CBSE Textbook: Nature's Medicines | Communicative English for Class 10 PDF Download

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Arabic and Persian. Centuries later, his work was also used by the Muslim 
scholars who influenced great universities of the period, particularly at 
Montpellier, Europe's most famous centre for the study of Botany. (2)
4. As a result of trade with Africa and Asia, the Western world's store of herbal 
medicines was enriched by the inclusion of camphor, cinnamon, ginger, ginseng, 
nutmeg, sandalwood, turmeric and henna.  For a long time, however, the use of 
both local plants and those with more distant origins was based on more or less 
fanciful beliefs. Throughout the Middle Ages herbal medicine consisted of a 
mixture of magic, superstition and empirical observation. From the Renaissance 
onwards, scientists and their scientific studies, discoveries and inventions came 
to the fore, rejecting alchemists' elixirs and other magical remedies. Local plants 
were carefully collected and widely used to make infusions, decoctions and 
ointments. These plants make up the major part of the traditional cures that we 
have inherited.                                     
5. In the late 1700s, Carl Wilheim Scheele, a gifted Swedish chemist, obtained 
tartaric acid from grapes, citric acid from lemons and malic acid from apples. The 
techniques that he and his contemporaries used led to the isolation of the first 
purified compounds from plants that could be used as drugs. First came the 
isolation of morphine from the opium poppy in 1803, then caffeine from coffee 
beans in 1819, quinine from cinchona bark and colchicines from meadow saffron 
both in 1820 and atropine from deadly nightshade in 1835.  
6. One tree that generated considerable interest among scientists was the willow. In 
the early 1800s, chemists from Germany, Italy and France began the search for 
the compounds responsible for the acclaimed pain-relieving effects of its bark. In 
1828, the German pharmacist, Johann Buchner, was the first to obtain salicin, 
the major compound in a pure form. In 1838, the Italian chemist, Raffaele Piria 
also obtained salicylic acid from the bark by various chemical processes. But 
these early compounds caused blisters in the mouth, and stomach upsets when 
ingested. In 1853, a French chemist, Charles Frederic Gerhardt, synthesised a 
modified form of salicylic acid-acetylsalicylic acid. But still it wasn't further 
developed for more than 40 years until a German chemist, Felix Hoffman, working 
for Bayer, rediscovered Gerhardt's compound. Hoffman gave it to his father who 
suffered from arthritis and reported the beneficial effects. 
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HEALTH AND MEDICINE
              
 
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MAIN COURSE BOOK
HEALTH AND MEDICINE
35
Arabic and Persian. Centuries later, his work was also used by the Muslim 
scholars who influenced great universities of the period, particularly at 
Montpellier, Europe's most famous centre for the study of Botany. (2)
4. As a result of trade with Africa and Asia, the Western world's store of herbal 
medicines was enriched by the inclusion of camphor, cinnamon, ginger, ginseng, 
nutmeg, sandalwood, turmeric and henna.  For a long time, however, the use of 
both local plants and those with more distant origins was based on more or less 
fanciful beliefs. Throughout the Middle Ages herbal medicine consisted of a 
mixture of magic, superstition and empirical observation. From the Renaissance 
onwards, scientists and their scientific studies, discoveries and inventions came 
to the fore, rejecting alchemists' elixirs and other magical remedies. Local plants 
were carefully collected and widely used to make infusions, decoctions and 
ointments. These plants make up the major part of the traditional cures that we 
have inherited.                                     
5. In the late 1700s, Carl Wilheim Scheele, a gifted Swedish chemist, obtained 
tartaric acid from grapes, citric acid from lemons and malic acid from apples. The 
techniques that he and his contemporaries used led to the isolation of the first 
purified compounds from plants that could be used as drugs. First came the 
isolation of morphine from the opium poppy in 1803, then caffeine from coffee 
beans in 1819, quinine from cinchona bark and colchicines from meadow saffron 
both in 1820 and atropine from deadly nightshade in 1835.  
