ALL MICRO Herbal Guide for Windows and Macintosh

Find a natural solution to problems ranging from acne to arrhythmia.Herbal Guide brings the thousand-year science of herbal medicine into thedigital age.

The Herbal Guide is simple and straightforward. Users can choose tolook at herbs, which are sorted by their medical delivery system--such astea, pills, ointments, etc.--or cruise all of the available categories.These databases are then cross-indexed to match particular ailments. Whenyou click on a disorder, all of the applicable herbal treatments pop up ina window to the right of the ailment list. Photographs of each herb areprovided along with a short essay about its history, applications, and thecorrect dosages required for effective treatment.

This database is a great herbal resource for beginners. It excludes moreesoteric plants, the ones that are most likely to have toxic effects. Eventhe milder subset of herbs that are included in the listing comes withcareful and explicit warnings about incorrect usage of the plant medicinesdescribed. Finally, Herbal Guide also comes with a glossary ofcommon medical terms that users will come across in the course of usingthe program.

Herbal Guide is an application with a very tight focus and no extraneousfeatures. It will not connect users to herbal databases online or make anyassessments of personalized medical data. An attractively packaged compilationof herbal lore, it assumes that users will take the information they glean fromthe package and head straight for the nearest health store. In other words, itdoes not have a complex search engine or provide data on such topics ascultivating herbs or collecting them in the wild.

Users with minor health complaints who want to dip their toes into thewidening pool of alternative medicines will find the Herbal Guide tobe a refreshing and educational place to start.--Alyx Dellamonica