The history of Medicinal Plants

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The use of plants in the treatment of diseases began in prehistoric times.

Herbal practices date back to about 3,000 years ago, and have been found in Egyptian papyrus and in Chinese manuscripts.

Theophrastus and Dioscorides, were the two most important works created in Ancient Greece.

Pliny the Elder and Galen are important works created in Ancient Rome.

This Greco-Roman tradition came up to the Middle Ages, when it was integrated with Arabian medicine.

During the Renaissance, the knowledge of medicinal plants spread, partly due to the invention of printing and the development of the scientific method.

In the nineteenth century, with the development of contemporary medicine, many of the bioactive compounds occurring in plants began to be artificially reproduced in the laboratory.

As a result, many preparations of modern synthetic pharmacology derive from plant molecules already known in ancient times.

Current phytotherapy, or herbalism, favours the direct use of medicinal plants, rather than their synthetic derivatives.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

■Information Board from the Botanical Gardens of Napoli and from the Botanical Gardens of Pisa, entitled 'Piante Medicinali'

GLOSSARY

■phytotherapy - herbal medicine

■Officinal plants - plants that are used in medicinal preparations

THEMES

■use of plants in the prehistoric era, Ancient Egypt, Chinese civilizations, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Contemporary Medicine

■synthetic derivatives of plants

■phytotherapy

■Pliny the Elder

■Galen

■Theophrastus

■Dioscorides

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