Moore was a major contributor in the revival of many historical texts of botanical medicine which had been lost to the general public.

Their mission statement is to produce 300 monographs concerning the use and manufacture of botanical medicines.

"The point of departure comes in the last two years," he said, where nontraditional medical requirements include botanical medicine and homeopathy.

His foray into botanical medicine, however, comes at a time when it, too, is under fire for questionable claims and disconcerting risks.

Clearly, participants said, as acceptance of botanical medicine has grown and scandals have emerged, so have expectations.

"That really opened up the area of botanical medicine to the public," Dr. Hendler said.

This underscores the importance of using such botanical medicines under the guidance of a health professional.

He also published a compendium in two volumes of veterinary surgery, and an outline of botanical medicine.

Another doctor would reopen in a few weeks, someone doing a study on botanical medicine or something equally uninteresting.

In the last few years, probably over a third of the American public has begun using botanical medicines for some aspect of their health care.