ABSTRACT
Since the dawn of human civilization, plants have been used as medicine and the modern pharmaceutical industry relies on the derivatives and compounds of natural products. The use of plants in medicine stretches back to the earliest stages of civilization. As early as 1600 BC, the Egyptians compiled a list of more than 700 medicinal plants. The active ingredients in many of these plants have now been identied, and close to one-quarter of prescription drugs are still of plant origin. Modern biotechnology is extending the use of plants in medicine well beyond their original boundaries.
