Herbs are the oldest form of medicine and have, therefore, been tested longer than anything else. The word drug is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word "Dregen" meaning "to dry," in reference to dried herbs-the first drugs. Centuries later the Arabians made medicinal herbs more palatable by concocting them into various forms of syrups. These juleps and robs and electuaries-a relic of Mohammedan invasion-are still a vital part of all European Pharmacopoeias, though few know how to prepare them, and their differentiating features have disappeared. Some were made by infusion, others by decoction, and some were made by the extraction of the juices of the plant. Juleps were prepared for immediate use and did not keep. Electuaries were a composition of powdered herbs blended with honey. Proper syrups were a more elaborate affair altogether, and were expected to keep. A lohoch was thicker in consistency than a syrup and yet not as thick as an electuary. It was eaten off the end of a stick of liquorice. Nicholas Culpeper gives minute instructions as to how they should be made

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