Origin of Herbal Products and Medicine

Everyone is always talking about how ancient herbal remedies for skincare and medicinal needs have been around forever but have you ever wondered when they actually originated?

It is difficult to define when herbal medicines were first established but there are several different theories on the origins of herbalism.

The oldest known list of medicinal herbs and their purposes or uses dates back to 3000 B.C., in a written Chinese compilation of oral herbal tradition.

The beginnings of Indian herbal medicine date back to 2000 B.C., and perhaps even before that. The Indian people had an extensive list of herbs and their uses, and many of the plants they used were indigenous to India.

After Ancient China, the ancient Greeks and Romans perpetuated the use of herbal substances for healing. In fact, doctors who traveled with the Roman army as the empire was being built spread their knowledge throughout what is today Europe, in countries like Spain, Germany, France and England. And, some of those doctors wrote herbal instructional texts that were the definitive herbal remedy texts for over 1,500 years.

In more recent history, the Middle Ages, herbalism continued to be a popular method of treatment for many ailments among the monasteries of Great Britain and Europe. Monasteries were the main medical schools, and schools in general, before the creation of the first university in England in the 1200s.

The Herbal Academy says that the tradition of herbalism used to be shrouded in magic and mystery: but today, herbalism is again gaining popularity as a tried and tested alternative to Western medicine practices. While it may not be widely used in hospitals to treat certain things, many of our pharmaceuticals today were derived from herbal practices of years past.

Learn about the herbal ingredients found in Arbordoun’s Abundantly Herbal Skin Care Products.