Contemporary phytotherapy in Australia: an ethnobotanical survey

In Australia, Western herbal medicines are prescribed primarily by qualified herbalists and naturopaths. This survey aimed to examine plant use and prescribing patterns in contemporary phytotherapy in Australia. 68 responses from practitioners were included in the analysis. In total 322 species had been prescribed during the preceding 12 months; 309 of these were angiosperms and among these 286 were dicotyledons. The Asteraceae and Lamiaceae s.l. contributed the most species (33 and 30, respectively). The most widely prescribed species were Glycyrrhiza glabra (prescribed by 100% of respondents), Vitex agnus-castus (100%), Actaea racemosa (98.6%), Hypericum perforatum (98.6%) and Zingiber officinale (98.6%). The most frequently prescribed species were Withania somnifera (reported among the four most frequently prescribed herbs by 50%), Glycyrrhiza glabra (37%), Echinacea spp. (34%), and Silybum marianum (24%). Regression analysis was carried out using the total number of species in each family as the predictor and the number of species from the family used medicinally as the dependent variable [1]. Relative to their size, the Lamiaceae, Apiaceae and Asteraceae emerged as the most productive medicinal families (highest positive residuals). These results are discussed in a phytochemical context. On average, 74% of all prescriptions were in the form of liquids, 21% were in solid dose form for oral use and only 5% were for topical use. Practitioners reported combining several herbs in a prescription in nine out of ten cases; 75% of all prescriptions combined 4–6 herbs.

References: [1] Moerman, DE (1991) J Ethnopharmacol 31: 1–42.