The uses of plants for medicine and other purposes changed little in early medieval
Europe. The monasteries thus tended to become local centers of medical knowledge, and their herb gardens provided the raw materials for simple treatment of common Many Greek and Roman writings on medicine, as on other subjects, were preserved by hand copying of manuscripts in monasteries. disorders.
Avicenna’s The Canon of Medicine (1025) lists 800 tested drugs, plants and minerals. Book Two is devoted to a discussion of the healing properties of herbs, including nutmeg, senna, sandalwood, rhubarb, myrrh, cinammon, and rosewater.
The origins of clinical pharmacology also date back to the Middle Ages in Avicenna’s The Canon of Medicine, Peter of Spain’s Commentary on Isaac, and John of St Amand’s Commentary on the Antedotary of Nicholas. In particular, the Canon introduced clinical trials, randomized controlled trials, and efficacy tests.
Muslim botanists and Muslim physicians significantly expanded on the earlier knowledge of materia medica. For example, al-Dinawari described more than 637 plant drugs in the 9th century, and Ibn al-Baitar described more than 1,400 different plants, foods and drugs, over 300 of which were his own original discoveries, in the 13th century.
Baghdad was an important center for Arab herbalism, as was Al-Andalus between 800 and 1400.
Abulcasis (936-1013) of Cordoba authored The Book of Simples . an important source for later European herbals, while Ibn al-Baitar (1197-1248) of Malaga authored the Corpus of Simples . the most complete Arab herbal which introduced 200 new healing herbs, including tamarind, aconite, and nux vomica.
The Arabs venerated Greco-Roman culture and learning, and translated tens of thousands of texts into Arabic for further study. As