Indiana Medical History Museum: Guide to the Medicinal Plant Garden

In this modern era of urban civilization, many of us have lost touch with nature. We no longer
have the intimate knowledge of plants and their uses that our ancestors had acquired through
centuries of trial and error. When we want a cure for our headache or fever, we go not to the
meadow and woodland but to the drugstore.

The Medicinal Plant Garden of the Indiana Medical History Museum offers the opportunity to
remember that plants were the original source of most medicines. Many of the miracle drugs of
today are molecules or variations on compounds that were originally available from plant
medicines. For example, Bayer Aspirin (acetyl-salicylic acid) had its beginnings in 1897 from a
compound that occurs naturally in the herbaceous perennial European meadowsweet.
In recent decades, in the United States people have had an increasing interest in using herbal
remedies. A wide variety of herbal preparations are available over the counter at most
pharmacies and grocery stores. It is important to treat these substances with care. Just because a
product is “natural” does not mean that it is safe. As with our modern drugs, herbal medicines
may have undesired side effects as well as potential beneficial effects. For example, an
individual taking feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) for migraine headaches may not realize that
it acts as an anticoagulant and could result in bleeding complications if surgery is needed. When
asked by the doctor, “What medicines are you taking?” one always should include any herbal
remedies or tonics taken regularly in the answer.
In this country, the efficacy and strength of commercial herbal preparations is not controlled by
governmental regulations at this time. They are considered to be food supplements rather than
drugs. The potency of herbal remedies in stores is difficult to predict. Studies even show that
some products on the market have no active ingredient present. By contrast, in Europe,
Germany’s Commission E carefully studies and makes recommendations about herbal medicines,
and products available are better standardized and regulated. Of course, the amount of active
compounds in a plant's flower, leaf, bark, or root will vary with the cultivar, the soil, the weather,
the time of year, the time in the plant’s life cycle at harvest, and the way in which the plant is
dried, preserved, and processed.
Some of the most beautiful medicinal plants are quite poisonous. Examples include foxglove
(digitalis), autumn crocus (colchicine), castor bean (ricin), mayapple (podophyllotoxin), and lily
of the valley (digitalis-like cardiac glycoside). Remember that many of the plants we have
included in this garden can be toxic if misused. Please, do not pick or eat any part of the
plants in the garden!

http://www.imhm.org/resources/Documents/Binder1_MPG_Guide_2010_sfs.pdf