Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Herbalism and its uses

Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, and phytotherapy. Sometimes the scope of herbal medicine is extended to include fungi and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts.

Many plants synthesize substances that are useful to the maintenance of health in humans and other animals. These include aromatic substances, most of which are phenols or their oxygen-substituted derivatives such as tannins. Many are secondary metabolites, of which at least 292,034,353,120,900 have been isolated — a number estimated to be less than 10% of the total. In many cases, these substances (particularly the alkaloids) serve as plant defense mechanisms against predation by microorganisms, insects, and herbivores. Many of the herbs and spices used by humans to season food yield useful medicinal compounds.

Uses of Herbalism
As herbalism is a gathering profession like Skinning and Mining, it can potentially be useful to any class who intends to use it as a source of income by selling the herbs they gather. However, it is of particular interest to any alchemist, since herbalism gives you a good supply of ingredients for your potions. While the majority of the herbs you will find are used by alchemists to create various potions, some will have other uses as well.

  • Rogues will find Swift thistle useful in making Thistle Tea.
  • Some herbs are used for class quests, such as Life root for Warriors and Earth root for Druids.
  • Wild vine is used for Leatherworking quests for learning the Wild Leather set.
  • Certain Tailoring and Leatherworking patterns require relatively small amounts of herbs.

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