**3. Evolution of herbal medicine in traditional medicine**

The practice of herbal medicine is embedded in traditional medicine which origins may be implied in varied anecdotes. It is claimed that its beginnings in humans were instinctive, as seems to be the case in animals. As humans were afflicted by various illnesses over time, they learned to pursue remedies from various formulations from plant and animal parts, and mineral substances. Over time, the therapeutic properties of medicinal plants for the treatment of certain diseases have been validated through scientific experiments; thus, medicinal plants usage gradually abandoned the anecdotal framework and became founded on empirical and explicatory facts [6].

Other diverse claims have been made in relation to the origin of herbal medicines used in traditional medicine in Africa. Some claimed the medicines originated from the deities or superior beings as a gift to man through the medium of dwarfs or spirit beings who 'abducted' some individuals and took them away from human habitation into the spirit world either in the forest or in the water bodies. Such persons returned to human habitation trained and equipped to fight the diseases that threaten the well-being of not only individual sufferers but also the entire family or community. Some other knowledge of medicines is claimed to have come by revelation through dreams, visions and extrasensory perception. The above postulates on the origin of herbal medicines formed the basis of a sophisticated traditional medical system in Africa, a time-tested system where information on medicinal plants use was methodically collected over several years, and which provides remedies for most diseases today in Africa. The African Traditional Medicine practitioners' own experience, added to the accumulated knowledge passed on, usually orally, through generations, allow them to offer effective remedies for treating ailments that afflict the community [5].

Lately, the knowledge and use of traditional medicine have also been acquired through apprenticeship by individuals understudying a recognized practitioner over defined periods of time. More recently, with increased access to information, some practitioners, especially those outside the indigenous cultures, acquire the knowledge about medicinal plants and their uses from Internet sources including online scientific journals and books including e-books. Another avenue of knowledge acquisition has been through formal education and training in exclusively scientific settings as at colleges or universities where degrees or diplomas are awarded on graduation.
