天然ハーブの有用性 : 歯科の領域を中心に

Herbs have long been used to maintain mental and physical health, and are now referenced to as medical herbs. At present, herbs are commonly utilized as tea, spice, perfume, etc., and are also used as traditional medicines and relaxation tools. In recent years, life style diseases, such as atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and arthritis, are rapidly increasing, despite the progress of western medicine. Therefore, integrated medicine for patient-centered medical treatment that combines western medicine and “complementary and alternative medicines (CAM)”, can be adopted to treat various diseases. Phytotherapy with herbs has been getting increasing attention because its efficacy and pharmacological actions have been proven in evidence-based studies, when compared with other types of CAM. This paper introduces the effectiveness of herbs to treat dental diseases, and to treat systemic diseases associated with periodontal disease, using the two American databases for herbs, i.e., “Natural Standard Herb & Supplement Reference” and “Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database”. One of herbs to treat systemic diseases associated with periodontal disease, is a plant called Cat's Claw, which is known to have many active ingredients and beneficial properties. The characterization and the availability of its components for prevention and treatment of periodontal disease are introduced in this paper.
Natural herbs, such as Cat's Claw, contain many beneficial phytochemicals including polyphenols, sterols and terpenoids. Therefore, they possess various useful properties, i.e., anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-bacterial activities. In addition, they have very few known side effects. Ingestion of natural herbs as crude extracts, such as tea, is being considered for the promotion of individual health in daily life.