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Human life is closely linked to that of plants. Some herbs, in fact, exploited for therapeutic purposes, have changed totally medicine. In some cases they have also assumed a social and religious meaning. Popular medicine has always been closely linked to ritual and magic. At one time, in every culture, heal a sick person, smell the home (with incense) and perfume the body, were considered divine operations, carried out according to precise religious rituals. The most beautiful and most fragrant plants were sacred for their importance as mediators between sickness and health, humanity and divinity, death and eternal life.

It is a common place to think that the herbs are the small plants, green, giving off a strong aroma. The term Herb includes a variety of plants, from enormous trees in the rainforest to algae and mushrooms. Across the centuries and in all Cultures the herbs were an essential element to protect health. Today the western herbalists know the anatomy and physiology as doctors and they prescribe herbs to adjust imbalances at the origin of diseases, rather to give a temporary relief to the disorder itself.
The ancient Egyptians considered perfumes and cosmetics as an important part of their life; they were buried with their beauty products, such as pencils for the eyes and kohl, preserved in decorated jars. The most common ingredients used at that time were incense and myrrh, mixed with sesame, almond and olive oil. The resins such as myrrh were added for their aroma and used to fix some perfumes.

Herbs have can be used for a wide range of things including the prparing of meals. In fact herbs and spices have been grown and used since antiquity to preserve and flavour foods.
Culinary herbs are usually distinguished from spices, although the two categories overlap. Culinary herbs generally consist of fresh or dried leaves, while spices are seeds, roots, fruits, flowers and bark. Culinary herbs usually have a mild flavour, while spices tend to have a stronger, spicy.