Transcript File - Sky View FFA

Medicinal Plants
ASTE 2900
Unit 12
Overview
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Over 40% of medicines now prescribed in
the U.S. contain chemicals derived from
plants.
Before the synthetic revolution of mid1960s, it was as high as 75%.
Advantage to modern drugs:
 Less resistance (i.e. malaria)
 Complements conventional treatment
 Not as acutely harmful
Overview
Historically, plant medicines were
discovered by trial and error.
 For example, our ancestors noticed
that aches and pains went away
when they drank tea made from the
bark of a willow tree.
 Later, scientists found that willow
bark contains salicylic acid, the active
ingredient in aspirin.
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Contemporary Example
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For years, the native Pacific yew (Taxus
brevifolia) was burned as trash generated by
logging operations in the Pacific Northwest.
In 1975, a substance in its bark, taxol, was found
to reduce the production of cancerous tumors.
It is most commonly used as a chemotherapy
drug to treat ovarian, breast and non-small cell
lung cancer.
Non-prescription drugs
o At least 175 plants native to North America are
for sale in the non-prescription medicinal
market in the U.S.
o Most are collected from the wild in large
quantities (hundreds of thousands of plants) for
commercial markets in the U.S. and abroad.
o For example, during the last few years, about
34 million ginseng plants have been harvested
from the wild in the forests of the eastern
United States on an annual basis.
Impacts and implications
o In the United States, the market for
medicinal herbs is worth more than $3
billion.
o Many of the plants supplying this industry
are wild collected in vast quantities
because techniques to cultivate them on
a commercial scale have not been
developed.
o Consider the implications of such
popularity for these plants.
Doctrine of Signatures
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The “doctrine” has been an idea of
herbalists for centuries.
Yet, it did not become part of the medical
thinking until the middle of the
seventeenth century.
In simple terms, the "Doctrine of
Signatures" is the idea that God has
marked everything He created with a sign
(signature).
The sign was an indication of the purpose
for the creation of the item.
Doctrine of Signatures
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Part of a plant had the shape of a part of the
human body, it would be useful in treating a
disease of the human part it most closely
resembled.
Walnuts treat brain disorders
Hepatica with its kidney-shaped leaves for
kidney diseases
Lousewort, Pedicularis - thought to be useful
in repelling lice
Spleenwort, Asplenium - thought to be useful
in treating the spleen
Liverwort - thought to be useful in treating
the liver
Ethnobotany: MYRRH
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Myrrh is mainly found in Ethiopia, Somalia, Saudi-Arabia,
Iran and Thailand.
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Myrrh has been used in perfumes, incense and
embalming. Its astringent, antimicrobial and antiseptic
properties have been used to treat acne and boils as
well as mild inflammatory conditions.
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It finds specific use in the treatment of infections in the
mouth such as ulcers, gingivitis, and pyorrhea.
Ethnobotany: GINSENG
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Ginseng is the most famous Chinese herb of all. It is
native to north-eastern China, eastern Russia and
Korea.
The related species occurs in the eastern United
States and Canada.
Ginseng has been praised for its remarkable
therapeutic benefits for about 7,000 years. Its value
was so great that wars were fought for control of the
forests in which it thrived.
Ginseng increases mental and physical efficiency
and resistance to stress and disease. It often shows
a dual response like sedating or stimulating the
central nervous system.
Ethnobotany: CHAMOMILE
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Chamomile grows wild in Europe and west
Asia. Related species are found in North
America and Africa.
Its flowers help to ease indigestion,
nervousness, depressions and headaches,
being ideal for emotion related problems such
as peptic ulcers, colitis, spastic colon and
nervous indigestion.
It is an excellent herb for many digestive
disorders and for nervous tension and
irritability.
Ethnobotany: WORMWOOD
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Native to Europe, wormwood was called absintium by
the Romans, what means "bitter".
Wormwood leave's primary uses is to stimulate the
gallbladder, help prevent and release stones, and to
adjust digestive malfunctions.
It also increases bile secretion and is useful in expelling
intestinal worms.
It is taken in small doses and sipped, the intensely bitter
taste playing an important part in its therapeutic effect.
In the past, wormwood was one of the main flavorings of
vermouth (whose name derives from the German for
wormwood).
Ethnobotany: DANDELION
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Occurring naturally in Asia, Dandelion is now a common
plant everywhere.
Its medicinal virtues were probably introduced in Europe
by the Arabs in the 10th Century.
Both the Persians and the East Indians used it for liver
complaints.
The leaves, which can be eaten in salads, are a powerful
diuretic. The roots act as a "blood purifier" that helps both
kidneys and the liver to remove impurities from the blood.
This effect seems to be due to its potassium content. It
also acts like a mild laxative and improves appetite and
digestion
Ethnobotany: ST JOHN'S WORT
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The plant is native to Europe but is widely cultivated
elsewhere.
St. John's wort flowers at the time of the summer solstice,
and in medieval Europe it was considered to have
powerful magical properties that enabled it to repel evil.
The most well-known action of St. John's wort is in
repairing nerve damage and reducing pain and
inflammation.
It is taken to relieve the pain of menstrual cramps,
sciatica and arthritis. The oils is applied to inflammations,
sprains, bruises and varicose veins.
St. John's wort is also used to treat circulation problems,
bronchitis and gout.
Ethnobotany: GINKGO
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Ginkgo is thought to be the oldest tree on the planet, first
growing about 190 million years ago.
Traditionally known as an anti-microbial and antitubercular action, it has now been shown that ginkgo as
a profound activity on brain function and cerebral
circulation.
This action is useful to prevent dizziness, tinnitus, shortterm memory loss, depression and other symptoms
related to poor brain circulation.
Its effect on poor circulation also used to treat other
related disorders like diabetes, hemorrhoids, varicose
veins, and asthma.
Ethnobotany: Common Foxglove
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1775 Dr. William Withering, an English physician,
discovered the efficacy of Foxglove in the treatment
of severe congestive heart failure.
He attributed its efficacy to a diuretic effect and
published his findings based on clinical observations
in 1785.
The pharmacological properties of regulating the
heart rate and rhythm and strengthening of the heart
muscle were discovered later.
Ethnobotany: Hoodia
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Long known by the indigenous populations of Southern
Africa for treating indigestion and small infections.
In 1977, the South African Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR) isolated the ingredient in hoodia
- which is responsible for its appetite-suppressant effect,
and patented it in 1996.
The CSIR then granted United Kingdom-based Phytopharm
a license, and they collaborated with the pharmaceutical
company Pfizer to isolate active ingredients from the
extracts and look into synthesizing them for use as an
appetite suppressant.
Pfizer released the rights to the primary ingredient in 2002
stating there were indications of unwanted effects on the
liver caused by other components, which could not be
easily removed from the supplement.
Ethnobotany: POPPY
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Opium is the name for the latex produced within
the seed pods of the poppy, Papaver somniferum.
Psychological effects of opium may have been
known to the ancient Sumerians (circa 4,000
B.C.) whose symbol for poppy was hul, "joy" and
gil, "plant".
In 1805, the German pharmacist Friedrich W.
Serturner isolated and described the principal
alkaloid and powerful active ingredient in opium.
He named it morphium after Morpheus, the Greek
god of dreams. We know it today as morphine.
Medicine Man (1992 film)
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How many medicines have we already
lost?
How many more remain to be found?