Consumer products that contain botanicals, or plants, have been used since times immemorial for the treatment or prevention of diseases or to maintain health. These products are called herbals, or botanicals, or phytomedicines.
These products are like nutraceuticals in terms of their dosage forms, however their ingredients may contain entire plants or plant parts.
Nutraceuticals are differentiated from herbal and botanical products in being purified ingredients obtained from plants and other biological sources, and are more easily researched for structure-function and performance.
Herbal supplements are available in several forms – dried, pulverized, powdered, capsule, or liquid, and can be used orally as powders, capsules, teas or syrups, or on the skin as gels, lotions, or creams.