Herbs and plants have been used for centuries to improve health. Plants that have demonstrated beneficial effects include herbs, roots, cacti, mushrooms, trees, succulents, seeds, flowers and mosses.
Herbal ingredients are used in nutritional supplements, Chinese medicine, cosmetics, perfumes, herbal remedies and in many health foods and beverages.
Since the beginning of history, much superstition has been associated with herbs, medicine and health. This kind of superstition continued for centuries. For example, as recently as in the early years of the United States, the Salem witch trials were started because someone became ill and claimed their sickness was caused by magic spells of witches.
Throughout the years, herbs have often been misunderstood. Some were thought to have magical properties. Later these superstitions were proven to be false. Other herbs were ignored as being useless, and now modern medical science is finding that these compounds really do have effects on the body.
A few herbs and plants that were at first thought to be harmless have later been found to be dangerous. One famous example, tobacco leaf, is now known to contain substances that are addictive and can cause cancer.
From Myths to Medical Studies
Today, most herbs now find their place somewhere in between the old legends and the new modern laboratory. Further medical studies of all kinds of herbs are needed to learn more about how many more of them may benefit a variety of health concerns.
Throughout history, some plant compounds and derivatives were more easily accepted into the mainstream than others were. One example is foxglove, which was used for chest pains. Scientists later isolated the ingredient digitalis from foxglove. Digitalis is now a medicine that is widely used by doctors for heart related treatments.
Many other herbs and plants have not found such acceptance. In previous centuries, wise women who treated people with herbs were burned at the stake by zealots. In the early settlement of the United States, many people falsely believed that tomatoes were poisonous. Today, many herbs and plants are still looked upon with curiosity and skepticism by some people.
How did people begin to discover and use herbs and plants as remedies and herbal supplements? It all began with accidental discovery, when hungry prehistoric people consumed whatever plants they could find that were edible.
Prehistoric Era
The oldest herb in history may be ginkgo biloba. Fossils from the Paleozoic era tell us that the ginkgo biloba tree has been on earth for millions of years.
Prehistoric tribes of hunter-gatherers would include in their diet any berries, leaves, roots, mushrooms, cacti, seeds, herbs or any parts of any plants that were found to be edible.
Over many millennia, various herbs and plants were chewed, made into teas, pounded into pastes, made into oils, gargles and snuffs, and added to various foods and drinks.
Before the invention of writing, knowledge was passed from word of mouth. Often a wise woman or medicine man would act as a tribe’s prehistoric equivalent of a doctor.
Over the eons of time, effects of herbs were learned by trial and error. Some plants, such as the hemlock tree, were found to be poison. Herbs such as valerian roots were found to make a person drowsy, while other herbs such as tea, contained caffeine and would help people to feel more awake.
Somewhere along the way in history, white willow bark was boiled in water and made into a tea that somehow helped relieve aches and pains and lower fevers. In recent times it was discovered that this tree bark contained salicin, which was later synthesized into acetesalicylic acid, better known as aspirin. Today aspirin has become the number one selling over the counter remedy around the world.
Ancient Babylon
An ancient Babylonian burial site that was discovered by archeologists contained various preserved medicinal herbs, including marshmallow root. These are thought to be some 60,000 years old and are the oldest intact examples of herbal remedies. In ancient cultures, people were often buried with treasures and items that would help them in the afterlife.
In later eras, Babylonians recorded their medical uses for herbs onto clay tablets in cuneiform writing. Tablets have been found dating from around 2600 B.C. that record the uses for honey, poppy juice, essential oil of cypress and cedar, myrrh, licorice and other remedies which today are used every day by people all around the world.
Egypt
Some of the oldest and most complete written records about the use of herbs as supplements were recorded thousands of years ago in Egyptian hieroglyphics. The most famous of these writings is known as the Papyus Ebers, which note the medicinal uses of over 700 herbs and plants. Many of the herbs recorded in this document back in 1500 B.C. are still in use today, aloe vera being one well-known example.
The Egyptians buried their Pharaohs with all kinds of earthly possession. Three thousand-year-old seed corn found in Egyptian tombs was made to sprout and grow. There are still many tombs that might be found and studied. More writings and possibly some preserved herbal remedies could one day be exhumed. One interesting discovery is that ultrasound tests indicate there is a hidden room in the ground underneath the great sphinx. Who knows what historical treasures might be found there if the government ever gives permission for archeologists and scientists to tunnel into this intriguing hidden vault?
China
Chinese medicine is famous for its extensive use of herbs and plants. For over five thousand years, Chinese herbalists have used ginkgo biloba tree leaves, ginseng roots, Cordyceps mushrooms, teas and many other herbs and health tonics to support good health.
China has the longest history of continuous use and learning about medicinal herbs. The first recorded Chinese herbal study, called Ben Cao, is believed to have been written around 2000 B.C. by Emperor Shen Nong. The Emperor studied and wrote about over 300 plants and herbal remedies.
In Chinese medicine, doctors are oftentimes only paid for successfully helping people to maintain good health, not for trying to fix their problems after they are ill. Their philosophy is to focus on the yin and the yang balance of the entire body, rather than only treat an individual body part.
