Herbalism (also herbology or herbal medicine) is the use of plants for medicinal purposes, and the study of botany for such use. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80 percent of the population of some Asian and African countries presently use herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care.

Some researchers trained in both western and traditional Chinese medicine have attempted to deconstruct ancient medical texts in the light of modern science.

According to Eisenburg: “The Chinese and Western medical models are like two frames of reference in which identical phenomena are studied.

Indigenous healers often claim to have learned by observing that sick animals change their food preferences to nibble at bitter herbs they would normally reject.