Seven top takeaways from the Integrative Practitioner Summit on environmental medicine

4. Botanicals can be used effectively to treat health problems, but when used incorrectly, they can have harmful effects.

There are hundreds of different molecules in plants able to exert specific actions on the human body, said Darin Ingels, ND, FAAEM, FMAPS, author, international speaker, and expert on Lyme disease in Fairfield, Connecticut. Just as these molecules can he used to heal, they can be harmful. In turn, practitioners must understand the chemical nature of plants to help provide patients with the best prescriptions and avoid dangerous interactions with other medications.

“If you're new to botanical medicine, you have to understand that some plants have different strains, different species,” said Ingels. “When you're selecting the plant that you want to use, you want to make sure that you're advising your patient or client on the right species.”

Different species of plants have different chemical properties. For example, according to Ingels, the plant artemisia has several different species that are used in botanical medicine to accomplish different goals. Artemisia absinthium, or wormwood, and Artemisia vulgaris, or mugwort, are used primarily in traditional Chinese medicine. However, in western medicine, Artemisia annua, also known as sweet wormwood, is commonly used for Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.

In addition, Ingels stressed practitioners use the right part of a plant to treat a patient. For instance, the root of blue flag iris (Iris versicolor) must be used when trying to simulate the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, and colon.

Understanding which plants have the greatest potential for toxicity is crucial when practicing safe plant medicine, Ingels said. Berberine alkaloids, for instance, are uterine stimulants and should not be used during pregnancy. High doses of the alkaloids, that are found in barberry (berberis vulgaris) and Oregon grape (berberis aquifolium), can suppress heart rate, myocardial contradictions, and bronchial constriction. Practitioners must understand the toxicity in plants such as these, and use them with caution, said Ingels. However, most herbs are generally considered safe and when used correctly, have little to no side effects, he said.