics ; Phytotherapy/methods* ; SARS-CoV-2/physiology*

Adult ; Body Temperature/drug effects* ; COVID-19/pathology* ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Ephedra sinica/chemistry* ; Female ; Fever/pathology* ; Glycyrrhiza/chemistry* ; Humans ; Indoles/administration & dosage* ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy/methods* ; Pneumonia, Viral/pathology* ; Radiography, Thoracic ; SARS-CoV-2/drug effects*

Brucea javanica, a Chinese herbal medicine, combined with conventional anticancer modalities, has been widely used for treatment of various cancers. Based on researches over the last decades, authors briefly summarized its active constituents, molecular mechanisms and clinical application for cancer treatment.
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; therapeutic use ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Biomedical Research ; methods ; trends ; Brucea ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Phytotherapy

Objective: To explore the effects of Kudzu Root plus Cinnamon Granules (KR+C) on prostatic hyperplasia (PH) in mice. METHODS: Sixty 4-week-old Kunming male mice were randomly divided into six groups: blank control, PH model, high-, medium- and low-dose KR+C, and finasteride control. All the mice except those in the blank control group were subcutaneously injected with testosterone propionate (5 mg / ［kg·d］) at 7 days after surgical castration. The animals of different groups were treated intragastrically with different doses of KR+C, finasteride, and normal saline respectively for 3 weeks and then sacrificed for weighing of the prostate, calculation of the prostatic index, observation of the morphological changes in the prostate after HE staining, determination of the expressions of FGF2, Ki67 and TGF-β1 by immunohistochemistry, detection of 5α-reductase activity by ELISA, and measurement of the apoptosis index of the prostatic cells by TUNEL. RESULTS: Compared with the model controls, the mice of the other groups showed significantly reduced prostatic volume (P <0.05), prostatic index (P <0.05), expressions of FGF2, Ki67 and TGF-β1, and activity of 5 α-reductase (P <0.05), but remarkably increased apoptosis index of the prostatic cells (P <0.05). However, no statistically significant differences were observed in the above parameters between the finasteride control and the three KR+C groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS KR+C can reduce the prostatic volume of PH mice by decreasing the activity of 5α- reductase, inhibiting the expressions of FGF2, Ki67 and TGF-β1, and promoting the apoptosis of prostatic cells.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Cholestenone 5 alpha-Reductase ; metabolism ; Cinnamomum zeylanicum ; chemistry ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 ; metabolism ; Finasteride ; therapeutic use ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Ki-67 Antigen ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Organ Size ; Phytotherapy ; methods ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Prostate ; pathology ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Pueraria ; chemistry ; Random Allocation ; Testosterone Propionate ; administration & dosage ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism ; Urological Agents ; therapeutic use

PURPOSETo evaluate the effect of a hydroethanolic extract of Moltkia coerulea ointment (MCO) on the healing of excision wound in a rat model.

METHODSCircular surgical full thickness excision wound, with 314 mm² size, was induced in the anterior-dorsal side of each rat. Three different doses of MCO (1%, 3% and 6%) were administrated. On Day 3, 7, 14 and 21, the tissue was sampled and immune cells, fibroblasts and fibrocytes distribution per one mm² of wound area, collagen density and re-epithelialization were analyzed. Moreover, the total flavnoid, phenols and anti-oxidant potential of the MCO were evaluated. Ultimately, the percentage of wound contraction in different groups was compared with each other.

RESULTSHydroethanolic extract of MCO significantly (p < 0.05) increased wound contraction percentage. The animals in medium and high dose MCO-treated groups exhibited remarkably (p<0.05) higher fibroblast and fibrocyte distribution and significantly (p < 0.05) lower immune cells infiltration. On Day 7 after injury, MCO up-regulated neovascularization in a dose-dependent way.

CONCLUSIONOur data showed that MCO shortened the inflammation phase by provoking the fibroblast proliferation. Moreover, MCO promoted the healing process by up-regulating the angiogenesis and provoking the structural cells proliferation as well as increasing the collagen synthesis, cross-linking, and deposition.

