Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the
use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical
medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, Pharmacognosy, and
phytotherapy. The scope of herbal medicine is sometimes extended to include
fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts. Pharmacognosy is the study of
medicines derived from natural sources.
Similarly to prescription drugs, a number of herbs are thought to be likely
to cause adverse effects. Furthermore, "adulteration, inappropriate
formulation, or lack of understanding of plant and drug interactions have led
to adverse reactions that are sometimes life threatening or lethal.
The use of plants as medicines predates written human history. A 60
000-year-old Neanderthal burial site, "Shanidar IV", in northern Iraq
has yielded large amounts of pollen from 8 plant species, 7 of which are used
now as herbal remedies
In the written record, the study of herbs dates back over 5,000 years to the
Sumerians, who described well-established medicinal uses for such plants as
laurel, caraway, and thyme. Ancient Egyptian medicine of 1000 B.C. are known to
have used garlic, opium, castor oil, coriander, mint, indigo, and other herbs
for. The first Chinese herbal book, the Shennong Bencao Jing, compiled
during the Han Dynasty but dating back to a much earlier date, possibly 2700
B.C. lists 365 medicinal plants and their uses - including ma-Huang, the shrub
that introduced the drug ephedrine to modern medicine. The uses of plants for
medicine and other purposes changed little in early medieval Europe. Many Greek
and Roman writings on medicine, as on other subjects, were preserved by hand
copying of manuscripts in monasteries. The monasteries thus tended to become
local centers of medical knowledge, and their herb gardens provided the raw
materials for simple treatment of common disorders. At the same time, folk
medicine in the home and village continued uninterrupted, supporting numerous
wandering and settled herbalists. Among these were the “wise-women,” who
prescribed herbal remedies often as spells and enchantments. It was not until
the late Middle Ages that women who were knowledgeable in herb lore became the
targets of the witch hysteria. One of the most famous women in the herbal
tradition was Hildegard of Bingen. A twelfth century Benedictine nun, she wrote
a medical text called Causes and Cures.
Medical schools known as Bimaristan began to appear from the 9th century in
the medieval Islamic world among Persians and Arabs, which was generally more
advanced than medieval Europe at the time. The Arabs venerated Greco-Roman
culture and learning, and translated tens of thousands of texts into Arabic for
further study. As a trading culture, the Arab travellers had access to plant
material from distant places such as China and India. Herbals, medical texts
and translations of the classics of antiquity filtered in from east and west.
Muslim botanists and Muslim physicians significantly expanded on the earlier
knowledge of materia medica. This allowed the study of materia medica to evolve
into the science of pharmacology.
use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical
medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, Pharmacognosy, and
phytotherapy. The scope of herbal medicine is sometimes extended to include
fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts. Pharmacognosy is the study of
medicines derived from natural sources.
Similarly to prescription drugs, a number of herbs are thought to be likely
to cause adverse effects. Furthermore, "adulteration, inappropriate
formulation, or lack of understanding of plant and drug interactions have led
to adverse reactions that are sometimes life threatening or lethal.
The use of plants as medicines predates written human history. A 60
000-year-old Neanderthal burial site, "Shanidar IV", in northern Iraq
has yielded large amounts of pollen from 8 plant species, 7 of which are used
now as herbal remedies
In the written record, the study of herbs dates back over 5,000 years to the
Sumerians, who described well-established medicinal uses for such plants as
laurel, caraway, and thyme. Ancient Egyptian medicine of 1000 B.C. are known to
have used garlic, opium, castor oil, coriander, mint, indigo, and other herbs
for. The first Chinese herbal book, the Shennong Bencao Jing, compiled
during the Han Dynasty but dating back to a much earlier date, possibly 2700
B.C. lists 365 medicinal plants and their uses - including ma-Huang, the shrub
that introduced the drug ephedrine to modern medicine. The uses of plants for
medicine and other purposes changed little in early medieval Europe. Many Greek
and Roman writings on medicine, as on other subjects, were preserved by hand
copying of manuscripts in monasteries. The monasteries thus tended to become
local centers of medical knowledge, and their herb gardens provided the raw
materials for simple treatment of common disorders. At the same time, folk
medicine in the home and village continued uninterrupted, supporting numerous
wandering and settled herbalists. Among these were the “wise-women,” who
prescribed herbal remedies often as spells and enchantments. It was not until
the late Middle Ages that women who were knowledgeable in herb lore became the
targets of the witch hysteria. One of the most famous women in the herbal
tradition was Hildegard of Bingen. A twelfth century Benedictine nun, she wrote
a medical text called Causes and Cures.
Medical schools known as Bimaristan began to appear from the 9th century in
the medieval Islamic world among Persians and Arabs, which was generally more
advanced than medieval Europe at the time. The Arabs venerated Greco-Roman
culture and learning, and translated tens of thousands of texts into Arabic for
further study. As a trading culture, the Arab travellers had access to plant
material from distant places such as China and India. Herbals, medical texts
and translations of the classics of antiquity filtered in from east and west.
Muslim botanists and Muslim physicians significantly expanded on the earlier
knowledge of materia medica. This allowed the study of materia medica to evolve
into the science of pharmacology.