Ancient Herbalism
Plants have been used as medicines for millennia. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.) may be one of the oldest botanicals used by humans based on its occurrence, together with five other medicinal plants, in a Neanderthal grave at Shanidar (Iraq) that has been dated to 65,000 years old.10 Yarrow, like many other plants, has certainly had a very long recorded medicinal use in historical times, being mentioned by Dioscorides and Pliny.
Another study showed indications of medicinal plant remains in dental calculus from skeletons found at the El Sidron cave in northern Spain, which were from 47,300 to 50,600 years ago. There was evidence of yarrow and camomile in the calculus of one individual, both of which may have been medicinal.11Herbal medicine was quite widespread in Ancient Egypt and herbal remedies are described in ancient papyri, of which the most important are the Edwin Smith Papyrus, Ebers Papyrus, Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus and Hearst Papyrus. Animal and mineral remedies were equally represented. The Kahun Papyrus dates to around 1825 BCE – references are made to unspecified oils and resins as well as plants such as vitex (in the sage family), white mulberry, onion, cowpea, figs, Egyptian balm, myrrh, etc. In the Hearst Papyrus, about half of the 200 ingredients are plant based; these include gourds and gourd seeds, acacia gum, coriander, cumin, anise, cinnamon, garlic, leek, juniper berries, poppy seeds, frankincense and myrrh.12 Examples of mixtures include fig, mulberry and anise to cure blood in the mouth; date stones, frankincense and juniper berries to drive out a seizure; and dill in wine as a painkiller.
In general, the ancient Egyptians used a lot of garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, leaves from many plants and trees including willow, sycamore, acacia, etc. Mandrake, cedar oil, henna, aloe and frankincense were among imported plant products used in medicinal treatments.13 By the time of Hippocrates (460–370 BCE) herbal remedies were already very well established in the eastern Mediterranean.
Modern herbalism tends to use the active ingredients as extracts or synthesised compounds rather than the whole plant, but the variety of substances is enormous, ranging into the thousands.