History of Botanical Medicine Flashcards
What is Biophilia?
An innate feeling (or emotional affiliation) for all living forms & systems, activated through our relationship & experiences with Nature
The earliest known written records on the therapeutic use of plants are what? And when?
Followed by what? When? And where?
Sumerian tablets dating back to 3000 BCE.
Ebers papyrus written in 1500 BCE in Ancient Egypt
How many years ago have archeological studies shown the practice of herbal medicine in Iraq? And what about in China?
60,000 years ago in Iraq
8,000 years ago in China
How many years ago have archeological studies shown the practice of herbal medicine in China?
8,000 years
Ex: Ashwagandha to ground the vata dosha
Ayurvedic Medicine (3000 BC)
Ex: Sheng Jiang (ginger) to disperse phlegm and release heat to the exterior
Traditional Chinese Medicine (2800 BC)
Ex: Pure honey for topical wound treatment
Certain seeds used in divination rituals
African Traditional Medicine
Ebers papyrus (written in 1500 BC) contained 811 herbal prescriptions including salves, plasters, poultices, inhalations, gargles and suppositories.
Ex: poppy for insomnia and to lessen pain
Ancient Egyptian Medicine (3000 BC)
Ex: Black hellebore on the 1st and 2nd days following an accident to heal fractures
Greco-Roman Medicine (400 BC)
Ex: Cosmetic application of pressed oils like saffron and olive oil (500 BC)
Persian/Iranian Medicine (1500 BC)
Ex: Cascara bark as a laxative tea used by the Nuxalk, Coast Salish, Quileute, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka’wakw and other nations
First Nation Traditional Medicine
Sumerian tablets included 15 prescriptions including za’atar (thyme) for sore throats and cough
Arabic/Sumerian Medicine (3000 BC)
Who developed the Humoral Medical Theory?
Aristotle and Hippocrates
in 4th c BC and became the first European medical theoretical system.
What are the Symbolic elements of HMT?
Earth, Fire, Water, Air
What are the qualities of HMT?
Cold, hot, wet, dry
(HMT) What are the 4 fluid states (“humors”) within the body?
Blood, Choler (yellow bile), Phlegm, Black Bile
What are the temperaments in the body according to HMT?
Sanguine, Choleric, Phlegmatic, Melancholic
Who was the surgeon to the gladiators and personal physician to Marcus Aurelius (Roman Emperor)? And what did he do?
Galen (131-200 AD)
He made humoral medicine the cornerstone of medicine in Europe for the next 1500 years
Who is the father of medicine?
Hippocrates (468-377 BC)
Who wrote De Materia Medica and was doctor to the Roman Armies of Nero?
Dioscorides (50-70 AD)
What is the Materia Medica?
Book containing 600 medicinal plants
What did Ibn-Sina (Avincenna) do?
He wrote The Canon of Medicine, which heavily influenced the practice of medicine for centuries.
Who was the founder of chemical pharmacology?
Paracelsus
What did Paracelsus believe that the specific medicinal action of each plant depends on?
It’s active principle.
What does Arcana mean?
Getting to the quintessence of the pure or chemical part of a plant.
P to P
Willow Bark
Aspirin
P to P
Chinchona tree
Quinine
P to P
Foxglove
Digoxin
P to P
Artemisia
Anti-Malarial drugs
P to P
Poppy
Morphine, Codeine
P to P
Periwinkle
Vinblastine (chemotherapy drugs)
P to P
Wild Yam
Steriods (estrogen, progesterone, DHEA)
What is the doctrine of signatures?
Concept by Paracelsus, that plants contain visual clues to their usefulness (colour, form place of growth, resemblance to human organ.)
Who provided cheap and readily available healthcare to the poor in 1616-1654?
Nicholas Culpeper
Who translated latin herbal pharmacopeia into english: ‘English Physician’?
Nicholas Culpeper
Who said: “… infinite number of poor creatures perish daily who else might happily be preserved if they knew what the herbs in their garden are good for?”
Nicolas Culpeper (1616-1654)
What is American western herbalism an integration of? Which knowledge systems?
European colonists, indigenous elders and healers, African men and women brought to the Americas through slavery
What words would be used to describe the “integration” of knowledge systems that began western herbalism?
nonconsensual collaboration, colonization, imbalance of power, uncredited
Who worked as a travelling physician using hydrotherapy and herbs? And was often vilified by the press?
Samuel Thomson (1769-1843)
Where does most of Samuel Thomson’s knowledge of herbal medicine come from?
Indigenous people
Who were the eclectics of America?
Early physicians interested in blending the old & new theories of medicine. Used modern science to understand the body and herbs to treat the conditions diagnosed.
Who was responsible for bringing the knowledge of Echinacea from the plains nations to the pharmacopoeias of the world?
The eclectics of America
Who helped to publish Eclectic Materia Medicas?
Ellingwood and Felter
When did Eclectic Medicine become popular?
20th Century
When was the suppression of biophilia medicine?
1906-1928
Why did the suppression of biophilia medicine happen?
Scientists and physicians began systematically attacking the use of plant medicines. Stated that there was too much unscientific past.
How did the creation of the American Medical Association affect biophilia in medicine?
It issued licenses to practice medicine based on achieving certain standards of competence, and steered it away from traditional herbal practices.
What is the primary form of healing world wide, used by over 80% of the population?
Herbal Medicine
