Natural Compounds as Drugs, Volume I

The use of herbal medicines, their preparation and application in human therapy, was described for the first time in history by the Sumerians approximately 5000 years ago. Even earlier in India and China, a highly sophisticated medical system with plant-based therapies had been dev- oped. Along with the rise of the later empires, this knowledge was further expanded and institutionalized, while moving westwards to Egypt, Greece, and to the Arabic world, having a considerable influence on human th