Through ETHNO-BOTANICAL SURVEY​ more than 120 active compounds isolated from medicinal plants are widely used in modern medicine today.  These compounds comes mostly from different indigenous and traditional herbs and spices.  And so the World Health Organization made an appeal to member countries to do their utmost to preserve National heritage in the form of ETHNO-MEDICINE and ETHNO-PHARMACOLOGY and to bring back the use of known and tested medicinal plants and derivative into PRIMARY HEALTHCARE in rural areas and as alternatives when modern medicine is not available.    

In the Philippines it was the late senator Flavier who sponsored the Republic Act 8423 also called the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act of 1997.  As mandated in RA 8423, Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) should encourage scientific research and develop traditional and alternative health-care systems that have direct impact on public health care.  The agency should also promote and advocate the use of traditional, alternative, preventive and curative health-care modalities that have been proven safe, effective, cost effective and consistent with government standards on medical practice  PITAHC should also develop and coordinate skills-training courses for various forms of traditional and alternative health-care modalities; formulate standards, guidelines and codes of ethical practice appropriate for the practice of traditional and alternative health care, as well as in the manufacture, quality control and marketing of different traditional and alternative health-care materials, natural and organic products, for approval and adoption by the appropriate government agencies.  PITAHC was also mandated to formulate policies for the protection of indigenous and natural health resources and technology from unwarranted exploitation and formulate policies to strengthen the role of traditional and alternative health-care delivery system.

Philippines has over 1,000 species of medicinal plants that made the country as source of raw materials used to produce plant derivatives by some developed countries such as Japan, Germany and Korea.  Currently, there are only 10 plants proven medicinal through the research and studies conducted by the Department of Health.  The project started in 1985 and was officially made available to public for medicinal usage after about 12 years.  But despite the existing mandate and program implementation,  Philippines ranks lowest among other member countries in Asia in terms of utilization of traditional and indigenous medicinal plants in primary healthcare.   

Both the Scriptures and Science state that man was formed from dust.  The earth’s crust contains most of the mineral nutrients our body requires.
 
Soil has dissolved minerals and important elements that are incorporated & stored in plants for human consumption.  Specific elements play critical roles in the structures of proteins and the activities of enzymes in the human body.
 
The soil and all that grows in it is not something from us but must be regarded as our EXTERNAL METABOLISM, which produces the basic substances for our internal metabolism.  The soil needs activity – the natural cycle in growth and in rest, a system inert in Organic Farming.  The culprit is Natural replenishment of consumed substances and maintaining soil’s microbic flora, productivity and life – “Life begets Life”
 
But with the denatured farming practices derangement of Soil component seemingly became inevitable.  Both resulted to TOXICITY and DEFICIENCY which became the two major enemies of HEALTH. 
 
Toxicity starts in the soil and in the plants that grow in it.  Pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and other chemicals used in commercial agriculture, often until the day of harvesting and even post-harvest leave residues on the plants that became our food.  Many of these substances are systemic that permeate the produce and cannot be removed by washing.
 
Deficiency also starts in the Soil.  For well over 150 years, artificial fertilizers have been increasingly used in commercial agriculture, providing the soil with three major minerals: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.  They do not sufficiently provide the 50 or so minerals and trace elements which are essential to keeping the soil healthy, fertile and rich in enzymes and micro-organisms that characterize naturally fertilized, humus-rich land. As a result, impoverished soil can only produce deficient, nutrient-poor plants, which become our equally deficient daily food – that are further depleted by processing.
 
 
 
 SOURCE: HEALING THE GERSON WAY – Defeating Cancer and other Chronic Diseases