A Short History of Herbal Medicine

Why history is not proof

Every culture used plants for health, and written records tell us a great deal about what people believed. They do not tell us whether a plant works. This page is a short overview of how plant knowledge was recorded and passed on. It is traditional and historical information, kept separate from research findings, and it does not recommend any herb.

The main source for this page is a historical review of medicinal plants' usage in a pharmacognosy journal.[1] Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines from natural sources. Dates for very early texts are given by that review and are approximate.

Early written records

• China. The review says the Chinese book on roots and grasses "Pen T'Sao" was written by Emperor Shen Nung circa 2500 BC and treats 365 drugs (dried parts of medicinal plants).[1] We give the review's date as stated and have not checked it against other sources.
• Egypt. The Ebers Papyrus, written circa 1550 BC, is described as a collection of 800 proscriptions referring to 700 plant species.[1]
• Greece and Rome. Dioscorides wrote "De Materia Medica" circa 77 AD, a work the review says was translated many times.[1] The review notes that Dioscorides pointed to the possibility of forgery of drugs,[1] an early record of the adulteration problem that still matters. See adulteration and substitution of herbs.

Old texts also contained errors. The review describes a belief about camomile recorded by Dioscorides as an untrue belief that was later embraced by both the Romans and the Arabs.[1] That is one reason historical use is read as a record of belief, not as evidence.

Many traditions, not one

The review gives most of its attention to Mediterranean, European and Arab sources, plus the early Chinese text. It does not cover other traditions in depth, so we link to separate pages:

• North American plant knowledge: NCCIH reports that Native Americans originally discovered the Echinacea purpurea species and used the plant medicinally for respiratory tract infections, tooth pain, and snakebite.[2] See North American herbs and Indigenous plant knowledge.
• Licorice root: NCCIH says it has a long history of use going back to ancient Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek, Arab, Chinese, Tibetan, and Indian cultures.[3]
• African, Latin American and Caribbean traditions: see African herbal medicine and Latin American and Caribbean herbs.
• Chinese and Ayurvedic systems: see Chinese herbal medicine and Ayurvedic herbal preparations.

Middle Ages and the exchange of plants

In the Middle Ages, the review says the skills of healing, cultivation of medicinal plants, and preparation of drugs moved to monasteries.[1] It also says the Arabs introduced numerous new plants in pharmacotherapy, mostly from India.[1] After European voyages across the Atlantic, the review says materia medica was enriched with a large number of new medicinal plants.[1] (A materia medica is a catalogue of medicinal substances.) For English herbals of the 1500s and 1600s, see Culpeper, Gerard and the English herbals.

From herbs to isolated compounds

The review says that in the early 19th century the discovery and isolation of alkaloids, from poppy (1806) and later from other plants, and then the isolation of glycosides, marked the beginning of scientific pharmacy.[1] From that point, some plant medicines could be studied as single purified compounds rather than whole herbs. For how today's rules treat herbs, see herbs and the law, and for plant-derived medicines see pharmacognosy and plant-derived medicines.

What history means for you

• A long record of use can be a lead for research, but it is traditional use only until people are studied.
• Some traditionally used plants have documented harms. For example, in 2001 the US FDA advised firms to remove comfrey supplements from the market,[4] and the US National Cancer Institute advises against herbal products that contain aristolochic acids.[5] Safety questions are answered in herb safety and interactions.
• Ask a pharmacist or clinician before using any herb if you take medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, have liver or kidney disease, or have surgery planned.