An Overview of Greco‐Arab and Islamic Herbal Medicine

Natural products, such as plant, fungal, and bee products, as well as minerals, shells, and
certain animal products, represent the oldest form of medical treatment. Currently, many of
the commonly used drugs are of herbal origin and about 25% of the prescription drugs
contain at least one herbal-derived active ingredient or synthetic compound, which mimics a
plant-derived compound. There are over 80,000 plants that have medicinal uses throughout
the world and usually a specific part of the plant is used for medical preparations such as ...