BOT 2000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Digitoxin, Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill, Ancient Greek
18 Apr 2016
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75% of world depends on traditional herbal medicine. In u. s. 10% of drugs used have primary active ingredient from a plant. 25% of common medicines contain a compound from a plant. Illness thought to be caused by mystical agents from nature: cures looked for from plants in animals. Curative agents discovered through trial and error. Knowledge passed on by word of mouth from generation to generation. Babylon: code of hammurabi: 1st record of uses of plants in medicine: series of tablets from, 1770 bc. Egyptians: described illness and medicine on temple walls and in ebers papyrus (1550 bc) had over 700 medicinal formulas. De materia medica = inaccurate, poorly organized but accepted in europe till 15th century set back medicinal science 1500 years. Middle ages: botany and medicine closely linked: all readings and writings happened in monasteries. Monks produces herbals (manuals for i. ding and prepping plants for medicine)
