Arab Herbal Medicines

Despite the great progress in modern medicine, traditional medicine has always been practised in the Arab-Islamic world. Cultural beliefs and practices often lead to self-care or home remedies in rural areas and consultation with traditional healers. Traditional therapies have been utilized by people in the Mediterranean region who have faith in spiritual healers, homeopaths or even many herbalists. These are the first choice for problems such as infertility, impotence, diabetes, obesity, epilepsy, psychosomatic troubles and many other diseases. The modern use of Arab botanical medicines has historical roots in ancient Arabic medicine. In the Middle Ages Arab herbalists, pharmacologists, chemists and physicians adapted the ancient medicinal practices of Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Persia and India. Medical innovations introduced by Arab physicians included: the discovery of the immune system, the introduction of microbiological science, and the separation of medicine from pharmacological science. This chapter presents a systematic review on traditional Arab botanical medicine including historical background, medical innovations introduced by Arab physicians, and a state of the art description of traditional Arab herbal medicine.