Abstract

Many nations of the world have traditional medicine. Arabs were the first to distil alcohol. The existence and use of plants to treat human diseases is as old as man. Some plants have opportunity, either to be or of being transferred from their original natural environment to another. To determine whether traditional medicines were available for the treatment of diseases in Arabian Pennisula, a literature review of the plants used by Arabs was completed which led to identification of about 150 medicinal plants used in the treatment of human diseases in the Pennisula. Some of the listed plants are already available in Nigeria perhaps as a result of interaction between Arabs/Jews from Middle East and Arab-Barbas, Tuaregs, Fulanis and Hausas in Africa through trans Sahara trade and pilgrimages.

Key words: Medicinal plants, Arabs, Middle East.