Herbal tonic

[1] Herbal tonics are believed to have healing properties ranging from relieving muscle and joint pain[3] and extend as far as inhibiting some cancers.

[4] Herbal tonics can be dated as far back as 4,000 years ago[5] – as a practice thought to have originated under the sphere of traditional Chinese Medicine.

[8] Roughly 4 billion people (primarily living in the developing world) annually spend roughly US$60 billion[9] on herbal medicines to aid a large range of particular illness,[8] with some individuals turning to herbal tonics due to concerns about that quality, safety, or affordability of orthodox treatments by physicians.

[8] There is limited research into the safety and efficacy of herbal tonics[9] – what is known is that some herbs contain specific chemicals and minerals which have known effects on the human body.

[11] Chinese literature denotes four different roles to drugs (which in this case are different herbs used in tonics) – the emperor, minister, assistant and envoy.

[5] Sugar mixed with herbs known for mending particular ailments form heart tonics believed to maintain optimal functioning of the cardiovascular system.

[15] As a result of clinical studies proving the effectiveness of adaptogens (found in herbal tonics), they were formed into both tablets and concentrated liquids and distributed amongst army and military staff serving during the Cold War.

[3] Additionally, herbal tonics are used for physiological relief – to aid muscle pain, soothe tension headaches and alleviate unsettled stomachs, to name a few.

[18] Raspberry leaf is used due to a belief that it has no toxic connotations, nor is a medicinal substance, and has nutrients believed to tone the uterus.

[21] Dibazol positively affected animals’ resistance against stress[15] Jacob's ladder (Polemonium ceruleum) is another herb used in tonics originally called chilodynamia by ancient Greeks.

[8] There are accounts of toxicity as a result of consuming herbal tonics causing severe abdominal pain, malaise and in some cases, even liver failure.

Herb garden.
An image within a herbal diatetic text from the Ming dynasty. The image is of a person drinking water from a Limestone cave to improve their health.
Eleutherococcus senticosus commonly known as Siberian Ginseng is one of the first plants defined as an adaptogen and used in herbal tonics in 1960 Soviet Russia.