The use of natural products for medicinal purposes dates back to ancient civilizations. Traditional systems of medicine, such as Ayurveda, Unani, and Traditional Chinese Medicine, have been utilizing plant-based remedies for thousands of years. The Greek physician Hippocrates (460-370 BCE) is known to have used plant-based medicines to treat various ailments. The field of pharmacognosy began to take shape in the 18th century, with the establishment of the first pharmacognosy chair at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
