ABSTRACT
The association between humans and medicinal plants dates back to pre-historic times. Ancient people eagerly collected herbs because plants were the main source of their medicines. According to the Book of Jubilees, well before the great deluge, the angel Raphael communicated to Noah the remedies obtainable from trees, plants, and roots and their use. Noah recorded them in a book, which he later passed on to his son Shem. This was the beginning of the medical knowledge of the Israelites (Charles, 1917).