Administration, Topical ; Animals ; Biopsy, Needle ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Disease Models, Animal ; Immunohistochemistry ; Iran ; Male ; Phytotherapy ; methods ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Skin ; drug effects ; injuries ; Treatment Outcome ; Wound Healing ; drug effects ; Wounds and Injuries ; drug therapy

OBJECTIVETo observe the efficacy and safety of Danlong Oral Liquid (DOL) combined Western medicine (WM) in treating mild-to-moderate bronchial asthma patients (heat wheezing syndrome) at acute onset.

METHODSTotally 480 mild-to-moderate bronchial asthma patients (heat wheezing syndrome) at acute onset were randomly assigned to two groups in the ratio 3:1, the treatment group (360 cases) and the control group (120 cases). All patients received basic WM treatment. Patients in the treatment group took DOL, 10 mL each time, 3 times per day for 7 days in total, while those in the control group took Kechuanning Oral Liquid (KOL) , 10 mL each time, 3 times per day for 7 days in total. Efficacy for asthma symptoms, lung functions and scores of TCM syndrome and/or main symptoms were evaluated.

RESULTSThe percentage of clinical control and significant effectiveness of asthma symptoms in the treatment group was significantly higher than that of the control group (77.36% vs 56.07%, P < 0.01). The percentage of clinical control and significant effectiveness of lung functions in the treatment group was significantly higher than that of the control group (74.28% vs 50.00%, P < 0.01). The anterior-posterior difference in scores of TCM syndrome was significantly superior in the treatment group than in the control group (-11.26 ± 4.70 vs -9.21 ± 5.09, P < 0.01). The anterior-posterior difference in scores of main symptoms was significantly better in the treatment group than in the control group (-6.58 ± 3.08 vs -5.16 ± 3.45, P < 0.01). The incidence of adverse reactions was significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group [1.73% (6/346 cases) vs 10.17% (12/118 cases) , P < 0.05].

CONCLUSIONDOL combined WM was superior to KOL in treating mild-to-moderate bronchial asthma patients (heat wheezing syndrome) at acute onset.

Anti-Asthmatic Agents ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; Biomedical Research ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Lung ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Phytotherapy ; Respiratory Sounds ; Syndrome

BACKGROUNDThroughout the past three decades, increased scientific attention has been given to examining saffron's (Crocus sativus L.) use as a potential therapeutic or preventive agent for a number of health conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and depression.

OBJECTIVEThe purpose of this systematic review is to examine and categorize the current state of scientific evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding the efficacy of saffron on psychological/behavioral outcomes.

SEARCH STRATEGYElectronic and non-electronic systematic searches were conducted to identify all relevant human clinical research on saffron. The search strategy was extensive and was designed according to the "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)." Reference lists of articles that met the inclusion criteria were searched. Only English language studies were reviewed.

INCLUSION CRITERIASaffron trials in combination with other substances and saffron safety studies were considered, in accordance with the PRISMA statement. Included studies must have a control group. Included studies must measure a physiological and/or a behavioral outcome.

DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSISThe methodological quality of all included studies was independently evaluated by two reviewers using the Jadad score. Mean scores and P-values of measures were compared both inter- and intra-study for each parameter (i.e., depression).

RESULTSTwelve studies met our inclusion criteria. These studies examined the effects of saffron on psychological/behavioral outcomes of: major depressive disorder (n=6), premenstrual syndrome (n = 1), sexual dysfunction and infertility (n=4), and weight loss/snacking behaviors (n=1). The data from these studies support the efficacy of saffron as compared to placebo in improving the following conditions: depressive symptoms (compared to anti-depressants and placebo), premenstrual symptoms, and sexual dysfunction. In addition, saffron use was also effective in reducing excessive snacking behavior.

CONCLUSIONFindings from initial clinical trials suggest that saffron may improve the symptoms and the effects of depression, premenstrual syndrome, sexual dysfunction and infertility, and excessive snacking behaviors. Larger multi-site clinical trials are needed to extend these preliminary findings.

Behavior ; drug effects ; Crocus ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; drug therapy ; psychology ; Humans ; Phytotherapy ; methods ; Plant Preparations ; therapeutic use ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Administration, Topical ; Cinnamomum zeylanicum ; Episiotomy ; methods ; Female ; Gels ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Phytotherapy ; methods ; Plant Preparations ; administration & dosage ; Pregnancy