A Brief History of Herbal Medicine.

The first examples of the use of herbs as medicines date back to the very dawn of mankind. Archaeologists have recently found evidence of the use of medical herbs by Neanderthal man in Iraq some sixty thousand years ago. All of the ancient civilisations - the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, Indian and Roman used herbs as an integral part of their various medical systems.

The Most famous herbalist is undoubtedly Hippocrates, the first physician to stress the importance of nature in healing. He was born on the island of Kos 460 BC, and is known as the 'Father of Medicine'.

In the middle ages, medical herbalism thrived, and it was because of persecution by the then orthodox medical profession, that during the reign of Henry VIII the Herbalists Act of 1542 was passed, allowing herbalists to practice without interference from the medical establishment. The two most famous figures in Medical Herbal-ism known to us in the UK are Culpeper and Gerard, with their famous 17th century 'Herbals'.

Herbal medicine, thanks to a rich folk knowledge, the influence of the American colonists, the unpleasentness and drastic action of doctors 'remedies' continued to grow and thrive as the main traditional medicine over the next two centuries. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the National Association of Medical Herbalists was formed, an association which later gave birth to today's two most prominent Registers of Medical Herbalists, the General Council and Register of Consultant Herbalists and the National Institute.

In 1968 Herbalists, unique among traditional practitioners, were given legal protection under the Medicines Act of that year, legislation which, in a revised form is still in operation today.

It is on the long and continuous history of herbs as medicines, together with knowledge taken from modern scientific research that today's Herbalism is based.