Table of Contents
What medicinal qualities can be found in rainforest plants?
Some of the compounds in rainforest plants are also used to treat malaria, heart disease, bronchitis, hypertension, rheumatism, diabetes, muscle tension, arthritis, glaucoma, dysentery, and tuberculosis, among other health problems.
What type of medicine comes from the rainforest?
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 is the rainforest used for medicine?
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.
How many of our medicines are derived from rainforest plants?
The Amazon rainforest is the most abundant greenhouse on the planet with more than 80,000 plant species. It is also the world’s largest medicine cabinet, with around 25 per cent of all drugs used today derived from rainforest plants.
What medicines are found in the forest?
Forest species contain alkaloids such as reserpine, quinine, quinidine, ipecac, ephedrine and caffeine, as well as antibacterial and antifertility compounds.
What is the medicinal value of rainforest plants?
In addition to playing a major role in balancing the global ecosystem, many rain forest plants also have huge medicinal value. Twenty-five percent of all current western medicines are derived from plants found in the rain forest.
How much of our medicine is derived from the rainforest?
Twenty-five percent of all current western medicines are derived from plants found in the rain forest. It is estimated that medical researchers have tested just 1% of the flora and fauna of the rain forests for medically active compounds, but at the current rate of destruction, there will be no rain forests left in just 40 years.
What is the most important plant in the rainforest?
4. Cocoa Tree. Due to its great medicinal value, the cocoa tree stands out as one of the most important rainforest plants. This tropical tree is unique in that it produces more than 155 chemicals that can be extracted from its bark, fruits, seeds, and leaves.
Did you know the power of the Amazon rainforest plants?
But indigenous people in the Amazon, of course, have known the power of rainforest plants for thousands of years! During a recent visit to the Posada Amazonas and Refugio Amazonas lodges, I visited the lush garden of the Ese Eja People to discover jungle healing for myself.