6. One tree that generated considerable interest among scientists was the willow. In 
the early 1800s, chemists from Germany, Italy and France began the search for 
the compounds responsible for the acclaimed pain-relieving effects of its bark. In 
1828, the German pharmacist, Johann Buchner, was the first to obtain salicin, 
the major compound in a pure form. In 1838, the Italian chemist, Raffaele Piria 
also obtained salicylic acid from the bark by various chemical processes. But 
these early compounds caused blisters in the mouth, and stomach upsets when 
ingested. In 1853, a French chemist, Charles Frederic Gerhardt, synthesised a 
modified form of salicylic acid-acetylsalicylic acid. But still it wasn't further 
developed for more than 40 years until a German chemist, Felix Hoffman, working 
for Bayer, rediscovered Gerhardt's compound. Hoffman gave it to his father who 
suffered from arthritis and reported the beneficial effects. 
UNIT-1
MAIN COURSE BOOK
HEALTH AND MEDICINE
7. Bayer decided to market the acetylsalicylic acid as a new drug for pain relief and 
patented the compound acetylsalicylic acid in 1899. At last from the willow, the 
first modern drug was born and, with 12000 tons of aspirin sold every year 
throughout the world, it has kept its number one position. 
8. From the 1930s onwards, advances in chemistry have made it much easier to 
reproduce the active ingredients in plants. But plants will continue to have a 
medicinal importance in their own right. Their active constituents may be slightly 
modified to improve their efficiency or to reduce their undesirable effects, but they 
are still vital for the treatment of disorders such as cancers and heart diseases or 
as a means of combating malaria. And they remain the essence of herbal 
medicine-an area that has still not been fully understood and explored.   
E2.  Some sub-titles are given below corresponding to each of the paragraphs of 
the article that you have just read. Match the sub-titles with their 
paragraphs by writing the number of the paragraph in the space provided.
         SUB-TITLES     PARAGRAPH NUMBER
 • Birth of the first modern drug.                        _______________________      
 • Man's hunt for medicinal plants from  
ancient times.    _______________________
 • Contribution of Greek scholars   _______________________
 • Pioneering isolation of compounds                  _______________________
 • The beginning of a new era of recreation of  
plant components with modifications       _______________________
 • Positive effects of new trade and trading routes  _______________________
 • The Wonder Tree                                                 _______________________ 
 • Knowledge from ancient Egypt       _______________________ 
E3.  Find words from the passage that mean the same or nearly the same as the 
following: 
(a)  filled with a certain quality ( para 1 ) :                    ____________________________
(b)  scented or perfumed or sweet-smelling (para 2) :   ____________________________
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MAIN COURSE BOOK
HEALTH AND MEDICINE
              
 
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UNIT-1
MAIN COURSE BOOK
HEALTH AND MEDICINE
35
Arabic and Persian. Centuries later, his work was also used by the Muslim 
scholars who influenced great universities of the period, particularly at 
Montpellier, Europe's most famous centre for the study of Botany. (2)
4. As a result of trade with Africa and Asia, the Western world's store of herbal 
medicines was enriched by the inclusion of camphor, cinnamon, ginger, ginseng, 
nutmeg, sandalwood, turmeric and henna.  For a long time, however, the use of 
both local plants and those with more distant origins was based on more or less 
fanciful beliefs. Throughout the Middle Ages herbal medicine consisted of a 
mixture of magic, superstition and empirical observation. From the Renaissance 
onwards, scientists and their scientific studies, discoveries and inventions came 
to the fore, rejecting alchemists' elixirs and other magical remedies. Local plants 
were carefully collected and widely used to make infusions, decoctions and 
ointments. These plants make up the major part of the traditional cures that we 
have inherited.                                     
5. In the late 1700s, Carl Wilheim Scheele, a gifted Swedish chemist, obtained 
tartaric acid from grapes, citric acid from lemons and malic acid from apples. The 
techniques that he and his contemporaries used led to the isolation of the first 
purified compounds from plants that could be used as drugs. First came the 
isolation of morphine from the opium poppy in 1803, then caffeine from coffee 
beans in 1819, quinine from cinchona bark and colchicines from meadow saffron 
both in 1820 and atropine from deadly nightshade in 1835.  
6. One tree that generated considerable interest among scientists was the willow. In 
the early 1800s, chemists from Germany, Italy and France began the search for 
the compounds responsible for the acclaimed pain-relieving effects of its bark. In 
1828, the German pharmacist, Johann Buchner, was the first to obtain salicin, 
the major compound in a pure form. In 1838, the Italian chemist, Raffaele Piria 
also obtained salicylic acid from the bark by various chemical processes. But 
these early compounds caused blisters in the mouth, and stomach upsets when 
ingested. In 1853, a French chemist, Charles Frederic Gerhardt, synthesised a 
modified form of salicylic acid-acetylsalicylic acid. But still it wasn't further 
developed for more than 40 years until a German chemist, Felix Hoffman, working 
for Bayer, rediscovered Gerhardt's compound. Hoffman gave it to his father who 
suffered from arthritis and reported the beneficial effects. 
