The first known use of the term Pharmacognosy goes back to 1811 when it was first used by Johann Adam Schmidt (1759 – 1809).
The word appeared in his handwritten manuscript Lehrbuch der Materia Medica which was published in 1811.
However, the history of pharmacognosy goes back thousands of years to the ancient Egyptians.
Ancient Egypt and Pharmacognosy
– The Egyptians were experts in finding drugs that could cure or reduce the severity of diseases. In fact, pharmacists were a key part of the medical care and were considered physician assistants.
– Ancient papyri has revealed prescriptions that detailed the medication which would have been a plant and how to prepare the medicine.
– These prescriptions can be found on papyrus in the University of Leipzig known as the Ebers papyrus and another papyrus of Kahun and Gurob.
– The ingredients of the prescriptions include blood, meat, horns, milk, egg, honey and more.
– Another prescription includes the use of plants such as aloe, acacia, gum, myrrh, pomegranate, linsend, cumin, castor, and more. The prescriptions would often distinguish between the type of plant part used such as the root, flowers, leaves, fruits, oils and ashes.
Ancient Babylon and Pharmacognosy
– The Babylonian king Markdouk Happaliden build a garden for medicinal plants that includes apples, pomegranate, cucumber, orragnes, garlic, onion, saffron, fennel, thyme, coriander, rose, and more.
– The Mesoptamian pharmacy included more than 250 plants with many of these also being used in ancient Egypt.
Old Indian Medicine and Pharmacognosy
– The goal of Indian medicine was to prolong human life. Fresh plants were often considered to be the most effective.
– Another consideration for plant medicine was that the plants should be grown in healthy fertile soil and washed with clean water.
– The most popoular old Indian drugs included sandal wood, pepper, cardamom, cardaway, ginger, sesame oil, aloe, cane sugar, clover.
You can read more about what Plant Medicine is here or clinical trials that have tested plant medicine here.
His research on plant medicine has led to more than 45 publications and abstracts.This research has been presented at international meetings in the USA, France, Turkey, Peru, Israel, Austria, and Italy.
Categories: Plant Medicine
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