A Concise Guide to Herbs

AIl over the world, mankind has used herbs for hundreds of years. These versatile plants have a wonderful history of being used for a range of purposes. Including healing, flavouring food, cosmetics and dyeing. When we use herbs today, we are making a very vivid connection back into our collective history.

Medicinally, herbs have been used for thousands of years. Their effectiveness was realised long ago by ancient cultures including the Chinese and the Indians with Ayurvedic medicine. The Ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks also used herbs widely for healing and today's Western herbalism draws very much on the knowledge and wisdom of the past. Today, scientists are able to isolate and identify many of the chemical constituents which are so effective medicinally. St John's wort, for example, traditionally used to treat nervous complaints, is now known to contain hypericin and hyperforin which relieve depression. A traditional country remedy made from foxgloves led to the important discovery that this woodland plant could be used to make digitalin to treat heart disease.

In culinary terms, herbs play a vital part in flavouring our cuisines, adding vivid scents and tastes to numerous dishes, from sauces, such as mint sauce or pesto, to stews and salads. While garlic is a herb which enjoys near universal use, many other herbs are deeply characteristic of national or regional cuisines, with aromatic thyme evoking the sun-kissed cuisine of the Mediterranean while citrus-flavoured lemon grass conjures up the spicy complexities of south-east Asian curries and soups.