Healing with medicinal plants is as old as mankind itself. Ever since ancient times, in search of relief for their diseases, people looked for drugs in nature. Awareness of medicinal plant usage is a result of the many years of struggles against illnesses which caused man learn to pursue healing drugs in barks, seeds, & other parts of the plants.
Sumeria
The oldest written evidence of medicinal plants for drugs has been found on a Sumerian clay slab from Nagpur, approximately 5000 years old. It comprised 12 recipes for drug preparation referring to over 250 various plants, such as myrrh, opium poppy, henbane, & mandrake. The Sumerians were the people of southern Mesopotamia whose civilization flourished between c. 4100-1750 BCE.
China
The Huangdi Neijing is an ancient treatise on health & disease said to have been written by the Chinese emperor Huangdi, (The Yellow Emperor) around 2600 BC. However, Huangdi is at best a semi-mythical figure, so the book probably dates from later, perhaps around 300 BC & may be a compilation of the writings of several earlier authors. The book takes the form of a discussion between Huangdi & his physician in which Huangdi inquires about the nature of health, disease, & healing treatments including medicinal plants.
Chinese emperor Huangdi, (The Yellow Emperor) around 2600 BC.
Another ancient Chinese rmperor Shen Nung, "The Divine Husbandman" is also called "The Father of Chinese Agriculture," because this legendary emperor is said to have taught his people how to cultivate grains as food to avoid killing animals. It is also claimed, that he tasted hundreds of herbs to test their medicinal value, & he is assumed to be the author of Shen-nung pen ts'ao ching (Divine Husbandman's Materia Medica). This text includes 365 medicines derived from minerals, plants, & animals. Emperor Shen Nung's text is said to have been written in “2700 BCE,” but it was probably written in the 1C, & contains medicinal plant remedies. Shen Nung is also venerated as "The Father of Chinese Medicine."
An image of "The Chinese God of Gardens & Agriculture" Shennong as he chews a branch, illustrating his role as healer in Guo Xu album dated 1503
By the year 200 CE, Ancient China had grown into a vast empire which covered north-east, central, & South Asia. Through their conquests & the information they collected from place to place, the Ancient Chinese likely compiled the Shen-nung pen ts’ao ching. This book became the foundation of ancient eastern apothecary medicine. The book documents over 360 treatments for diseases & ailments. The book classifies medicinal herbs & organic drugs into 3 classes: Upper Herbs, Middle Herbs, & Low Herbs.
Another depiction of the Chinese God Shennong seated at the mouth of a cave while dressed in traditional clothing made from leaves. He is holding a branch with leaves & berries in his right hand
Chinese Upper herbs comprised 120 substances found in nature which are harmless to humans, such as ginseng, orange, cinnamon, & cannabis. The 120 middle herbs, or common herbs, have medicinal properties that are strong enough to be toxic in excess. They include substances, like ginger, poppy, peony, & cucumber. Low herbs comprise 125 natural substances which have profound & dangerous consequences when consumed improperly. These include substances that are toxic in excesses, such as peach & rhubarb.
Shennong, the ancient Chinese Farmer God, tasting herbs to discover their qualities.
The Chinese book on roots & grasses “Pen T’Sao,” written by Emperor Shen Nung circa 2500 BC, treats 365 drugs (dried parts of medicinal plants), many of which are used even nowadays such as the following: camphor, the great yellow gentian, ginseng, jimson weed, cinnamon bark, & ephedra.
Most of the information about how the book attributed to him came about relates to myth & legend. It's probable the book is a compilation of oral traditions developed over time. It is also known as The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica.
Collecting Chinese Medicinal Plant Leaves
The book classifies these 365 species of roots, grass, woods, furs, animals & stones into 3 categories some of which claim to be medicinal plants. These are:
120 Entries of "noble" or "upper herbs" providing drugs that are harmless to humans: These are said to provide stimulating properties. Examples include: ginseng, jujube, the orange, Chinese cinnamon, cannabis, & the root of licorice.
120 Entries of "human," "commoner," or "middle herbs." which have therapeutic properties for the treatment of the sick. Examples include: ginger, peonies & cucumber.
125 Entries of "low herbs" which produce substances which are poisonous and/or have a strong action on physiological functions ( a purgative). Examples include rhubarb, different pitted fruits & peaches.
India
In India, Ayurveda medicine has used many
herbs such as turmeric possibly as early as 1900 BC.
Sanskrit writings from around 1500 B.C., such as the Rig
Veda, are some of the earliest available documents
detailing the medical knowledge that formed the basis of
the Ayurveda system. Many other herbs and minerals
used in Ayurveda were later described by ancient Indian
herbalists such as Charaka and Sushruta during the 1st
millennium BC. The Sushruta Samhita attributed to
Sushruta in the 6th century BC describes 700 medicinal
plants, 64 preparations from mineral.
The Indian holy books Vedas mention treatment with plants, which are abundant in that country. Numerous spice plants used even today originate from India: nutmeg, pepper, clove, etc. The Vedas existed in oral form & were passed down from master to student for generations until they were committed to writing between c. 1500 - c. 500 BCE (the so-called Vedic Period) in India. Descriptions referring to 700 plant species & drugs used for therapy include pomegranate, castor oil plant, aloe, garlic, onion, fig, willow, coriander, juniper, common centaury, etc.
