History of usage and symbolic meaning of medicinal plants

Čovjek se od najstarijih vremena borio protiv različitih bolesti, koristeći prvenstveno raznovrsne ljekovite biljke iz svoje okoline. Stoga je poznavanje ljekovitog bilja bilo neophodno kao i sposobnost njegove primjene. Smatra se da su ljudi promatrali životinje i na temelju vlastitog iskustva otkrivali čari ljekovitog bilja. Iz tako važne uloge u životu ljudi proizašle su mnoge legende i vjerovanja. Znanje o ljekovitom bilju prenosilo se usmenom predajom do prvog zapisa na glinenim pločicama, zapisa na papirusu do kasnijeg izuma tiskarskog stroja kada pisana djela o izgledu i uporabi ljekovitog bilja postaju dostupna većini stanovništva. Otkrićem novih kontinenata, procvatom trgovine proširila se i uporaba različitih biljnih vrsta. Razvojem kemije počinju se izdvajati aktivni sastojci iz bilja, što postaje preteča suvremenim lijekovima. Moderna znanost je dokazala djelovanje mnogih lijekova biljnog podrijetla koji su bili poznati drevnim civilizacijama i korišteni tijekom tisućljeća.From the earliest times, man has fought against various diseases, using primarily various plants from his environment. Therefore, knowledge of medicinal herbs was necessary as well as its usage. It is believed that people have observed the animals and on the basis of their own experience discovered the magic of herbs. Many of the legends and beliefs derive from such important roles in people's lives. Knowledge of medicinal herbs was transmitted through oral tradition till the first written record on clay tablets, a written record of the papyrus to the later invention of the printing machine when written pieces about medicinal plants became available to most of the population. The discovery of new continents and trade flourishing has influenced on usage of different plant species. With the development of chemistry, the active ingredients of plants are being extracted, which becomes a prerequisite of modern medicines. Modern science has proven the effects of many herbal medicines known in ancient civilizations and used throughout the millennium