14 Facts About Medicinal plants

Medicinal plants, called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times.

Further, the phytochemical content and pharmacological actions, if any, of many plants having medicinal potential remain unassessed by rigorous scientific research to define efficacy and safety.

The compounds found in Medicinal plants are of many kinds, but most are in four major biochemical classes: alkaloids, glycosides, polyphenols, and terpenes.

Medicinal plants are widely used in non-industrialized societies, mainly because they are readily available and cheaper than modern medicines.

Medicinal plants herbs arriving in the Americas included garlic, ginger, and turmeric; coffee, tobacco and coca travelled in the other direction.

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Around the end of the 19th century, the mood of pharmacy turned against medicinal plants, as enzymes often modified the active ingredients when whole plants were dried, and alkaloids and glycosides purified from plant material started to be preferred.

Drug discovery from Medicinal plants continued to be important through the 20th century and into the 21st, with important anti-cancer drugs from yew and Madagascar periwinkle.

Medicinal plants are used with the intention of maintaining health, to be administered for a specific condition, or both, whether in modern medicine or in traditional medicine.

All Medicinal plants produce chemical compounds which give them an evolutionary advantage, such as defending against herbivores or, in the example of salicylic acid, as a hormone in plant defenses.

Polyphenols of several classes are widespread in Medicinal plants, having diverse roles in defenses against plant diseases and predators.

Medicinal plants are often tough and fibrous, requiring some form of preparation to make them convenient to administer.

Drugs derived from Medicinal plants including opiates, cocaine and cannabis have both medical and recreational uses.

Hundreds of compounds have been identified using ethnobotany, investigating Medicinal plants used by indigenous peoples for possible medical applications.

Where medicinal plants are harvested from the wild rather than cultivated, they are subject to both general and specific threats.