Wild Medicinal Plants
Throughout human history people have used a variety of wild plants to improve health and to treat sickness and disease. Different groups used different plants, depending on what was available to them. To this day, wild plants are still being used as an alternative or complement to modern medicine.-
History
-
The convenience of prescription drugs is a recent development, but finding treatments for sickness and disease has always been a struggle for humans. According to the Herb Palace website, the use of wild medicinal plants was developed through the observation of wild animals. Through trial-and-error and generations of refining and recording data, people developed medicine from what was available in nature around them. Pharmaceutical drugs are often based on natural plant compounds.
Characteristics
-
Wild medicinal plants are as varied as the different ecosystems and habitats they come from. Each plant has a different set of characteristics. According to website Planta Europa, medicinal plants can be defined as plants that cure sickness, prevent disease or maintain health. Many plants meet this broad definition.
Considerations
-
It is important to maintain the population of wild medicinal plants. According to website Alternative Nature, many prescription medicines are plant-based, and it can be easy to over-harvest a plant. In order to preserve wild medicinal plants, harvest a plant only if you can do it without hurting the plant population. A good idea is to try propagating more of the plant that is needed.
Uses
-
One medicinal plant often offers a variety of health benefits and can treat several different problems. For example, Alternative Nature reports that passionflower produces anti-anxiety effects and can be used to treat insomnia and nervous tension. In addition, research is being conducted on its ability to treat Parkinson's disease and cancer. According to the Wilderness Survival website, wild medicinal plants can be used as poultices (medication spread on cloth and applied to the affected area), infusions (teas) and decoctions (extracts of plants).
Research
-
According to the William Brown Center, modern research on medicinal plants is done in two ways. One can look at how plants are used traditionally: through generations of use people learn which plants are dangerous, what dosage to take and how to administer the plant medicine. It is also possible to research medicinal properties of plants by studying the molecules of the plants.
-