Fireside check in with Flute 06/21/2022

Magical greetings everyone, Welcome to another Fireside check in with Flute. It's great to see you!

Today I'd like to talk about the role plants and herbs play in medicine.

Before I get started, a gtky question.

Q: What's your favorite plant?

A: One of my favorites is the Tiger Lilly

Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times.

Our earliest human ancestors found plants to heal wounds, cure diseases, and ease troubled minds. People on all continents have long used hundreds, if not thousands, of indigenous plants, for treatment of various ailments dating back to prehistory. It is likely that humans have used plants as medicine for as long as we have existed. Archeological excavations dated as early as 60,000 years ago have found remains of medicinal plants, such as opium poppies, ephedra, and cannabis.

Knowledge about the healing properties or poisonous effects of plants, mineral salts, and herbs accumulated from these earliest times to provide health predates all other medical treatment. Humans have been using plants to heal since before we developed a written language. Essentially, humans have been involved for thousands of years in a vast "clinical trial" with medicinal plants. The wisdom that resulted from this global experiment is a large part of our history of healing.

The earliest historical records of medicinal herbs are found from the Sumerian civilization, where hundreds of medicinal plants including opium are listed on clay tablets, c. 3000 BC.

The Indian holy books Vedas mention treatment with plants. An ancient Egyptian scroll that has been dated to about 1,500 BC recorded the medicines of the day. The Ebers Papyrus, as it is known, recommends heated herbs for asthma, mint and sandalwood to aid healthy digestion, and juniper for chest pains. While some of its recommendations are questionable by modern standards, others still hold true today. For instance, it advocates the use of aloe vera, which is still applied to burns and ulcers, and honey, which is valued for its natural antibacterial properties.

Θεόφραστος Theophrastus, a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, (371-287 BC) his given name was Tyrtamus; his nickname Θεόφραστος was given by Aristotle, founded Botanical Science with his books “De Causis Plantarium”— Plant Etiology and “De Historia Plantarium”—Plant History. In the books, he generated a classification of more than 500 medicinal plants known at the time. Among others, he referred to cinnamon, iris rhizome, false hellebore, mint, pomegranate, and so forth. In the description of the plant toxic action, Theophrast underscored the important feature for humans to become accustomed to them by a gradual increase of the doses. Owing to his consideration of the said topics, he gained the epithet of “The Father of Botany,” given that he has great merits for the classification and description of medicinal plants.

There are approximately 70,000 species of plants that have been screened for their potential utility as medicines. In recent decades, several antitumor drugs have been derived from plants, including paclitaxel (from Taxus brevifolia) and camptothecin.

The decreasing efficacy of synthetic drugs and the increasing contraindications of their usage make the usage of natural drugs topical again. Contemporary science has acknowledged their active action, and it has included in modern pharmacotherapy a range of drugs of plant origin.

At present, about 8 out of 10 drugs used to treat infection, cardiovascular disease, or cancers, or as immunosuppressives, come from plants, directly or as derivatives. Between 1981 and 2006, approval was granted to 155 antitumor drugs, of which almost half were derived from natural products. Today, around 11% of the drugs considered 'basic' and 'essential' by the World Health Organisation originated in flowering plants - and there are many more from those without flowers.

At some point in our lifetimes, most of us have taken pain management drugs derived from specialist plants. The humble aspirin is a modern miracle medicine and one of the most widely used drugs in the world. It's extracted from the bark of the willow tree, which was recommended for the treatment of aches and pains by the ancient Egyptians in the Ebers Papyrus. People used to chew twigs to alleviate pain and it's still possible to buy willow bark for this purpose.

The Pacific Yew tree bark can fight cancer

Yew trees have a special place in medicine in European mythology. Most parts of the tree are very poisonous, causing associations with both death and immortality. The Third Witch in Macbeth mentions "slips of yew slivered in the moon's eclipse" (Macbeth Act 4, Scene 1). But it's a species of yew tree in North America, the Pacific yew tree (Taxus brevifolia), that possesses the most beneficial medical properties.

Scientists in the 1960s found that the tree's bark contains compounds called taxels. One of these taxels, called Paclitaxel, has been developed into an effective cancer treatment drug. Paclitaxel can stop cancer cells from dividing, blocking further growth of the disease.

There are numerous examples of how plants can help us, from the joyous feeling we get from seeing a beautiful flower, or the feeling of pride and accomplishment in having grown a plant, to the air we breathe,plants are truly a wonder drug.

Thanks for reading this check in, I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as Ive enjoyed writing it. Remember we're all in this together, have a magical journey! your friend and forum supporter Flute.

A link for your consideration.

Historical review of medicinal plants’ usage

A quote for your consideration

"Herbalism is based on relationship, relationship between plant and human, plant and planet, human and planet, using herbs in the healing process means taking part in an ecological cycle. " Wendell Barry

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