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History of Herbal Medicine Timeline
(c. 3000 BCE - Present)Herbal medicine is one of the oldest forms of healthcare, with humans using plants for healing for tens of thousands of years. From ancient civilizations like Egypt, China, and India developing sophisticated herbal systems, to the Middle Ages' herbals and monastic gardens, through the scientific isolation of active compounds like morphine and aspirin, and into today's renewed interest in natural remedies backed by clinical research, the history of herbal medicine reflects humanity's enduring relationship with medicinal plants. More Less
Ancient & Classical Era
Seeds used for herbalism in Bronze Age China
1600 BCE - 1046 BCE
Seeds likely used for herbalism were found in archaeological sites of Bronze Age China dating from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BCE). This discovery represents some of the earliest physical evidence of the human use of plants for medicinal purposes.
Image source: Shang dynasty
Ebers papyrus written in ancient Egypt
1550 BCE
In ancient Egypt, the Ebers papyrus dates from about 1550 BCE and covers more than 700 compounds, mainly of plant origin. It is one of the oldest and most important surviving medical documents, documenting the extensive use of herbal remedies in Egyptian medicine.
Image source: Ebers Papyrus
Theophrastus writes Historia Plantarum
400 BC - 399 BC
The earliest known Greek herbals came from Theophrastus of Eresos who, in the 4th century BCE, wrote in Greek Historia Plantarum. His work laid foundational knowledge of plant botany and medicinal uses that influenced later herbalists for centuries.
Image source: Theophrastus
Diocles of Carystus writes an early Greek herbal
300 BC - 299 BC
Diocles of Carystus wrote during the 3rd century BCE and was among the earliest known authors of Greek herbals. His writings contributed to the growing body of botanical and medical knowledge in the ancient Greek world.
Krateuas writes a Greek herbal
100 BC - 099 BC
Krateuas, a physician and pharmacologist, wrote in the 1st century BCE and is considered one of the earliest known authors of Greek herbals. His illustrated works on plant medicines helped bridge botany and pharmacy in antiquity.
Image source: Crateuas (physician)
Dioscorides writes De Materia Medica
40 CE - 90 CE
De Materia Medica, originally written in Greek by Pedanius Dioscorides of Anazarbus, Cilicia, a physician and botanist, is one example of herbal writing used over centuries until the 1600s. Its detailed descriptions of plants and their medical uses made it a cornerstone reference for over fifteen hundred years.
Image source: De materia medica
Traditional Medicine Systems
Origins of jamu traditional herbal medicine
726
In Indonesia, especially among the Javanese, the jamu traditional herbal medicine may have originated in the Mataram kingdom era, some 1300 years ago. Jamu remains a living tradition of herbal healing practiced throughout Indonesia today.
Image source: Jamu
Mataram book records 3,000 jamu recipes
1700
A book from Mataram dated from circa 1700 contains 3,000 entries of jamu herbal recipes. This remarkable compendium documented centuries of accumulated Javanese herbal knowledge in written form.
Serat Centhini describes jamu concoctions
1814
Javanese classical literature Serat Centhini (1814) describes some jamu herbal concoction recipes, preserving traditional herbal knowledge within one of Java's most celebrated literary works.
Modern Scientific Discoveries
Tu Youyou extracts artemisinin from sweet wormwood
1972
In 1972, Tu Youyou, a pharmaceutical chemist and later Nobel Prize winner, extracted the anti-malarial drug artemisinin from sweet wormwood, a traditional Chinese treatment for intermittent fevers. Her discovery has saved millions of lives worldwide and demonstrated the value of traditional remedies as sources of modern drugs.
Image source: Artemisinin
Key Facts
- The Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE) from ancient Egypt documents over 700 herbal remedies, including aloe, frankincense, and juniper, making it one of the oldest known medical texts.
- Traditional Chinese Medicine's foundational text, the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), compiled around 200 CE, catalogued 365 medicinal plants and established principles still used today.
- In 1805, Friedrich Sertürner isolated morphine from opium poppy, marking the birth of modern pharmacology by proving plant medicines contain specific active compounds.
- Aspirin was developed in 1897 by Felix Hoffmann at Bayer, based on salicin derived from willow bark, which had been used as a pain remedy since ancient times.
- Today, an estimated 80% of the world's population relies partly on traditional medicine, and many modern drugs—including paclitaxel from yew trees—originate from plant sources studied through ethnobotany.
Source
This History of Herbal Medicine timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.
We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.
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