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In the Latin names for plants created by Linnaeus, the word officinalis indicates that a plant was used in this way. For example, the marsh mallow has the classification Althaea officinalis, as it was traditionally used as an emollient to soothe ulcers. [2] Pharmacognosy is the study of plant sources of phytochemicals.
Medicinal plants are used with the intention of maintaining health, to be administered for a specific condition, or both, whether in modern medicine or in traditional medicine. [4] [48] The Food and Agriculture Organization estimated in 2002 that over 50,000 medicinal plants are used across the world. [49]
[8] [9] As with Book 11, "The Earthly Things" of the Florentine Codex by Franciscan Bernardino de Sahagún, the Badianus manuscript gives the Nahuatl names of plants, an illustration of the example, and the uses for the plant. However, unlike the Florentine Codex, there is little emphasis on supernatural healing characteristics of the plants.
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.
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).
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]
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The following is a list of traditional Chinese medicines. There are roughly 13,000 medicinals used in China and over 100,000 medicinal prescriptions recorded in the ancient literature. [1] Plant elements and extracts are the most common elements used in medicines. [2]