The HerbMed Web site is a product of the Alternate Medicine Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization supported mainly by donations from sponsors. The foundation Web site says that the HerbMed database is currently (September 2001) being upgraded and will soon move to a new domain. The site states that it provides Internet access to scientific data regarding the use of herbs for health purposes, and that it is an information resource for professionals, researchers, and the general public. It has a disclaimer stating that the site is not intended for making diagnoses or prescribing treatments for medical problems. A list of plant links appears on the left‐hand side, listed alphabetically by scientific name with common names alongside. The Search box allows users to search the database by keywords, including plant names (either scientific or common), ailments, symptoms, or authors of articles.
Each plant page has subsections: “Evidence for activity” (data from clinical trials, case studies, anecdotal evidence), “Warnings, preparations, mixtures” (of the herb with other substances), “Mechanism of action” (biochemistry and “scientific basis of action”), and other (includes pictures of the plant, related keyword PubMed links, and other Web site links). Distribution maps of the herbs can often be found under “Other”. Many of the links lead to articles from PubMed, the free public version of MEDLINE from the US National Library of Medicine. The PubMed links normally consist of a brief abstract of the article, plus a brief citation and ordering information if users want the full text. Some of the PubMed links have a link to the entire article. Some journal articles are free, but others charge a fee for the complete text.
The HerbMed Web site loads quickly. It has no graphics and no advertisements. The presentation of the data is clear, if rather spartan, and it is easy to navigate around the site. No information is provided on how often the site is updated. Very few of the links do not work. An e‐mail address is provided for users’ questions or comments. Overall, I found it to be a useful, balanced, and authoritative site for researching data on herbal medicine, and I recommend it.
