History of Use of Traditional Herbal Medicines

Traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine has been used by Chinese people from ancient times.
Although animal and mineral materials have been used, the primary source of remedies
is botanical. Of the more than 12 000 items used by traditional healers, about 500 are in
common use (Li, 2000). Botanical products are used only after some kind of processing,which may include, for example, stir-frying or soaking in vinegar or wine. In clinical
practice, traditional diagnosis may be followed by the prescription of a complex and
often individualized remedy.
Traditional Chinese medicine is still in common use in China. More than half the
population regularly uses traditional remedies, with the highest prevalence of use in rural
areas. About 5000 traditional remedies are available in China; they account for approximately one fifth of the entire Chinese pharmaceutical market

Japanese traditional medicine

Many herbal remedies found their way from China into the Japanese systems of
traditional healing. Herbs native to Japan were classified in the first pharmacopoeia of
Japanese traditional medicine in the ninth century

Indian traditional medicine

Ayurveda is a medical system primarily practised in India that has been known for
nearly 5000 years. It includes diet and herbal remedies, while emphasizing the body,
mind and spirit in disease prevention and treatment.