Final answer:
A 'standardized' herbal supplement ensures the consistent presence of specific active compounds. Historically, plants have been a substantial source of medications with a wide variety of applications. Standardization today is fundamental to ensuring safety and efficacy in herbal supplements.
Step-by-step explanation:
When an herbal supplement is described as 'standardized,' it means that it has been manufactured to ensure a consistent concentration of a specific compound or group of compounds believed to be responsible for the herb's medicinal effects. This standardization is important because plants naturally vary in their chemical component levels due to different growing conditions, harvesting times, and processing methods. Therefore, standardizing an herbal supplement ensures that the consumer is getting a consistent dosage of the active ingredients each time they use the product.
Throughout history, humans have utilized plants for treating various health conditions. The medicinal properties of plants were known in Chinese, Egyptian, and Babylonian civilizations over 5,000 years ago. Modern pharmaceutical science has continued to recognize the value of plants as a source for therapeutic compounds. Indeed, many significant medications, such as aspirin, codeine, and digoxin, originally come from plant extracts.
While 25 percent of modern drugs once contained plant extracts, this number has decreased due to the development of synthesized chemical compounds. Nonetheless, about 10 percent of pharmaceuticals today still contain elements derived from plants. The process of standardization is critical in providing safe and efficacious herbal supplements to the public, ensuring that patients can rely on consistent therapeutic effects from their medication.