The use of plant extracts is a profound thread woven through human history. In antiquity, civilizations from Egypt to China meticulously prepared botanical infusions and resins for embalming, sacred rituals, and treating ailments, as documented in texts like the Ebers Papyrus. The Middle Ages saw the distillation of essential oils and the preservation of herbal wisdom in monastic gardens.
The modern era transformed this ancient practice through scientific rigor. The isolation of morphine from opium poppy in the 19th century marked a pivotal shift from crude extracts to purified active compounds. Today, advanced techniques like supercritical CO2 extraction yield highly standardized ingredients, powering the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and nutraceutical industries with nature’s chemistry, now understood and harnessed with unprecedented precision.
