Health Benefits of Herbs

This article titled "Health benefits of herbs and spices: the past, the present, the future" was in the Medical Journal of Australia.
It is extrememly interesting and looks at herbs with relevance for:

• controlling blood sugars and cholesterol in Cardiovascular disease
• replacing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory in relieving the pain of arthritis (ginger instead of ibruprofen!)
• ginger for treating glycaemia in diabetics
• as anti-clotting agents
• protection against cancers (garlic, curcumin, gingerol, capsaicin, turmeric, basil, rosemary, mint, lemon grass, parsley, lavender, cherries and mint). The cancers cited include lung, breast, colon, skin, forestomach, liver, oral cancer.

I know I'd rather eat a herb than take a drug with potentially toxic side effects.

Why isn't our medical profession investigating treatment with herbs as an adjunct to western medicine. I'm not advocating thrwoing away all our drugs - but if the doses of drugs with vicious side effects could be reduced if they were teamed with herbals, surely this is good for the patient? The Hippocratic oath (classical version) says "I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice. " , so why is harm reduction not the aim of the medical profession, and why do they so rarely apply dietetic measures?

It could surely not be because the drug companies aren't interested in compounds they cannot patent and make billions from, and the fact that they are hand in glove with our medical prfoession and the government?