ABOUT THE BOOK

Medicinal plants have a rich history of utilization in all cultures; no one knows when or where plants first began to be used in the treatment of various ailments. From the very beginning of human existence, humans have familiarized themselves with plants and have used them in a variety of ways throughout the ages. Primitive humans began to distinguish those plants suitable for nutritional purposes from others with a definitive pharmacological action. This relationship has grown between plants and humans, and many plants have come to be used as drugs. Ethnobotany is the traditional knowledge of indigenous communities, about the surrounding plant diversity, and the study of how the people of a particular culture and region make use of indigenous plants.

The utilization of medicinal plants in modern medicine suffers from the fact that although plants are used to cure diseases, scientific evidence in terms of modern medicine is lacking in many cases. Different societies use plants according to their own beliefs, knowledge, and previous experiences. Their knowledge about the use of the plants is usually not known to other societies or to scientists. These hidden areas need to be explored. This book provides a brief introduction to the medicinal flora of AUH. It comprises herbs and tree Medicinal plant species growing at AUH.