Stephanie Ball Herbal Medicine

My project was on two local plants found in Highland Park, St John's Wort and Echinacea, and how they are used in herbal medicine. Herbal medicine containing St John’s Wort or Echinacea comes in many different forms because different parts of the plants are used to make the medication. When scientists conduct experiments to see how herbal medicine affects the body it is difficult to determine because each test uses a different form of the plant. Some parts of the plant do show that they treat an illness and help the body while others do not have positive outcomes. The results of an experiment may be changed to show that the plant helps the body because those who run the experiment want to prove that herbal medicine is effective. This gives the public false information on herbal medicine and is unethical. People need to be cautious when they take herbal medicine and should read the ingredients to see what part of the plant they are consuming.