Table of Contents
- 1 What medicines are made from the Amazon rainforest?
- 2 What medicine does the rainforest give us?
- 3 How have plants been used in medicine?
- 4 Why is the rainforest important medicine?
- 5 Why are medicinal plants found in the rainforest?
- 6 Why is the rainforest important for medicine?
- 7 What ingredients are grown in the rainforest?
- 8 What is an example of a tropical drug?
What medicines are made from the Amazon rainforest?
| Drug | Origin |
|---|---|
| Novacaine, cocaine | coca plant (South America) |
| Turbocuarine | curare liana (America) |
| vincristine, vinblastine | rosy periwinkle (Madagascar) |
| Cortisone | wild yams (Central America) |
What medicine does the rainforest give us?
For maladies ranging from nagging headaches to lethal contagions such as malaria, rainforest medicines have provided modern society with a variety of cures and pain relievers. Quinine, an aid in the cure of malaria, is an alkaloid extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree found in Latin America and Africa.
What medicines do we get from forests?
Forest trees and other plants contain a wide variety of bioactive compounds with potential as anticancer drugs, antiatherogenic compounds, and antioxidants. Forest species contain alkaloids such as reserpine, quinine, quinidine, ipecac, ephedrine and caffeine, as well as antibacterial and antifertility compounds.
How many of our medicines are derived from rainforest plants?
In Western modern medicine, around 25\% of all drugs are derived from rainforest plants. That’s an impressive statistic, especially considering that less than 5\% of Amazon plant species have been studied for their potential medicinal benefits.
How have plants been used in medicine?
The use of traditional Chinese medicine dates back thousands of years, while 5,000-year-old clay slabs from Nagpur in central India are early written evidence of people using plants such as poppies and mandrakes as drugs. Aloe vera has been used for thousands of years to soothe burns and irritated skin.
Why is the rainforest important medicine?
Hundreds of rainforest plants are used in modern medicines. It is estimated that 25\% of all our medicines come from plants growing in the rainforest. Only about 1\% of the plant species have been studied, so potentially there could be many more cures to illnesses waiting to be discovered.
What medicines are made from trees?
Natural Aspirin and Acne Medication Willow bark, also known as “nature’s aspirin,” contains a precursor to aspirin, which essentially provides the same benefits as the tablet. Early incarnations of aspirin were made by boiling the bark of the white willow tree.
What are the medicinal plants and their uses?
Medicinal Plants & Their Uses
| Hindi Name | English Name | Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Brahmi | Thyme leafed gratiola | Enchances Memory, Anxiety |
| Dhaniya | Coriander | Indigestion, Flatulence, Controls Spasmodic Pain |
| Kalmegh | Kalmegh | Indigestion, Acne, Diarrhea |
| Lashun | Garlic | Ringworm, Dysentery, Wounds |
Why are medicinal plants found in the rainforest?
They have been synthesizing these compounds for millions of years to protect against predators, infection, pests, and disease. This makes rainforest species an excellent reservoir of medicines and chemical templates with which researchers can create new drugs.
Why is the rainforest important for medicine?
What drugs are made of plants?
9 Mind-Altering Plants
- Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) opium poppy.
- Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) peyote.
- Salvia (Salvia divinorum) Salvia divinorum © Doug Stacey/Fotolia.
- Cannabis (Cannabis sativa)
- Ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi)
- Betel nut (Areca catechu)
- Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum)
- Jimsonweed (Datura stramonium)
What medicines are found in the Amazon rainforest?
4 Known Medicines With Roots In The Amazon Rainforest. Quinine. Quinine is a muscle relaxant and the first effective medicine used to treat malaria. It was originally discovered by the Quechua, an Tubocurarine. Vincristine and Vinblastine.
What ingredients are grown in the rainforest?
Lots of ingredients found in shampoo, like the citrus fruit, are grown in rainforests too. Vanilla is used in lots of our favourite foods and cosmetics because it tastes and smells so good!
What is an example of a tropical drug?
Already, many widely used drugs originate from tropical species used by forest dwellers. Quinine for malaria, curare as a muscle relaxant and vincristine for the treatment of leukaemia are well known examples, but there are thousands of others .
How many species of plants live in the Amazon rainforest?
To date, at least 40,000 plant species have been scientifically classified in the Amazon Rainforest, and several medicines have been derived from these species. But most remain mysterious and foreign to even scientific folk. The urge to acquaint myself with the “unknown” is what drew me to the Ecuadorian Amazon.