Historical perspective of herbal medicine

The use of plants as medicines dates 60,000 years ago according to ancient Babylon reports. In Egypt and China written material on herbal medicine dates approximately 5000 years back, in Asia Minor and Greece it dates 2500 years ago [21]. There are various herbal medicinal systems, the practices and philosophy of each are influenced by the region within which it first evolved [22]. In China, they have their own system known as the Traditional Chinese medicine which has been used throughout history [23]. The oldest known herbal book in the world The Devine Farmer’s Classic of Herbalism was compiled in China about 2000 years ago, numerous herbal pharmacopeias and various monographs on specific herbs exist through the composed information on herbs [3]. Ayurveda, a healthcare system that has been used in India for over 5000 years, that was founded by ancient Hindu healers and saints. Its materia medica provides a comprehensive description of over 1500 herbs and 10,000 formulations. The Indian government has recognized Ayurveda to be a complete healthcare system in comparison to western medicine [24]. Kampo medicine, the Japanese herbal medicine dates back over 1500 years with approximately 148 formulations [25].