Georgian Scientists/ . 7 N 4, 2025 311 Georgian Scientists Vol. 7 Issue 4, 2025 https://doi.org/10.52340/gs.2025.07.04.16 : 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 1 „ “ , , PhD . https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9976-4724; 2 . , , PhD . https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6639-7595; 3 M 22, - ; 4 ; , “ , ; 5 M 22, - , ; 6 „ “ , PhD ; 7 „ “ , PhD ; 8 ; , , , , ( ) , . , , , ) . . , , . Georgian Scientists/ . 7 N 4, 2025 312 . ) , , ” . 60,000 (Ephedra sinica). , , . . 500 , . . . , „De Materia Medica”, 1700 . , : ( ) , ). , , -19 . , (1803 .) (1838 .). , , , . , , 1960- , . ( ., ). „ ” , , , ( ., Hypericum perforatum)). , , , . : , , , . Georgian Scientists/ . 7 N 4, 2025 313 , , . 75% - . , , . , , , . , , (Linum usitatissimum) , , , , , , , , . 60,000 , , (Ephedra sinica), , . , ” ( ) , (Banisteriopsis caapi), ” . , , . , , . 3000 , , , . ( . . . 1500 .), , , (Commiphora molmol) (Allium sativum). , ( . . . 1500 .) , ( . . . 400 .), 350- . , , . . . 40-90 .) ”,”De Materia Medica”, 600- . . -17 . , ” , . , , , , Georgian Scientists/ . 7 N 4, 2025 314 , . , ( . . 500-1300 .) , , (980-1037 .) , . , , . , , (Cinchona spp.) , . -19 . , . , (Papaver somniferum) 1803 , , , (Salix alba) 1838 . , : , , , , , , . , -20 . , , , . , , (Hypericum perforatum) , (whole plant) , . ,” : ,” . , , , ( ) , ( ) . Georgian Scientists/ . 7 N 4, 2025 315 . ”Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine”, , , . : ; ( ) , , , . , , , , . , ( ., , , ) . ( ., , ). ( ., , ) , . ( ., , ) . ., , ), , . Georgian Scientists/ . 7 N 4, 2025 316 , : , . I. : , , . , . . ( ) , . ., , ), . . , (Aegle marmelos) . : 60,000 ( ) , (Ephedra sinica) . , . II. . . 500 , , , . : ( . . 460-377 .) „ ”, . Georgian Scientists/ . 7 N 4, 2025 317 : (Claudius Galenus, . . 129-200 .) „ ” ( -sanguis, -choler, -melancholia, -phlegma) , . . „De Materia Medica”: (I ), 600- , 1700 . : ( ): ( , , ) , ( , , , , ) . : ( ) . . „ ” ( ., „ ” ), . III. : -18 -19 , . , . : (1803) (Papaver somniferum). (1838) (Salix alba), . (Digitalis purpurea) . ( ) „ ” (vital force) , . -19 ., ) , , . . Georgian Scientists/ . 7 N 4, 2025 318 -20 , , . IV. : 1960- , : . ( , ) ( ., ) . : (Sweet Annie): , . (St. John's Wort): , , . ” : , ” , . , . , , , . , , , . , , , , . Georgian Scientists/ . 7 N 4, 2025 319 , . , , . , . . 10-20% . , ”, , . , , . , , , , , , , , . , ( . „vis medicatrix naturae”) . , , . , ( . Foxglove- , Wild Yam- ) , 25%- . , „ ” . , , , , , . , (St. John's Wort) , . , ( ” ) . Georgian Scientists/ . 7 N 4, 2025 320 . ( . (Goldenseal) ). ( . ) , . , . ( . -19 , ) , „ ” . , . , „ , ”. ( ) , , . , , , , , . : , , , . ( , , ) , . , , -19 -20 . 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Penguin. 10. Manniche, L. (1989). An ancient Egyptian herbal. British Museum Publications. 11. Pliny the Elder. (1991). Natural history: A selection (J. Healey, Ed.). Penguin. 12. Porter, R. (1997). The greatest benefit to mankind. Harper Collins. 13. Swinburne Clymer, R. (1973). Nature’s healing agents. The Humanitarian Society. 14. Tobyn, G., Denham, A., & Whitelegg, M. (2010). The Western herbal tradition: 2000 years of medicinal plant knowledge. Churchill Livingstone. 15. Unschuld, P. (1985). Medicine in China. University of California Press. 16. Vogel, V. (1970). American Indian medicine. University of Oklahoma Press. 17. Latchkepiani, E., Kochadze, D., Gambarashvili, M., & Makharashvili, R. (2025). Mechanical Asphyxia in Forensic Medicine: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Georgian Scientists/ . 7 N 4, 2025 323 Modern Trends. Georgian Scientists, 7(3), 66-84. https://doi.org/10.52340/gs.2025.07.03.08 18. Kochadze, D., Latchkepiani, E., Makharashvili, R., Dolidze, N., & Asanidze, N. (2025). Medicinal Geophytes as Natural Antimicrobial Agents - An Ethnobotanical Review on the Example of Georgia. Georgian Scientists, 7(3), 454-467. https://doi.org/10.52340/gs.2025.07.03.27 19. Latchkepiani, E., Gambarashvili, M., & Kochadze, D. (2024). Heart rupture - a complication of adrenal cortical adenoma - case report. Georgian Scientists, 6(2), 405-416. https://doi.org/10.52340/gs.2024.06.02.42 20. Kochadze, D., Latchkepiani, E., & Makharashvili, R. (2025).”Traditional Georgian Ethnopharmacology: Historical Foundations, Medicinal Plant Cultivation Practices, and Knowledge Transmission Pathways”. Georgian Scientists, 7(2), 730- 744. https://doi.org/10.52340/gs.2025.07.02.69 21. Bitadze, L., & Elguja, L. (2022). Frequency and Types of Traumas in Khevsureti according tothe Fossil Material of the High and Late Middle Ages. https://openscience.ge/entities/publication/edeae3c1-8669-4f8c-bfd6- 4bd01c064215 10.48616/openscience-60 Georgian Scientists/ . 