ABSTRACT
Plants are a rich source of bioactive compounds. From ancient times humans have been aware of the importance of use and exploitation of plants as sources of both food and medicaments. For thousands of years, humans have used extracts and eaten plants to relieve aches and pains. Humanity’s transition from fisher-gatherer-hunter to herder-farmer (the so-called agricultural revolution) did not only relate to food, but also to the use of plants as sources of chemicals for herbal medicine. The great progress in chemistry during the 19th century took us from traditional use to pharmaceutical use of natural remedies, with an evident increase in global health and longevity. During the 20th century, with technological progress and alongside high-input agroindustry, herbal medicine has changed from some sort of quackery to a global business, rediscovering traditional medicine, involving biotechnology, making large use of Internet facilities and encouraging awareness of the sustainable use of natural resources. This last example has been the object of international strategies, plans and programmes for the conservation of biological diversity, following the awareness of the huge undermined and endangered potential of plant resources to produce bioactive natural compounds. Unfortunately, of the estimated total of almost 300,000 plant species, only 5,000 have been examined for their possible medical application. Losing plant biodiversity means losing a biological treasure that took millions of years to evolve; at the same time the loss of herbalists who understand the medicinal use of plants leads to the impoverishment of a cultural treasure that took almost a million years to accumulate. Losing biodiversity eventually leads to loss of bioactive natural compounds.
