drugs, in which there were 12 recipes referring to over 250 herbs (1). The Chinese book on roots and grasses written by Emperor Shen Nung (c 2500 BC) “Pen T’Sao” described 365 drugs, many of which including Theae folium, Rhei rhisoma, Camphor, Podophyllum, Ginseng, Jimson weed, Yellow gentian, Cinnamon bark, and Ephedra are used even today (2). There are several other age-old books originating from various countries. However, the most prominent one written on medicinal plants is from Dioscorides