Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of botany and the use of medicinal plants. Plants have been the basis for medical treatments through much of human history, and such traditional medicine is still widely practiced today. Herbal medicine is also called phytomedicine or phytotherapy. The scope of herbal medicine is sometimes extended to include fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts. Modern medicine makes use of many plant-derived compounds as the basis for evidence-based pharmaceutical drugs.