The Origins of Herbal Remedies
Herbal remedies have a long history with mankind. Aspirin, quinine and digitalis were all herbal remedies before becoming pharmaceutical treatments prescribed by physicians.
Herbal Chemicals
Natural chemical compounds within botanical sources defend the plant against many predators. The effects of some of these compounds, while being either painful or toxic to plant predators, can counteract human disease. One of the ways conventional drugs work is the binding of the drug molecule to human receptor molecules — the process is identical for herbal remedies. So, in principle, herbal remedies can be just as effective as prescribed drugs, but can also have the same potential for harmful side-effects.
Prehistoric Remedies
Plants have been used by humans for thousands of years to treat ailments and diseases. Tribal healers in prehistoric times may have noticed that sick animals would get better after eating certain bitter plants that they otherwise would not eat. These plants contain chemicals which in modern times have been found to have anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. These tribal healers may have made the mental leap to try dosing people in their tribe with the same type of sickness with these same plants.
Remnants of prehistoric mankind worldwide show the use of plants as medicinal herbs. The most telling evidence was the 5300 year-old body of the prehistoric man found frozen in the European Alps — among his belongings were packets of herbs that reduce the type of intestinal parasites actually found in his body.
Spices as Remedies
Food preparation is another way herbal remedies came into use. Spices and herbs were first used to disguise the taste of spoiled food, but it has since been discovered that any pathogens in the spoiled food were also reduced by presence of those spices and herbs. Sumerian written records from over 5000 years ago described the medicinal use of caraway, thyme and laurel. Egyptians from 1000 BC used mint, coriander, castor oil, indigo and garlic for medical purposes. The Old Testament of the Christian Bible mention the medicinal use of rye, barley, wheat and mandrake. Ayurveda medicine in India around 1900 BC used turmeric. For a longer list of herbal plants, a Chinese herbal tome from 2700 BC lists almost four hundred plants to be used for medical treatments. Greek and Roman herbal traditions were even more detailed, combining instructions for diet, rest and fresh air with the use of certain herbs and minerals.
Herbal Remedies Into the Future
Herbal remedies often are the genesis for modern medical research which seeks out the specific chemical compounds that cause the beneficial effects of the herbal remedies. Future prescription drugs will likely be derived from herbal remedies already proven effective.
Peter Wendt is a freelance article writer and commercial researcher working out of Austin. To find out more on this topic, Peter suggests you take a look at Origins Recovery which he has found to be a useful resource.