UNIT-1
MAIN COURSE BOOK
HEALTH AND MEDICINE
7. Bayer decided to market the acetylsalicylic acid as a new drug for pain relief and 
patented the compound acetylsalicylic acid in 1899. At last from the willow, the 
first modern drug was born and, with 12000 tons of aspirin sold every year 
throughout the world, it has kept its number one position. 
8. From the 1930s onwards, advances in chemistry have made it much easier to 
reproduce the active ingredients in plants. But plants will continue to have a 
medicinal importance in their own right. Their active constituents may be slightly 
modified to improve their efficiency or to reduce their undesirable effects, but they 
are still vital for the treatment of disorders such as cancers and heart diseases or 
as a means of combating malaria. And they remain the essence of herbal 
medicine-an area that has still not been fully understood and explored.   
E2.  Some sub-titles are given below corresponding to each of the paragraphs of 
the article that you have just read. Match the sub-titles with their 
paragraphs by writing the number of the paragraph in the space provided.
         SUB-TITLES     PARAGRAPH NUMBER
 • Birth of the first modern drug.                        _______________________      
 • Man's hunt for medicinal plants from  
ancient times.    _______________________
 • Contribution of Greek scholars   _______________________
 • Pioneering isolation of compounds                  _______________________
 • The beginning of a new era of recreation of  
plant components with modifications       _______________________
 • Positive effects of new trade and trading routes  _______________________
 • The Wonder Tree                                                 _______________________ 
 • Knowledge from ancient Egypt       _______________________ 
E3.  Find words from the passage that mean the same or nearly the same as the 
following: 
(a)  filled with a certain quality ( para 1 ) :                    ____________________________
(b)  scented or perfumed or sweet-smelling (para 2) :   ____________________________
36
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MAIN COURSE BOOK 37
(c)  written work dealing with a subject systematically (para 3): _____________________
(d)  people living at the same time as others (para 5) : ____________________________
(e)  notably large or significant (para 5 ) :                    ____________________________
E4.   Complete the following sentences on the basis of your reading of the text in 
D1.
(a) After the Renaissance, the major shifts that occurred in the approach towards 
herbal plants were --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(b) Isolation of compounds from plants to be used as drugs was the ---------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E5.  Complete the following flowchart that traces the contributory processes 
leading to the development of the first modern drug from the willow tree.
  (a) salicin, the first major compound, was obtained in 1828
  (b) ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  © ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  (d) Felix Hoffman's contribution of rediscovering Gerhardt's compound
  (e) ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 5


UNIT-1
MAIN COURSE BOOK
HEALTH AND MEDICINE
              
 
34
UNIT-1
MAIN COURSE BOOK
HEALTH AND MEDICINE
35
Arabic and Persian. Centuries later, his work was also used by the Muslim 
scholars who influenced great universities of the period, particularly at 
Montpellier, Europe's most famous centre for the study of Botany. (2)
4. As a result of trade with Africa and Asia, the Western world's store of herbal 
medicines was enriched by the inclusion of camphor, cinnamon, ginger, ginseng, 
nutmeg, sandalwood, turmeric and henna.  For a long time, however, the use of 
both local plants and those with more distant origins was based on more or less 
fanciful beliefs. Throughout the Middle Ages herbal medicine consisted of a 
mixture of magic, superstition and empirical observation. From the Renaissance 
onwards, scientists and their scientific studies, discoveries and inventions came 
to the fore, rejecting alchemists' elixirs and other magical remedies. Local plants 
were carefully collected and widely used to make infusions, decoctions and 
ointments. These plants make up the major part of the traditional cures that we 
have inherited.                                     
5. In the late 1700s, Carl Wilheim Scheele, a gifted Swedish chemist, obtained 
tartaric acid from grapes, citric acid from lemons and malic acid from apples. The 
techniques that he and his contemporaries used led to the isolation of the first 
purified compounds from plants that could be used as drugs. First came the 
isolation of morphine from the opium poppy in 1803, then caffeine from coffee 
beans in 1819, quinine from cinchona bark and colchicines from meadow saffron 
both in 1820 and atropine from deadly nightshade in 1835.  
