Medicinal Plants, The Best For Health
Medicinal plants are healing herbs used to heal wounds or cure diseases. For millennia, man needs to relieve different problems in a natural way and learned the use of these healing flowers. These plants have substances called active ingredients, which vary according to the plant and allows it to be used whole or in parts (root, leaves, petals and seeds).
List of Medicinal Plants
There is a wide diversity of medicinal plants and herbs. Each plant provides different health benefits, so it is very important to know its applications in the use we give them. As we are lovers of natural plants and take care of them, we list some of the best medicinal plants. If you want to know more, enter our medicinal plants blog.
History of Medicinal Plants
Unlike other types of plants, medicinal herbs are the first type of plants used by mankind. This was due to the need to cure diseases and injuries caused by different causes.
In antiquity
The first indication of medicinal plants was in ancient Sumeria, where they are displayed on clay tablets with hundreds of plants such as opium and myrrh, more than 4000 years ago.
In China it seems that medicinal plants were already used in the year 5000 BC. This is due to the existence of the Pen Tsao book collects more than 300 species and some of its benefits. Right next to it, in India, data is also collected in Ayurvedic medicine, as turmeric and some of its benefits are cataloged.
Later in ancient Egypt, it was when the first medicinal plants appear in the Ebers papyrus, dating from the year 1700 BC. Among them, cannabis, aloe vera and mandrake are cataloged. The Greeks also refer to medicinal herbs. The father of medicine was the Greek Hippocrates, who gave importance to these plants and their benefits. Also in Greece in the first century after Christ, the doctor Pedanías Dioscorides wrote the first book of medicinal plants, with more than 600 cataloged plants and 1000 recipes.
In the middle Ages
In the middle ages, knowledge of medicinal plants thrived in the Islamic world. Many scholars of the time translated classical Greek texts into Arabic, adding new knowledge, highlighting the texts. In addition to this, herbalism developed in Arab countries and regions such as Morocco or Arabia.
In Europe, the Benedictines preserved the medical knowledge of medicinal herbs, in addition to continuing to translate and copy the classic texts and maintain the vegetable gardens and gardens.
In the modern age
In the nineteenth century the chemical analysis appears, which isolates the active ingredients of plants to produce medicines. Among some of the first compounds that emerged we can find morphine, which was obtained by isolating it from poppy. The first synthesis of a medication was salicylic acid.
 How to use medicinal plants
There are different ways of applying or obtaining the benefits of medicinal plants. Due to the different uses of each and its effects on the body, they can be administered for cutaneous use on the skin for possible wounds, or orally for digestive problems.
In infusions we can get some of the benefits of these plants. They can be obtained in a simple way by putting the leaves, flowers or roots of the plant in a bowl with hot water and then allowing it to cool. In this way the part of the plant does not suffer and could be reused for this or other purposes.
Powders are a way to fully obtain the benefits of a plant. To obtain them, it is necessary to sift the totally dry plant and spray it to the density we need. Powders are often used to consume them through tablets or diluted with water, so that a greater benefit is obtained from them.
The juices allow liquefying part of the benefits of the plants or fruits in liquid form, being a very easy method to consume them. Generally, some of the benefits are lost but in others, as in the case of the roots, it is easy if it is left a few hours before soaking.
Poultice is a way to use medicinal herbs to heal and protect a wound. To apply it is necessary to boil or grind the plant itself, then apply it over the wound. It can be mixed with some type of clay or similar for a better application. Currently it is much easier to use ointments or compresses that allow to keep the wound in a much cleaner way.
The vapors are to solve respiratory problems by boiling the medicinal plant in water. It must be at an average temperature where the vapors do not burn the respiratory system.
At meals we can take advantage mostly of the benefits of plants. They can be applied as powder, boiled or scratched at different meals, providing all its benefits in a delicious and easy way.
Properties of Medicinal Plants
All medicinal plants contain chemical compounds that protect us against certain diseases or discomforts. Some could be classified as drugs for their effects, even addictive as with morphine. Its use is widespread in all branches of modern medicine.
Alkaloids
Alkaloids may have mild addictive effects, and may be used for therapeutic or recreational purposes. It is a bitter chemical compound that is present in various plants such as coca, tobacco and coffee.
Glycosides
They are a group of molecules widely used in laxatives and cardiotonics. It is a type of molecule that shows in its compound a sugar molecule linked to another of a different functional group. Among the plants that we can find are those of laxative use (aloe vera, senna and rhubarb) and of cardiotonic use (dedaleras and convalaria).
Polyphenols
They are compounds present in many types of plants, they are used to treat gynecological disorders associated with menstruation or fertility. To combat these diseases, it is based on the phytoestrogens that include polyphenols, which have a composition similar to human estrogenic hormones. Among the plants in which the polyphenols are found are anise and fennel. Dietary tablets of grape and olive extract polyphenols can be found.
Terpenes
Terpenes are uses to produce aromatic and antiseptic oils. Thanks to this compound, plants can repel their predators with a powerful aroma, hence their use to produce various aromatic oils. They can be found in various plants such as eucalyptus, clove or ginger
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