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Utilizing the healing properties of plants is an ancient practice.
People in all continents have long used hundreds, if not thousands, of
indigenous plants for treatment of various ailments dating back to
prehistory. Herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, and phytotherapy, are
folk and traditional medicinal practices based on the use of plants and
plant extracts.
The search for drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants has
accelerated in recent years. Pharmacologists, microbiologists,
botanists, and natural-products chemists are combing the Earth for
phytochemicals and leads that could be developed for treatment of
various diseases. In fact, many modern drugs have been derived from
plants.
The use of herbs to treat disease is almost universal among
non-industrialized societies. A number of traditions came to dominate
the practice of herbal medicine in the Western world at the end of the
twentieth century:
٠ The Western, based on Greek and Roman sources,
٠ The Ayurvedic from India, and
٠ Chinese herbal medicine (Chinese herbology).
(Adapted from Wikipedia,
The Free Encyclopedia) |