7 N 4, 2025 324 The History of the Development of Herbalism: From Shamanism to Scientific Medicine Dimitri Kochadze¹, Elguja Lachqepiani², Robert Makharashvili³, Nana Mgaloblishvili , Dimitri Kuchukhidze , Bagdu Chkhaidze , Nikoloz Shaverdashvili , Nino Asanidze8 ¹LLC”Regional Healthcare Center,” Clinical Manager of Kharagauli Medical Facility; Infectious Disease Specialist; PhD student at Tbilisi State Medical University. https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9976-4724; ² LEPL Levan Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau, Department of Medical Expertise; Forensic Medical Expert; PhD student at Tbilisi State University. https://doi.org/10.52340/gs.2024.06.02.42; ³Pediatric Clinic Mmedi22, Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care; Anesthesiologist Critical Care Physician; Certified Medical Doctor; Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management; Deputy Director and Clinical Director of LLC „Regional Healthcare Center“; Pediatric Clinic Mmedi22, Head of the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care; Anesthesiologist and Critical Care Physician; Deputy Director of LLC „Regional Healthcare Center“; PhD student at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University; Head of Logistics Department, LLC „Regional Healthcare Center“; PhD student at the Georgian Technical University; 8Master of Clinical Pharmacy, Pharmacology Expert, Pharmaceutical and Medical Activities Regulation Division, Department of Drug Registration, Clinical Trials, and Licensing of Pharmaceutical Institutions, LEPL Regulation Agency for Medical and Pharmaceutical Activities, Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia. Abstract: This scientific article provides a comprehensive historical and evolutionary analysis of herbalism, the use of medicinal plants for health maintenance and healing which is an integral part of human history. The study utilizes a thematic historical analysis and a qualitative descriptive methodology. The primary objective is to delineate the chronological and thematic arc of herbalism's evolution, tracing its path from irrational, shamanistic practices to contemporary, scientific evidence-based phytotherapeutic approaches. Approximately 75% of modern medications are based on herbal raw materials. The analysis is structurally organized into four principal evolutionary phases: Mystical Roots (Shamanism): This phase is characterized by the conflation of healing with magic and religious beliefs. Illness was often viewed as possession by spirits or evil forces. Shamans utilized hallucinogenic plants, such as Ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi), to enter the”spirit world” for healing. Early archaeological evidence, such as the discovery of eight different medicinal plants, including Ephedra (Ephedra sinica), in a 60,000-year-old burial in Iraq, supports the supernatural and medicinal significance attributed to these plants. Classical Rationalism and Traditional Systems: Beginning around 3000 BCE, civilizations in Egypt, India, and China produced the first written records of herbalism. In Europe, the process of separating medicine from purely spiritual roots was advanced by Hippocrates (the”Father of Medicine”) and Galen, who systematized the”Four Humors” theory. Dioscorides’”De Materia Medica” (c. 40-90 CE) served as the primary European herbal text Georgian Scientists/ . 7 N 4, 2025 325 until the 17th century. Concurrently, complex traditional systems like Ayurveda (based on Tridoshas) and Traditional Chinese Medicine (based on Yin and Yang and the Five Elements) were codified in Asia. The Age of Isolation (The Rise of Biomedicine): The scientific revolution of the 19th century shifted focus from the whole plant to its isolated active components. Key discoveries included the isolation of Morphine from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) in 1803 and Salicylic Acid (the precursor to Aspirin) from white willow bark (Salix alba) in 1838. This reductionist approach created a division between traditional, holistic herbalism and modern chemical medicine, leading to the marginalization of herbal practices in the West. Integration and Synergy (Modern Phytotherapy): Starting in the mid-20th century, a global resurgence occurred due to concerns over the side effects of conventional medicine. Contemporary scientific research increasingly validates traditional knowledge, such as the efficacy of Artemisinin (Sweet Annie) against malaria and St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) for treating mild depression. Crucially, this research confirms the traditional concept of Synergy that the whole plant extract, containing a complex profile of compounds, is often more effective and less toxic than an equivalent dose of an isolated active component. The paper concludes that the future of herbalism lies in an integrative and sustainable model, wherein traditional wisdom, accumulated through millennia of observation, is validated and refined by rigorous scientific evidence and adherence to strict quality control standards (e.g.,”chemical fingerprinting”). Key words: Herbalism, Shamanism, Phytotherapy, Synergistic Effect, Traditional Medicine, Biomedicine.