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For example, some secondary metabolites are toxins used to deter predation, and others are pheromones used to attract insects for pollination. Secondary metabolites and pigments may have therapeutic actions in humans, and can be refined to produce drugs; examples are quinine from the cinchona , morphine and codeine from the poppy , and digoxin ...
The use of plants for medicinal purposes, and their descriptions, dates back two to three thousand years. [10] [11] The word herbal is derived from the mediaeval Latin liber herbalis ("book of herbs"): [2] it is sometimes used in contrast to the word florilegium, which is a treatise on flowers [12] with emphasis on their beauty and enjoyment rather than the herbal emphasis on their utility. [13]
Name Other common names Scientific name Drug Adverse effects Cinchona bark Cinchona pubescens: Warfarin Possible additive effect [3] Chamomile: Blood thinners [23] Devil's Claw: grapple plant, wood spider Harpagophytum: Warfarin Additive effect [3] Ephedra Ephedra: Caffeine, decongestants, stimulants [15] Increases sympathomimetic effect of ...
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 , against parasites [ 2 ] and herbivorous mammals .
A partial list of plants used in the west. S. Foster & C. Hobbs (2002). The Peterson Field Guide Series A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs. Houghton Mifflin Co, New York. ISBN 0-395-83807-X. A field guide with photographs of each plant and descriptions of their uses. C. Garcia & J.D. Adams (2005).
Herbs were also commonly used in the traditional medicine of ancient India, where the principal treatment for diseases was diet. [14] De Materia Medica, originally written in Greek by Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40 – c. 90 CE) of Anazarbus, Cilicia, a physician and botanist, is one example of herbal writing used over centuries until the 1600s. [15]
With worldwide research into pharmacology as well as medicine, traditional medicines or ancient herbal medicines are often translated into modern remedies, such as the anti-malarial group of drugs called artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua herb, a herb that was known in Chinese medicine to treat fever.
Eugenol / ˈ j uː dʒ ɪ n ɒ l / is an allyl chain-substituted guaiacol, a member of the allylbenzene class of chemical compounds. [2] It is a colorless to pale yellow, aromatic oily liquid extracted from certain essential oils especially from clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, basil and bay leaf.