In addition to all the other wonderful and necessary things plants provide, they are also an important source of drugs and pharmaceuticals. In fact, botany was traditionally regarded as a branch of medicine, and it has only been within the past 150 years that there have been professional botanists, as distinct from physicians.
Ancient Origins of Plants as Pharmaceuticals
The earliest known medical document extolling the virtues of plants as medicine is a 4,000 year old Sumerian clay tablet that recorded plant remedies for various illnesses. By the time of the ancient Egyptian civilization, a great wealth of knowledge already existed on medicinal plants. The Ebers papyrus from 3,500 years ago contained hundreds of plant remedies such as mandrake for pain relief, and garlic for the treatment of heart and circulatory disorders.
While indigenous people in all parts of the world discovered and developed medicinal uses of native plants, it is from the herbal remedies of ancient Greece that the foundations of Western medicine were established.
The Greek physician, Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.), so influential that he is known as the “Father of Medicine”, believed that disease had natural causes and used various herbal remedies in his treatments. Another important figure is Dioscorides (1st century A.D.), a Roman military physician whose travels with the army brought him in contact with many useful plants. He compiled this information in De Materia Medica, which contained an account of over 600 species of plants with medicinal value.
The Rise of Western Medicine
Herbalism began to wane in the eighteenth century as a dichotomy developed in medicine between practitioners of herbal medicine and regular physicians. At about this same time, a similar split occurred between herbalism and scientific botany, the study of plants above and beyond their medical applications.
With increased knowledge of the active chemical ingredients, the first purely synthetic drugs based on natural products were formulated in the middle of the nineteenth century. In 1839, salicylic acid was identified as the active ingredient in a number of plants known for their pain-relieving properties and was first synthesized in 1853. This led to the development of aspirin, the most widely used synthetic drug today.
Although direct use of plant extracts continued to decrease in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, medicinal plants still contribute significantly to prescription drugs. It is estimated that 25% of the prescriptions written in the United States contain plant-derived active ingredients (the number rises to 50% if fungal products are included). An even greater percentage is based on semi-synthetic or wholly synthetic ingredients originally derived from plants
Herbalism Continues to Provide Useful Medical Substances
While Western medicine drifted from herbalism, 75-90% of the rural population in the rest of the world still relies on herbal medicine as their only health care. In village marketplaces in China, India, Africa, and South America medicinal herbs are as common a commodity as vegetables and pottery.
In the United States it is estimated that more than 60 million people take herbal remedies resulting in a $3 billion market for herbs. However, nowhere is there more of a blend between ancient traditional herbalism and modern medicine than in China.
The Chinese have melded herbal medicine, acupuncture, and Western medicine into a unique health care system for over one billion people. A Chinese doctor might remove an appendix using Western surgical techniques yet use acupuncture as an anesthetic and herbs to relieve pain and prevent infection after the operation.
The Pharmacy of Native Americans
A wealth of information resides with the Native American tribes who knew of an impressive array of medicinal plants long before European colonists arrived. However, this resource is yet to be fully tapped and may never be as this information is being lost within the various tribes as elders die.
Purple coneflower was used by the Plains Indians as an antidote for snake bite, as well as bites and stings from other venomous animals. Root extract was applied to the skin for a variety of ailments and, as a tea, drunk as treatment for various infectious diseases. Scientific studies have supported these claims.
The leaves, twigs, and bark from the witch hazel tree was used by the Indians of eastern North America to prepare infusions useful in the treatment of aching muscles and sore throats. Today an extract of witch hazel known as aqua hamamelis is used as a topical astringent and antiseptic. In this form, it is probably the most extensively used herbal remedy in North America.
Humans have always sought healing in plants. Evidence of this has been unearthed in the grave of a Neanderthal man buried 60,000 years ago. Pollen analysis shows that the numerous plants buried with the individual were all of medicinal value. The connection between plants and human health that has existed for tens of thousands of years continues in modern times.
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