Started from the bottom



Modern medicine has made massive advancements since the times when we had to visit our village doctor when we were unwell.  Nowadays thankfully, your local pharmacy has access to a wide range of helpful drugs to help you back to your feet. However drugs don't just pop out of thin air, herbal remedies have been used for century's and in this blog post I aim to have a look at some of the traditional remedies that have transferred into modern medicine.

Willow tree Bark is a good example of a traditional plant cure turned medicine. Willow bark can be traced back to 400 BC when people were advised to chew it to reduce fever and inflammation (also headaches) . It was found to be the chemical, Salicin, in the bark that gave it it's healing properties. In the 1800's , this chemical was first used as the basis for Aspirin (acetylsalicyclic acid) which is commonly used to reduce fever and inflammation but also as a preventative measure for heart attacks.

Another traditional medicine you have probably all heard of is Opium. The sap of the opium poppy has been used from as early as 3000 BC by the Minoans in Ancient Greece. It was used as a pain reliever and as a method to induce sleep. Nowadays it is still used most commonly in medicine as morphine which is a very powerful painkiller. Due to the euphoric side effects of the drug opium can also be converted to heroin, which is illegal, for recreational use.
On a final note, traditionally plants have been recognised as having great healing potential and it is important to remember going forward in medicine the capacity nature have to help provide new and more effective cures. Thanks for reading, feel free to leave a comment.

Written by Chris Morgan


https://www.deamuseum.org/ccp/opium/history.html
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/willow-bark

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