Medicinal plant is an organism of the kingdom Plantae; now specifically, a living organism of the embryophyta (land plants) or of the chlorophyta (green algae), a eukaryote that includes double-membrane bounded chloroplasts in its cells containing chlorophyll a and b.
Medicinal plants contain a large variety of chemical substances that possesses important therapeutic properties used in the treatment of many diseases. Increasingly industrialized societies are developing drugs and chemotherapeutics from traditional herbal plants. Medicinal plants have been used particularly in resource poor communities of the African continent as an alternative source of treatment of diseases.
Plant extracts are rich source of terpenes , antioxidant phenolics, …show more content…
Terrestrial plants have been used as medicines in Egypt, China, India and Greece from ancient times and an impressive number of modern drugs have been developed from them. A large archaeological evidence exists which indicates that humans were using medicinal plants during the Paleolithic, approximately 60,000 years ago. Some animals such as non-human primates, monarch butterflies and sheep are also known to ingest medicinal plants to treat illness. The first written records on the medicinal uses of plants appeared in about 2600 BC from the Sumerians and Akkaidians. The Ebers Papyrus, the best known Egyptian pharmaceutical record which documented over 700 drugs, represents the history of Egyptian medicine dated from 1500 BC. The Chinese Materia Medica, which describes more than 600 medicinal plants, have been well documented with the first record dating from about 1100 BC. Documentation of the Ayurvedic system recorded in Susruta and Charaka dates from about 1000 BC. The Greeks also contributed substantially to the rational development of the herbal drugs. Dioscorides, the Greek physician (100 AD), described in his work, De Materia Medica more than 600 medicinal plants. Angiosperms are the original source of most plant medicines. Many of the common weeds that populate human settlements, such as nettle, dandelion and chickweed, have medicinal …show more content…
Aerial parts, leaves, fruits, seeds, flowers, roots and bulbs are the most frequently used parts, of the medicinal plants. In some cases, other ingredients including sugar, honey, alcohol or flour are also used to prepare the remedies. Moreover, several formulations such as herbal teas, extracts, decoctions, infusions, tinctures, etc. are the methods mostly used for the preparation of the folk medicines. Herbal teas are mixtures of unground or suitably ground medicinal plants, which may include medicinal plant extracts, ethereal oils or medicinal substances. Extracts are prepared by extracting plants with suitable extraction agents. The extract obtained after separation of the liquid from the plant residue is used as an intermediary product, which is to be further processed as quickly as possible. Decoctions are prepared by soaking the plants in the water at a temperature above 90 _C for 30 min with repeated stirring, continued with straining while the mixture is still hot. Infusions are prepared mixing the plants in a mortar with water and allowing the mixtures to stand for 15min. After adding boiling water to the mixture and 5 min of repeated stirring, the suspension is left to stand until it is cooled. Tinctures are extracts from medicinal plants of varying concentrations prepared with
Medicinal plants contain a large variety of chemical substances that possesses important therapeutic properties used in the treatment of many diseases. Increasingly industrialized societies are developing drugs and chemotherapeutics from traditional herbal plants. Medicinal plants have been used particularly in resource poor communities of the African continent as an alternative source of treatment of diseases.
Plant extracts are rich source of terpenes , antioxidant phenolics, …show more content…
Terrestrial plants have been used as medicines in Egypt, China, India and Greece from ancient times and an impressive number of modern drugs have been developed from them. A large archaeological evidence exists which indicates that humans were using medicinal plants during the Paleolithic, approximately 60,000 years ago. Some animals such as non-human primates, monarch butterflies and sheep are also known to ingest medicinal plants to treat illness. The first written records on the medicinal uses of plants appeared in about 2600 BC from the Sumerians and Akkaidians. The Ebers Papyrus, the best known Egyptian pharmaceutical record which documented over 700 drugs, represents the history of Egyptian medicine dated from 1500 BC. The Chinese Materia Medica, which describes more than 600 medicinal plants, have been well documented with the first record dating from about 1100 BC. Documentation of the Ayurvedic system recorded in Susruta and Charaka dates from about 1000 BC. The Greeks also contributed substantially to the rational development of the herbal drugs. Dioscorides, the Greek physician (100 AD), described in his work, De Materia Medica more than 600 medicinal plants. Angiosperms are the original source of most plant medicines. Many of the common weeds that populate human settlements, such as nettle, dandelion and chickweed, have medicinal …show more content…
Aerial parts, leaves, fruits, seeds, flowers, roots and bulbs are the most frequently used parts, of the medicinal plants. In some cases, other ingredients including sugar, honey, alcohol or flour are also used to prepare the remedies. Moreover, several formulations such as herbal teas, extracts, decoctions, infusions, tinctures, etc. are the methods mostly used for the preparation of the folk medicines. Herbal teas are mixtures of unground or suitably ground medicinal plants, which may include medicinal plant extracts, ethereal oils or medicinal substances. Extracts are prepared by extracting plants with suitable extraction agents. The extract obtained after separation of the liquid from the plant residue is used as an intermediary product, which is to be further processed as quickly as possible. Decoctions are prepared by soaking the plants in the water at a temperature above 90 _C for 30 min with repeated stirring, continued with straining while the mixture is still hot. Infusions are prepared mixing the plants in a mortar with water and allowing the mixtures to stand for 15min. After adding boiling water to the mixture and 5 min of repeated stirring, the suspension is left to stand until it is cooled. Tinctures are extracts from medicinal plants of varying concentrations prepared with