ABSTRACT
Herbal medicine is ages old, and the use of materials of plant, animal and mineral origin in medicine is virtually universal. Documentation of herbal medicine is not, however, ages old, particularly in China, and in China food and medicine have been blended. The present study focuses on China and reviews Chinese herbal literature, including food as medicine texts to the extent that they are distinct. The most important texts are surveyed and discussed, some, such as the Yinshan zhengyao 飲膳正要 (Proper and Essential Things for the Emperor’s Food and Drink) written by Hu Suhui 忽思慧, probably not Chinese, and the Bencao gangmu 本草綱目 (Overview and Categories, Taking Herbs as the Root) written by Li Shizhen李時珍, in detail.
