The Medicinal Properties of the Papaya, Carica papaya L

Quite surprisingly, historians know little about Hippocrates, the physician often referred to as "the father of medicine". However, we do know that he was a strong advocate of the use of medicinal plants to prevent and cure diseases. He recorded between three hundred and four hundred plant remedies in his writing and during the middle ages herbal remedies were passed down from generation to generation. Although the church emphasized faith healing over other forms of healing, Christian monks would preserve many of the early Greek and Roman medical texts, later growing their own herbs in the monasteries.