Recreational and medicinal drugs were widely used and traded in the ancient world
Historical and archaeological evidence confirms that a wide variety of medicinal plants and naturally occurring psychoactive substances were actively utilized, cultivated, and traded across ancient civilizations.
The retrieved literature extensively documents the historical use of medicinal plants and drugs across numerous ancient cultures and medical traditions, supporting the claim without any contradictory evidence.
Prawej Ansari, Alexa D. Reberio, N. J. Ansari, Sandeep Kumar, Joyeeta T. Khan, Suraiya Chowdhury, F. Mohamed, Abd El-Mordy, J. Hannan, P. Flatt, Y. Abdel-Wahab, V. Seidel. Therapeutic Potential of Medicinal Plants and Their Phytoconstituents in Diabetes, Cancer, Infections, Cardiovascular Diseases, Inflammation and Gastrointestinal Disorders. 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13020454
The paper notes that medicinal plants have been utilized since ancient times across various traditions for treating a wide array of disorders.
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Manisha Manisha, Ram Babu, A. Begam, Kavita Shakya Chahal, Akshay Ashok Harale. Medicinal Plants and Traditional Uses and Modern Applications. 2025. https://doi.org/10.52783/jns.v14.2210
It discusses how medicinal plants have played a fundamental role in traditional healing systems throughout history.
D. Uti, I. Atangwho, E. Alum, S. I. Egba, Ugwu Okechukwu Paul-Chima, G. C. Ikechukwu. Natural Antidiabetic Agents: Current Evidence and Development Pathways from Medicinal Plants to Clinical use. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/1934578X251323393
The study highlights that historically, several civilizations utilized traditional medicinal plants for treatment and disease control.
Smita G. Bhat. Medicinal Plants and Its Pharmacological Values. 2022. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99848
It documents that plants have been used as a source of medicine for thousands of years across Indian, Egyptian, Chinese, Greek, and Roman systems.
Díaz-Guerrero MÁ, Castillo-Juárez I, Zurabian R, Valdez A, Kota K, Hoshiko Y, Hoshiko Y, Ramesh E, Martínez-Vazquez M, Ceapă CD, Hernandez-Garnica M, Cadet F, García-Contreras R. Reviving the past for a healthier future: ancient molecules and remedies as a solution to the antibiotic crisis.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/17460913.2025.2476290
The research explores ancient empirical knowledge of plant remedies and traditional medicines across various ancient cultures worldwide.
Machado RSR, Bonhomme V, Soteras R, Jeanty A, Bouby L, Evin A, Fernandes Martins MJ, Gonçalves S, Antolín F, Salavert A, Oliveira HR. The origins and spread of the opium poppy (<i>Papaver somniferum</i> L.) revealed by genomics and seed morphometrics.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0198
It investigates the prehistoric origins, domestication, and cultivation spread of the opium poppy used for analgesics and psychotropic drugs.
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