history of herbal medicine

  history of herbal medicine 

Herbal medicine is our first attempt to heal us, and even search some of the animals certain types of plants when they were injured or sick. Elk have been observed by Native Americans Echinacea plants look when they are ill, which they call "Racine Elk" plans, leads others were wild animals were seen chewing willow bark in danger (we now know that willow bark contains Salicylic acid or aspirin, as is known, if synthesized) and monkeys and apes often seek some fruits and roots, when they are sick.

Presumably our ancestors were just as self-medication, probably some time before they Development of the power of speech. Estimates only in Homo sapiens emerged in the range of approximately 100,000 years ago, for the most conservative to 600,000 years ago to more generous (A science of paleoanthropology is very competitive, and all researchers want their first dated humanoid bone fragments to confirm that the man instead of "proto-humans", but that's another article itself), but what is undeniable is that our ancestors were in Africa.

But long ago, Homo sapiens has arisen, we have begun to spread beyond Africa about 100,000 years for Moved there and eventually lead to the extinction of other hominids (our cousins) as Homo erectus and (Later) H. neanderthalensis. By 60,000 years ago, we had reached what is now in Australia and extreme north of America was populated by about 20,000 years ago. Surprisingly it only took 1000 years and then spread to humans from what is now Alaska to the tip of South America, and if the Variety of climates and geographical conditions that exist in America, one can only wonder at the Ingenuity and adaptability of our species.

In almost 1000 years even the most remote inhabited islands in the Pacific were colonized. The reader may be forgiven at this point to ask what fly-by tour of human history is with herbalism, but the point is simple. In any environment, that the people have a home, they quickly out of all plant food crops, medicinal plants and all. Every culture, in all climates (It must be free from cultures like the Inuit and the Tatars, in northern Siberia, where the plants formed small part of their diet invented) his own form of herbalism.

Herbalism in most cultures in two forms - medicine and ritual. Some plants should be used if you ill, and some should be used in shamanic rituals and other religious practices. In the West began to lose popularity herbal medicine during the Enlightenment and the beginning of modern medicine in the late 17th Century, it may have seemed that the decline of herbal medicine was inevitable. Today, however, even if we-the-art synthetic drugs and surgeries we had, many researchers are looking for herbs and extracts as possible ways to treat something our deadly diseases. Even as I write this, are laboratories around the world and synthetic test facilities similar extracts to test for cancer and viral infections such as HIV is not curable.

We do not need the healing ritual of shamans and faith, but a piece of our ancestors Advice seems to us intact through the centuries - know your herbs and use of plants in their environment, as one day save your life. However, we continue to clear a forest area the size of Kentucky, are destroyed every year, countless species of plants are not unknown in the West Sciences. Finally, despite all the progress and all our knowledge, we still have reason to trust in herbal and to dispose of statements, and our own risk.