Discovering Medicinal Plants

Goldenseal, ginseng, echinacea, ginkgo - visit your local drug store or supermarket and you'll find large quantities of these products on the shelves, intermingled with old favorites like aspirin. Medicinal plants are used commercially, thanks to contributions of traditional cultures worldwide, modern medicine, and pharmacognosy (the study of the biochemistry and pharmacology of plants).

Without plants, most medicines you take would not exist. Over 40% of medicines now prescribed in the United States contain chemicals derived from plants. And most synthetic drugs were based on compounds from the plants originally providing the medicine. Historically, plant medicines were discovered by trial and error. 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.

This process continues today. Throughout the world, botanists and chemists search the plant kingdom for new medicines. They sometimes find treasures in other people's trash. In 1975, researchers found a substance in the bark of the native Pacific yew tree, taxol, that reduces the production of cancerous tumors.

For years, the Pacific yew was burned as trash generated by logging operations in old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. Now, the yew is part of the treasure trove of native plants saving thousands of lives each year. Taxol has been used effectively in treating a broad range of cancers, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and leukemia. Like many other medicinal plant discoveries, taxol has not only saved lives but also boosted our economy. Already a multi-million dollar business, by the year 2000 taxol should produce over $1,000,000,000 in revenue and many associated jobs.

A comprehensive search of known plants for medicinal chemicals is an enormous task. Of the estimated 250,000 plant species on earth, only 2% have been thoroughly screened for chemicals with potential medicinal use. Because native plant habitats are destroyed almost daily, many medicinally valuable plants will be gone before scientists can even investigate them. How many medicines have we already lost? How many more remain to be found?

Related topic: US Botanic Garden Exhibits Medicinal Plants

Source:
U.S. National Park Service