I find it fascinating that many ancient herbal remedies contain compounds we now know to be active. When you isolate those molecules and test them in controlled experiments, you often confirm the original effect, but you also uncover side reactions and dosage limits we never imagined. The problem is that those old recipes were based on observation and tradition, not systematic data, so they can miss toxicity or interactions that modern chemistry would flag. Still, they’re a valuable starting point for discovery; the ancient knowledge is like a rough map, and chemistry gives us the precision to navigate it safely.