Aspirin
Pain, fever, and heart attack prevention
Where does it come from?
Home / Medicine from plants
Medicine from plantsYour medicine cabinet grew in a garden
Heart medicine from foxglove. Aspirin from willow bark. Cancer drugs from a garden flower. Here's where many modern medicines came from, and which ones didn't.
Why an herbalist cares
People are often surprised that so many medicines started as plants. Herbal knowledge isn't the opposite of modern medicine. A lot of modern medicine grew right out of it. Knowing where your medicine comes from makes you a smarter, safer user of both.
Test yourself · 0 of 0 right so far
Plant or lab?
Guess where each medicine comes from. “Plant-inspired” means scientists started with a plant compound and changed it in a lab.
Digoxin
Heart failure and irregular heartbeat
Where does it come from?
Morphine & codeine
Severe pain and coughs
Where does it come from?
Quinine
Malaria, and the bitter taste in tonic water
Where does it come from?
Metformin
Type 2 diabetes
Where does it come from?
Paclitaxel (Taxol)
Breast, ovarian and lung cancer
Where does it come from?
Vincristine
Childhood leukemia and other cancers
Where does it come from?
Artemisinin
Malaria
Where does it come from?
Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed)
Stuffy nose
Where does it come from?
Atropine
Eye exams, slow heart rates, and poison antidotes
Where does it come from?
Galantamine
Alzheimer's disease
Where does it come from?
Colchicine
Gout
Where does it come from?
Menthol & camphor
Cough drops and chest rubs like Vicks
Where does it come from?
Capsaicin cream
Joint and nerve pain
Where does it come from?
Senna
Constipation (Senokot and similar)
Where does it come from?
Psyllium
Fiber supplements like Metamucil
Where does it come from?
Guaifenesin (Mucinex)
Chest congestion
Where does it come from?
Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Pain and fever, also in Theraflu, NyQuil and many cold medicines
Where does it come from?
Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
Pain, fever and swelling
Where does it come from?
Diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
Allergies and sleep aids
Where does it come from?
Phenylephrine
The decongestant in Theraflu and Sudafed PE
Where does it come from?
Dextromethorphan
Cough suppressant (the "DM" in cough syrups)
Where does it come from?
Myth check
What's actually in Theraflu?
A lot of people assume cold medicines are made from plants. Most of the active ingredients in a typical box are lab-made. Formulas vary, so check yours.
Pain & fever
Acetaminophen
Lab-made, from petroleum-based chemicals.
Made in a lab
Decongestant
Phenylephrine
Lab-made. An FDA panel found the oral form doesn't work as a decongestant.
Made in a lab
Cough
Dextromethorphan
Lab-made. Related to opium-family compounds.
Made in a lab
Night-time formulas
Diphenhydramine
Lab-made antihistamine.
Made in a lab
Some formulas
Menthol & flavors
Menthol comes from mint.
From a plant
Watch the acetaminophen
Theraflu, NyQuil, DayQuil and many other cold medicines already contain acetaminophen, the medicine in Tylenol. Taking Tylenol on top of them can add up to a dangerous dose for your liver. Read the labels, and ask a pharmacist when you're mixing medicines.
3,500 years
From herb to pharmacy
- ~1550 BCAn ancient Egyptian medical scroll lists willow for aches and pains.
- 1785William Withering publishes his foxglove research. It leads to digoxin.
- ~1804Morphine is isolated from the opium poppy, one of the first pure drugs ever taken from a plant.
- 1820Quinine is isolated from cinchona bark.
- 1897Aspirin is made from willow's salicin.
- 1950sCancer drugs are discovered in the Madagascar periwinkle.
- 1971Paclitaxel (Taxol) is identified from Pacific yew bark.
- 1972Artemisinin is isolated from sweet wormwood.
- 2015Tu Youyou wins the Nobel Prize for artemisinin.
- TodayScientists still search plants, many guided by traditional herbal knowledge, for new medicines.
The lesson
Handle plants with respect
The dose makes the poison
Foxglove, belladonna, yew, autumn crocus and opium poppy gave us life-saving medicines. They are also deadly poisonous. Pharmacies can use them safely because each pill has an exact, tested amount. A leaf from the garden doesn't.
Never DIY these
- Don't make teas or remedies from foxglove, belladonna, yew, autumn crocus or poppy.
- Stick to gentle, well-known kitchen herbs at home: garlic, ginger, thyme, chamomile, elderberry and friends.
- Tell your doctor about any herbs you take. Plants can interact with prescriptions.