Phytotherapy as an alternative method to support treatment of diseases

Phytotherapy, the use of plant-derived medications in the treatment and prevention of disease. Phytotherapy is a science-based medical practice and thus is distinguished from other, more traditional approaches, such as medical herbalism, which relies on an empirical appreciation of medicinal herbs and which is often linked to traditional knowledge (Michael Heinrich). The first book wholly devoted to the description of herbs and their medicinal value was Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, written in the Eastern Han dynasty of China (25-220 AD). This book is also known as "Classic of the Materia Medica" or "Shen-nong's Herbal Classics." It describes botanical, zoological, and mineral substances, and was composed in the second century under the pseudonym of Shen-nong ("the holy farmer"; Zhu, 1998) (Benzie and Wachtel-Galor 2011).

Is can be considered phytotherapy an alternative method to treat the diseases?
modern medicine has many advantages and successes ,it also has disadvantages and failures including:

• The drug industry is too enmeshed in the medical system. The pharmaceutical industry has way too much power and is “bribing” doctors to use their drugs and researchers to produce positive results for their drugs (F. Lipman, 2010)
• 10 to 20% of hospital patient are due to the side effects of chemical drugs, furthermore the Problem of the effectiveness of drugs such as antibiotics and bacteria have gradually adapted to antibiotics (Chevallier 2001).

Benzie, I. F. and S. Wachtel-Galor (2011). Herbal medicine: biomolecular and clinical aspects, CRC Press.
Chevallier, A. (2001). Encyclopedia of Médicinal Plants (2nd eds) Dorling Kindersiey Limited, Londres.
F. Lipman (2010). 18 Biggest Problems with Modern Medicine. http://www.care2.com/greenliving/18-biggest-problems-with-modern-medicine.html