A Pharmacopeia of 3,000 Plants
When the Spanish arrived in Mexico, they discovered that Aztec medicine was, in many ways, more advanced than European practices of the time. Aztec physicians — known as ticitl — maintained detailed knowledge of over 3,000 medicinal plants, many of which have since been validated by modern pharmacology.
Systematic Medical Knowledge
The Aztecs operated hospitals and medical schools. The botanical garden at Huaxtepec, established by Montezuma I, was one of the first systematic collections of medicinal plants in the world — predating European botanical gardens by decades.
Among their documented remedies: the use of willow bark (containing salicylic acid, the basis of aspirin) for pain relief, the application of agave sap for wound treatment (now known to have antibacterial properties), and the use of passionflower as a sedative (confirmed by modern clinical trials).
Legacy in Modern Medicine
Today, ethnobotanists continue to study Mesoamerican plant knowledge. Several modern pharmaceuticals trace their origins to plants first documented by Aztec healers, making this ancient tradition one of the most valuable contributions to global medicine.