|
Archeological excavations dated
as early as 60,000 years ago have contained remains of medicinal
plants, such as opium poppies, ephedra, and cannabis.
1500 B.C.
- The Ebers Papyrus in Egypt. The oldest surviving written
record of medicinal plant usage.
700 B. C. - The Charaki Samhita in India documented the
uses of over 300 medicinal plants.
400 B. C. - Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine,
postulated that illness was a natural, not a supernatural,
phenomenon.
ca. 100 A.D.- China - the Divine Husbandman's
Classic defined the uses of over 250 medicinal herbs.
ca. 100 A.D.- Europe - Dioscorides publishes
De Materia Medica, the first "modern" herbal;
Pliny the Elder publishes Natural History.
ca. 200 A.D.- Galen, physician to the
Roman Emporer Marcus Aurelius, and concepts of "the
four humors" and "vital spirit" influenced
European herbalism well into the 17th Century.
700s A.D. - The Golden Age of Ayurveda
in India.
ca. 300 A.D. to 1000 A.D. - Classical
and foreign influences decline in European herbalism; monastic
"physic gardens" kept the herbal traditions alive.
1400s - Increased trade gradually leads
to introduction of exotic herbs into Europe from India,
China, and the New World.
ca. 1500 - Paracelsus, the first "scientific"
herbalist, rejected Galen's theories in favor of the concepts
of dosage, toxicity, and "active principles."
1500s - The invention of printing accelerated
the codification and dissemination of herbal "folk
wisdom" (cf. John Gerard's Herball published 1597;
Culpeper's The English Physitian published 1652).
1500s - William Harvey's studies of the
circulatory system introduced the concept of "body
as machine."
1500s - The theories of René Descartes
promoted the split between mind, body, and spirit and rationalism
and scientific dualism grew.
1803
- German pharmacist Friedrich Sërtuner isolates the first
pure alkaloid, morphine, from opium poppies, ushering in the
field of natural products chemistry and the modern concept
of pharmacotherapy.
Many alkaloids were isolated in pure form
over the next 100 years: quinine, strychnine, brucine, nicotine,
caffeine, cocaine, theobromine, mescaline, etc.
The "biomedical paradigm" based
on the germ theory of disease and the concept of isolated
drugs as "magic bullets" gained ascendancy over
traditional herbalism.
The fusion of Native American and European
herbalism fostered the appearance of more scientific systems
of herbalism.
Late 1800s - "Medicine hunters"
like Henry Hurd Rusby began to explore the medicinal treasure
troves of tropical rainforests, working for commercial pharmaceutical
houses such as Parke, Davis and Co.
Early 1900's - "Mainstream"
medicine tried to distances itself from traditional herbalism;
the federal government discontinued funding for naturopathic
medical schools; the American Medical Association even attempted
to outlaw the practice of herbalism.
1930s - Over 90% of prescription drugs
in pharmacies were still derived from plants (today, over
25% are plant derivatives).
1930s - present . The search for new therapeutic
compounds in nature continues. New medicines, such as taxol,
vincristine, etoposide, and oral contraceptives have resulted
from this search. Even now, less than 10% of plant species
have been screened for new drugs.
1994
- A resurgence in the popularity of botanical medicines
followed on the passage of DSHEA, the Dietary Supplement
Health and Education Act in response to overwhelming public
demand.
DSHEA allowed botanical medicines
to be sold as "dietary supplements" as long as
the manufacturers didn't make any health claims. Between
1990 and 1997, the use of botanical medicines increased
by 380%.
Today,
botanical supplements are a $12 billion dollar industry
in the U.S. alone.
There is increasing scientific evidence
for the safety and efficacy of many botanical medicines
especially for chronic diseases and health maintenance.
Courses in science-based herbalism and
pharmacognosy have been revived in schools of pharmacy and
medicine. Schools of naturopathic and holistic medicine,
such as Bastyr University in Seattle, are becoming more
popular.
Of course, 75- 85 % of the world's
population continues to rely for primary healthcare on botanical
medicines dispensed by traditional healers, as they have
always done.
|