Essentials of Botanical ExtractionPrinciples and Applications
2015, Pages 7–17
Chapter 2 – History and Background on the Use of Natural Products Obtained from Plants as Therapeutic Agents
- Available online 6 February 2015
Abstract
Since
the inception of humankind, people have relied heavily on natural
products for food and living. Through several trials and errors, they
discovered that few plants are good as food, whereas some are poisonous,
and that some produce physiological changes such as increased
perspiration, hallucination, relief from pain, induction of bowel
movement, and urination. Over the centuries, these astute observations
and interpretations were passed on orally from one generation to
another, whereby new addition and refining in the body of knowledge took
place. Contemporary science has acknowledged our ancestors' knowledge,
and this knowledge has thereafter been included in modern
pharmacotherapy. This chapter gives a general overview of the different
time frames of drug discovery and their usage for a better
understanding.
Keywords
- Hallucination;
- Natural product;
- Pharmacotherapy;
- Poisonous