6. One tree that generated considerable interest among scientists was the willow. In 
the early 1800s, chemists from Germany, Italy and France began the search for 
the compounds responsible for the acclaimed pain-relieving effects of its bark. In 
1828, the German pharmacist, Johann Buchner, was the first to obtain salicin, 
the major compound in a pure form. In 1838, the Italian chemist, Raffaele Piria 
also obtained salicylic acid from the bark by various chemical processes. But 
these early compounds caused blisters in the mouth, and stomach upsets when 
ingested. In 1853, a French chemist, Charles Frederic Gerhardt, synthesised a 
modified form of salicylic acid-acetylsalicylic acid. But still it wasn't further 
developed for more than 40 years until a German chemist, Felix Hoffman, working 
for Bayer, rediscovered Gerhardt's compound. Hoffman gave it to his father who 
suffered from arthritis and reported the beneficial effects. 
UNIT-1
MAIN COURSE BOOK
HEALTH AND MEDICINE
7. Bayer decided to market the acetylsalicylic acid as a new drug for pain relief and 
patented the compound acetylsalicylic acid in 1899. At last from the willow, the 
first modern drug was born and, with 12000 tons of aspirin sold every year 
throughout the world, it has kept its number one position. 
8. From the 1930s onwards, advances in chemistry have made it much easier to 
reproduce the active ingredients in plants. But plants will continue to have a 
medicinal importance in their own right. Their active constituents may be slightly 
modified to improve their efficiency or to reduce their undesirable effects, but they 
are still vital for the treatment of disorders such as cancers and heart diseases or 
as a means of combating malaria. And they remain the essence of herbal 
medicine-an area that has still not been fully understood and explored.   
E2.  Some sub-titles are given below corresponding to each of the paragraphs of 
the article that you have just read. Match the sub-titles with their 
paragraphs by writing the number of the paragraph in the space provided.
         SUB-TITLES     PARAGRAPH NUMBER
 • Birth of the first modern drug.                        _______________________      
 • Man's hunt for medicinal plants from  
ancient times.    _______________________
 • Contribution of Greek scholars   _______________________
 • Pioneering isolation of compounds                  _______________________
 • The beginning of a new era of recreation of  
plant components with modifications       _______________________
 • Positive effects of new trade and trading routes  _______________________
 • The Wonder Tree                                                 _______________________ 
 • Knowledge from ancient Egypt       _______________________ 
E3.  Find words from the passage that mean the same or nearly the same as the 
following: 
(a)  filled with a certain quality ( para 1 ) :                    ____________________________
(b)  scented or perfumed or sweet-smelling (para 2) :   ____________________________
36
UNIT-1
MAIN COURSE BOOK 37
(c)  written work dealing with a subject systematically (para 3): _____________________
(d)  people living at the same time as others (para 5) : ____________________________
(e)  notably large or significant (para 5 ) :                    ____________________________
E4.   Complete the following sentences on the basis of your reading of the text in 
D1.
(a) After the Renaissance, the major shifts that occurred in the approach towards 
herbal plants were --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(b) Isolation of compounds from plants to be used as drugs was the ---------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E5.  Complete the following flowchart that traces the contributory processes 
leading to the development of the first modern drug from the willow tree.
  (a) salicin, the first major compound, was obtained in 1828
  (b) ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  © ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  (d) Felix Hoffman's contribution of rediscovering Gerhardt's compound
  (e) ----------------------------------------------------------------------
UNIT-1
MAIN COURSE BOOK
E6.    Class Project
 Work in groups of 6-8 students to present your findings on any two of the herbal 
plants suggested below through a series of charts or a computer power point 
presentation.
 (a) Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
 (b) Aloe vera 
 (c) Arnica (Arnica montana)
 (d) Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
 (e) Papaya (Carica papaya)
 (f) Lavender (Lavandula officinalis)
 (g) Black Radish (Raphanus sativus niger)
 (h) Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo)
 (i) Pineapple ( Ananas comosus)
 (j) Peppermint (Mentha x. peperita)
 Please ensure that the whole class is divided into 4-5 groups and each group must 
work on different sets or pairs of herbal plants.
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