ABSTRACT
Plants are an integral part of all living organisms of the earth, and medicinal plants are widely distributed worldwide (Figure 2.1). Since time immemorial, humans from all the cultures of the world have independently selected plants for food, shelter, clothing, and medicine. Plants were identi’ed, according to their therapeutic properties and through trial and error, by the priests, shamans, herbalists, spiritual leaders and medicine men, and this practice is still a routine in many countries of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and Latin America. Indeed, the widespread use of natural herbs and medicinal plants for curing and preventing diseases (nature’s pharmacy) has been described in the ancient texts of the Vedas and the Bible (Hoareau and DaSilva 1999) and the Qur’an and the Ahadith (Ahmad et al. 2009). Duke, Duke, and duCellier (2008) even wrote a book entitled Duke’s Handbook of Medicinal Plants of the Bible and cataloged “faith-based farmaceuticals.”
