Plants are an important source of biologically active substances, therefore they have been used for medicinal purposes, since ancient times. Plant materials are used as home remedies, in over-the-counter drug products, dietary supplements and as raw material for obtention of phytochemicals. The use of medicinal plants is usually based on traditional knowledge, from which their therapeutic prope...

Medicinal herbs are significant source of synthetic and herbal drugs. Before the availability of synthetic drugs, man was completely dependent on herbs as healthcare system. Medicinal herbs have been on the forefront whenever we talk about anticancer remedies. Vinca rosea (sadabahar) alkaloids, Vinblastine and Vincristine, are the most potent anticancer drugs known. Taxol isolated from Taxus br...

AIM OF THE STUDY We studied traditional knowledge (TK) and current uses of medicinal plants among the inhabitants of the Arribes del Duero-ARD-(Spain), documenting traditional medical practices. MATERIALS AND METHODS We interviewed 80 key informants (44 men and 36 women). Their average age was 72 years (range 48-98 years). We calculated the cultural importance for each species cited. To analy...

Herbal remedies are widely used for the treatment and prevention of various diseases and often contain highly active pharmacological compounds. Many medicinal herbs and pharmaceutical drugs are therapeutic at one dose and toxic at another. Toxicity related to traditional medicines is becoming more widely recognized as these remedies become popular in the Mediterranean region as well as worldwid...

A medico-ethnobotanical survey was conducted among the Senegalese migrant communities of Turin (Piedmont, NW Italy) and their peers living in Adeane (Casamance, Southern Senegal), both among healers and laypeople. Through 27 in-depth interviews, 71 medicinal plant taxa were recorded and identified in Adeane and 41 in Turin, for a total of 315 different folk remedies recorded in Senegal and 62 i...

A large and increasing number of patients use medicinal herbs or seek the advice of their physician regarding their use. More than one third of Americans use herbs for health purposes, yet patients (and physicians) often lack accurate information about the safety and efficacy of herbal remedies. Burgeoning interest in medicinal herbs has increased scientific scrutiny of their therapeutic potent...

Plants are a great source of medicines, especially in traditional medicine, which are useful in the treatment of various diseases. Medicinal herbs are moving from fringe to mainstream use with a great number of people seeking remedies and health approaches free from side effects caused by synthetic chemicals. Arisaema jacquemontii is an ancient plant and had been used by the various tribes for ...

This article outlines the history of the commerce in medicinal plants and plant-based remedies from the Spanish American territories in the eighteenth century. It maps the routes used to transport the plants from Spanish America to Europe and, along the arteries of European commerce, colonialism and proselytism, into societies across the Americas, Asia and Africa. Inquiring into the causes of t...

Nature has provided a complete storehouse of remedies to cure ailments of mankind. About 80% of the world's population depends wholly or partially on traditional medicine for its primary health care needs. Pharmacognosy is mainly concerned with naturally occurring substances having a medicinal action. Morphological and anatomical characters play a vital role in crude drug standardization. Howev...

BACKGROUND Traditional remedies are an integral part of Colombian culture. Here we present the results of a three-year study of ethnopharmacology and folk-medicine use among the population of the Atlantic Coast of Colombia, specifically in department of Bolívar. We collected information related to different herbal medicinal uses of the local flora in the treatment of the most common human disea...