The chemical ecology approach to modern and early human use of medicinal plants

The chemical environment, and the natural resources available in which our species has evolved has been crucial for the establishment of our medical practices. Here we present a brief review of the insights provided by chemical ecology to understand the evolution of medical practices since ancestral hominids to modern humans, as well as their implications for the search for new drugs of natural origin. Like for any other mammal, ecological and evolutionary processes have shaped how we relate to plant and animal chemicals, whether to avoid, transform and/or explore these compounds according to our needs. In addition, culture has played a key role in the way these chemicals are perceived by people and how they can be processed by different modes of use for ingestion, as well as providing cultural significance for their use (in medicine, for example) or their rejection altogether.