The safety and efficacy of tibb pharmacotherapy

Pharmacotherapy is a traditional healing paradigm based mainly on herbs, with numerous pharmacopeia being compiled over the centuries. It was the dominant therapeutic option until superseded by modern chemical-based conventional drug therapy. As it is now experiencing a revival for reasons, such as better patient tolerance, more information is required on the mode of action and clinical efficacy of herbal remedies. In his Canon of Medicine, Ibn Sina details Tibb pharmacotherapy, allocating specific therapeutic herbs to different categories, or orders, of clinical efficacy and patient safety, based on the temperamental and humoral theories. Western drugs act on specific tissue receptors, whereas herbal remedies exert their action by restoring homeostasis via qualitative and humoral changes. Furthermore, herbal remedies support inner healing, or physis, so differ from Western drugs, which tend to oppose it. They also contain a wide range of active ingredients, which allow for a wide spectrum in pharmacotherapy effect. Consequently, Tibb pharmacotherapy is better tolerated, and less prone to adverse drug reactions.