You don't have to look to traditional Chinese medicine or alternative medicine to find medicinal uses of plants. While many may argue about the value of herbal preparations, numerous widely-available conventional drugs are derived from plants. This reflects the botanical basis of modern pharmacopia. Even the popular breast cancer drug tamoxifen is derived from the yew tree.
Witch Hazel
According to Dan Perlman at Brandeis University, witch hazel--also known as Hamamelis virginiana--is a small flowering tree that grows almost everywhere in the U.S. except for the west coast. Leaves and bark from this tree are used in an over-the-counter preparation available in drugstores and supermarkets. Witch hazel is approved in the U.S for topical relief of pain and itching.
Digitalis
The botany department at UCLA reports that foxglove--also known as digitalis--contains digitoxin and digoxin which are cardiac stimulants. According to UCLA, digitoxin and its various derivatives increase myocardial contractility, making the heart pump slower by binding to the membranes of the cells and helping pump sodium and potassium ions, which modulate nervous conduction. This slows the heart rate and lessens oxygen demand.
Foxglove has been used since the late 1700s. It is very toxic and can easily be fatal when not used under a doctor's supervision.
Deadly Nightshade
The lovely deadly nightshade plant--also known as atropa belladonna--has potent hallucinogenic alkaloids, including atropine. Whereas in the Renaissance, Italian and Spanish women used bella donna eyedrops to dilate their pupils for beauty, we use atropine during eye exams to achieve the same end.
According to Drugs.com, atropine is commonly used to relieve gastrointestinal spasms.
Poppy
According to the UCLA botany department, the opium poppy--also known as Papaver somniferum--produces beautiful white, pink or purple flowers. It also produces a gummy resin we know as opium. We get both morphine and codeine from the opium poppy.
The analgesic properties of the opium poppy were known as far back as 5500 B.C. Poppy seeds have been found in archeological digs in Spain.
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