![]() ![]() WARNING: We do not advocate the use of or guarantee the efficacy of medicinal herbs. Herbal medicines are regulated in many parts of the industrial world, but in the United States herbs are mostly sold in "dietary supplements" and do not come under the restrictions of the FDA. Oral traditions of therapeutic herbal remedies continue to this day, but herbal medicine is used throughout most of the world in a "supportive rather than curative" role (van Wyk and Wink 2004), being strongest in the least developed countries. Patent medicines made with herbs were first produced and sold by the Shakers, but soon there were 19th-century charlatans producing tonics touting a miracle cure that often had ingredients that did more harm than good. That over strong heat to good temper may turne. Of sundrie good things in hir house to have some.Ĭold herbs in hir garden for agues that burne, Good huswives provides, ere an sickness doo come, The important role of women in providing for many of the medicinal needs of a household is well illustrated by a selection from a "physicke" poem about "The Good Housewifelie" that appeared in Tusser (1557): European colonists carried these publications along with the seeds of familiar herbs to America but also learned of new medicinal uses of herbs from the native populations. Still the home was often the source of many herbal remedies that had been passed down through generations.įrom the 16th to 18th centuries many people referred to publications, such as Thomas Tusser's Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry (1557), John Gerard's The Herball (1633), and Nicholas Culpeper's The English Physician (1725), that were often filled with folklore and superstitions that had been written about herbal remedies since antiquity, sometimes tying in such ideas as the astrologically timed collection of herbs. Herbs were cultivated in monastery and physic gardens for use and study, and later apothecaries became dispensaries of simples (or combinations of herbs) to treat particular ailments. The earliest recorded uses of plants were mostly medicinal, and with the invention of printing such information was more easily disseminated to a wider population. In fact the Greek physician Dioscorides (ca.40–ca.90) in his Materia Medica described several antidotes for poisoning. One can only imagine the trial and error involved and how often toxic doses were administered. ![]() The herbal remedies of many cultures reflected which plants were native to the region, and oral traditions kept alive the most effective treatments. The ancient medicinal traditions of China, India, Egypt, and Greece held that herbs contained virtuous properties that could alleviate any health imbalance with herbal medicinal systems that involved opposing forces or a balancing of humors. ![]()
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