Medicinal plants

Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in <a href="/facts/Traditional_medicine/WLUmXCHz">traditional medicine</a> practices since prehistoric times. <a href="/facts/Plants/X5BMDMvS">Plants</a> synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including <a href="/facts/Plant_defense_against_herbivory/2MKbXxUp">defense</a> and protection against <a href="/facts/Insect/IgDNvnUL">insects</a>, <a href="/facts/Fungi/BHo5DP59">fungi</a>, <a href="/facts/Plant_disease_resistance/7KbAxbGm">diseases</a>, against <a href="/facts/Parasite/HWPcgky7">parasites</a> and <a href="/facts/Herbivorous/me4YFdQA">herbivorous</a> <a href="/facts/Mammal/phSwTzBo">mammals</a>.
The earliest historical records of herbs are found from the <a href="/facts/Sumer/bxRz093q">Sumerian</a> civilization, where hundreds of medicinal plants including <a href="/facts/Opium/JzHUtced">opium</a> are listed on clay tablets, c. 3000 BC. The <a href="/facts/Ebers_Papyrus/7KWeHwXs">Ebers Papyrus</a> from <a href="/facts/Ancient_Egypt/BDsEGK4g">ancient Egypt</a>, c. 1550 BC, describes over 850 plant medicines. The Greek physician <a href="/facts/Pedanius_Dioscorides/FzDmURv3">Dioscorides</a>, who worked in the Roman army, documented over 1000 recipes for medicines using over 600 medicinal plants in <a href="/facts/De_materia_medica/lBNEHv9C">De materia medica</a>, c. 60 AD; this formed the basis of <a href="/facts/Pharmacopoeia/CCNj7RSM">pharmacopoeias</a> for some 1500 years. Drug research sometimes makes use of <a href="/facts/Ethnobotany/VRLwdGea">ethnobotany</a> to search for pharmacologically active substances, and this approach has yielded hundreds of useful compounds. These include the common drugs <a href="/facts/Aspirin/opMK4qLk">aspirin</a>, <a href="/facts/Digoxin/JEHbskXq">digoxin</a>, <a href="/facts/Quinine/YMB9QgzM">quinine</a>, and opium. The compounds found in plants are diverse, with most in four biochemical classes: <a href="/facts/Alkaloid/m6hUXohz">alkaloids</a>, <a href="/facts/Glycoside/z11RwaaB">glycosides</a>, <a href="/facts/Polyphenol/H6Q7QIQH">polyphenols</a>, and <a href="/facts/Terpene/hDD4zF6P">terpenes</a>. Few of these are <a href="/facts/Evidence-based_medicine/InK1lB9l">scientifically confirmed as medicines</a> or used in conventional medicine.
Medicinal plants are widely used as folk medicine in non-industrialized societies, mainly because they are readily available and cheaper than modern medicines. In many countries, there is little regulation of traditional medicine, but the <a href="/facts/World_Health_Organization/YNN3bgug">World Health Organization</a> coordinates a network to encourage safe and rational use. The botanical herbal market has been criticized for being poorly regulated and containing <a href="/facts/Placebo/3fw50t53">placebo</a> and <a href="/facts/Pseudoscience/kdNzoLeS">pseudoscience</a> products with no scientific research to support their medical claims. Medicinal plants face both general threats, such as <a href="/facts/Climate_change/rEN4BDE7">climate change</a> and <a href="/facts/Habitat_destruction/pyPMkBCY">habitat destruction</a>, and the specific threat of over-collection to meet market demand.

Medicinal plants open-in-new

Medicinal plants