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phytotherapy: the study of medicinal use of plant extracts; phytochemistry: the study of chemicals derived from plants (including the identification of new drug candidates derived from plant sources); zoopharmacognosy: the process by which animals self-medicate, by selecting and using plants, soils, and insects to treat and prevent disease;
A traditional Chinese herbal decoction (湯劑/汤剂) Turkish coffee beginning to boil. Decoction compares to brewing coffee through percolation.. Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material (which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes) to dissolve the chemicals of the material.
Archaeological evidence indicates that the use of medicinal plants dates back to the Paleolithic age, approximately 60,000 years ago. Written evidence of herbal remedies dates back over 5,000 years to the Sumerians, who compiled lists of plants. Some ancient cultures wrote about plants and their medical uses in books called herbals.
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection against insects, fungi, diseases, and herbivorous mammals. [2]
Most natural essences are obtained by extracting the essential oil from the feedstock, such as blossoms, fruit, and roots, or from intact plants through multiple techniques and methods: Expression ( juicing , pressing ) involves physical extraction material from feedstock, used when the oil is plentiful and easily obtained from materials such ...
Fragrance extraction refers to the separation process of aromatic compounds from raw materials, using methods such as distillation, solvent extraction, expression, sieving, or enfleurage. [1] The results of the extracts are either essential oils , absolutes , concretes , or butters , depending on the amount of waxes in the extracted product.
Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An infusion is also the name for the resultant liquid.
A Chinese book on houseplants written in 1st–3rd centuries BC mentioned a medical use of ephedra and opium poppies. [32] Also, coca leaves have been used by Indigenous South Americans since ancient times. [33] Extracts from plants containing toxic alkaloids, such as aconitine and tubocurarine, were used since antiquity for poisoning arrows. [30]