In Asia, thousands of pharmacists and doctors prescribe herbal remedies every day. Herbal supplements have been an accepted way of life for all of the know history in this part of the world.
India
In early times, herbs and spices were so valuable that their trade was one of the first forms of organized commerce. India played an important part in the herb and spice trade.
When Columbus sailed to the “New World” in 1492 he was seeking a shorter route to India for the trade in herbs and spices. This is why, when he met the Native Americans, he incorrectly called them by the name “Indians.”
In India, the study of medicinal herbs has been ongoing since around 2000 B.C. and is known as Ayurveda which means the "science of life".
The herb Gotu kola has been used to help memory throughout the history of India. Gymnema sylvestre leaves have been used to help diabetics and dieters overcome sugar cravings.
Biblical Times
In the Bible we read about how Kings traveled from afar to bring frankincense and myrrh as gifts for Jesus.
In Ezekiel, Jesus says "the fruit of the tree is for man's meat, and the leaves for man's medicine.”
In the book of Genesis, God declares "I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat."
Greece
In the first century AD, the Greek physician Dioscorides made a thorough record of the medicinal uses of over 500 herbs and plants. This record, named De Materia Medica, informed and influenced herbalists for centuries afterward.
The famous Greek physician Hypocrites is considered the forefather of medicine. Hypocrites said “Let your food be your medicine” and his treatments often included herbs.
Rome
Herbal remedies were widely used in the Roman Empire, including crushed mint leaves, basil, oregano and mandrake herb. Other early uses of plants in Rome were for the poisoning of political opponents, and for antidotes to poisons.
The Roman emperor Nero created a kind of cure-all potion which remained in use for over 2000 years and may have been the first “patent medicine.”
Much of the Roman knowledge was lost when libraries and schools were destroyed by warfare. Many years later, Italy would be home to the first standardized dosage of ingredients. A pharmacopoeia called the Nuovo Receptario was published around 1500 and became a standard for pharmacists of the time.
The Middle Ages
After the fall of the Roman Empire, during the “dark ages,” much of the learning and culture of European civilizations was lost. While barbarians ravaged the continent, monks and scribes in unconquered Ireland hand-copied books and written works. This history is told in the book titled “How The Irish Saved Civilization.”
Most monasteries also had gardens where Monks grew medicinal herbs. The liquor named Benedictine contains 27 herbs, plants & spices and was thought to be a health elixir. It is named after the religious Benedictine monks that invented it.
The Americas
Native North Americans used black cohosh for women’s symptoms of menstruation, and now modern scientists have found it to offer an estrogen-like effect upon hormones.
In the mid 1800’s, American Shakers grew and gathered over 200 kinds of medicinal herbs with religious zeal. They pressed the herbs into bricks and sold them to doctors and pharmacists. People all over the world trusted the Shaker label for honesty and quality.
In Peru, the bark of the cinchona tree proved useful against malaria and later became the source of quinine sulfate. The two French pharmacists who worked to isolate this much needed remedy could have patented it and enjoyed a millionaire monopoly. Instead they released their findings freely to the world in the name of good medicine. These young, unsung heroes whose work has saved untold numbers of lives from disease were named Joseph-Bienaime Caventou and Pierre-Joseph Pelletier.
Present Day
Henry Hurd Rusby (1855 – 1940) was Columbia University’s Dean of the College of Pharmacy. Previously he had traveled over the Andes Mountains and down the Amazon in a search of herbs and botanicals that was sponsored by a major pharmaceutical company.
Rusby survived a long, strenuous journey and returned with over forty thousand plant samples. Some of these discoveries became new medicines.
Many medicines originate from plants, herbs, etc. Morphine was refined from the poppy seed. Penicillin was made from a mold. These and other discoveries have helped save many lives in hospitals and during times of war.
Plants of all kinds are currently being studied for their health benefits. Herbal supplements are more popular today than ever before.
The Internet now provides a market where people around the world may read about and purchase herbal supplements. . It has never been easier to buy herbs. People no longer have to wait for their ship to come in from some far away port along the spice trade route. They no longer have to pay high prices for a scarce and precious commodity. Herbs may now be easily ordered online at discount prices and quickly delivered right to our doorsteps.
The Future
Some scientists speculate that the Amazon rain forest could be the source of hundreds of yet unknown plants and herbs that could help cure a variety of diseases and conditions.
Meanwhile, much of the ancient rainforest is being cut down to make cattle grazing pastures, so that people may have more low cost fast food hamburgers.
We can only hope that scientists will be able to study the plants of this region before it is so deforested that many unknown herbs are lost forever.
As understanding and use of herbal products continues to grow around the world, a day will come when every medicine cabinet will contain a variety of herbal supplements and remedies.
In the future, even more medicines will be discovered hidden in herbs and plants and leaves, much as the Bible quote said, "the fruit of the tree is for man's meat, and the leaves for man's medicine."
Note: Women who are pregnant or nursing should always talk to their doctor before taking any herbal supplements.
About the Author
Mark Nolan is a freelance writer offering tips and advice to consumers purchasing herbal and nutritional supplements.
