From earliest times the Ancient Egyptians were renowned for their knowledge of medicinal plants. By the time the Papyrus Ebers was compiled in the ninth year of the reign of Amenophis I (c. 1550 B.C.), about 900 remedies, mostly plants, were being used by physicians. The Bedouins and other indigenous people of Egypt continue to practice herbal medicine and to use plants that are effective remedies for various ailments.
The Government of Egypt is currently undertaking a project to conserve globally significant medicinal plant species and to address threats to these valuable natural resources such as, over harvesting, collection for the trade and for fuel and over grazing.
Forty-two vulnerable, endangered or rare species have been targeted for special attention during the course of the project. Several species are either exported or sold in local markets in relatively large quantities. There is also a small but expanding private sector trade in the cultivation and processing of medicinal plants.
Many of the plants that are listed in the Papyrus Ebers are still used for purposes that include slimming and treating ailments such as skin diseases, intestinal parasites, rheumatism and urinary tract diseases.