Study of how people in traditional societies use plants

The general pattern of ethnobotanical drug discovery programs follows these broad steps [1]◦ Interview indigenous healers to learn about their

specialized healing knowledge.◦ Collect and identify the plant materials used by

indigenous healers.◦ Screen these plant materials for pharmacological

activity.◦ Isolated molecular entities responsible for the

observed pharmacological activity using bioassay-guided fractionation.

◦ Determine the structures of the purified materials.

White Pine (Pinus strobus) Canadian Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) Red Oak (Quercus rubra) Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

[2]

American Indians used the twigs to make tea to treat kidney and lung ailments

Pitch poulticed for rheumatism, broken bones, sores, bruises, and inflammation

Bark and leaf tea used to treat coughs and sore throats [2 & 3]

http://www.botany.wisc.edu/courses/botany_100/images/whitepine.jpg

White Pine- Pinus strobus

American Indians used the leafy twig tips to make tea to treat kidney ailments and in steam baths for rheumatism, colds, and coughs

The inner bark was used to make a tea to treat colds, fevers, diarrhea, and scurvy [2 & 3]http://biology.missouristate.edu/herbarium/treesoncampus/images/Tsugacanadensis.jpg

American Indians ◦ Chewed its nuts as a

worm repellent◦ Used bark tea for

lung ailments◦ Used leaf tea as a

wash for burns, frost-bite, and poison-ivy rash [2]

http://www.missouriplants.com/Greenalt/Fagus_grandifolia_plant.jpg

Medicinal claims of the tree’s uses include [2]◦ Inner bark tea used as an

astringent and as a gargle for soar throats and as a wash for skin rashes and burns. The inner barks is considered hemostatic (stops bleeding)

◦ The red oak contains tannins. Experimentally, tannic acid has been show to have antiviral, antiseptic, and anticancer properties. Warning!!- Tannic acid is potentially toxic

http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/quru5752.jpg

Astringent root bark tea used for malarial fevers and for chronic diarrhea

Root bark poulticed onto external ulcers

Scarlet berries soaked in brandy as a bitter digestive tonic and for stomach ailments

Twigs chewed as toothbrushes [2 & 4]

http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/bio406d/images/pics/crn/cornus_florida.htm

http://lasonline.iastate.edu/isu_trees/CornusFlorida/CornusFlor_bark.html

Flowering Dogwood – Cornus florida

American Indians drank the leaf tea for colds and soar throats

Twig tea rubbed on athlete’s legs to keep muscles limber

Astringent bark tea used internally for lung ailments and externally for bruises [2]

http://www.sassiherbalist.co.uk/tips/spots-acne-skin-3

Witch Hazel – Hamamelis virginiana

There is a continual search for plants in biological communities that could help fight human disease – bioprospecting [5]

The US National Cancer Institute is testing extracts of thousands of wild species for their anti-cancer properties [5]

Screening of natural products is often done in collaboration with local healers [2]

It is essential to protect our local and global biodiversity!!!

The tropical rain forests are home to about half of the world’s plants and deforestation rates are alarmingly high. If the destruction rate does not decrease, almost all rainforests will be lost in the next few decades [5]

Coupled with exploitation, this destruction is putting plants at risk of decreased genetic variability and even extinction [5]

Therefore, there is strong reason for broad sampling of species across all taxonomic divisions and identifying and preserving as many plant species as possible [6]

Do preliminary research to find additional examples of plants that have anti-microbial properties

Conduct an experiment to test for the presence of the properties

Go back to ‘Medical Plants’ – Class Discussion and Experiment for complete information

1) Cox, P. 1995. Shaman as scientist: indigenous knowledge systems in pharmacological research and conservation. In Phytochemistry of Plants Used in Traditional Medicine (eds. K. Hostettman, et al), Clarendon Press, Oxford.

2) Foster, S. and Duke, J. 1990. Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.

3) Dwyer, J. and Rattray, D. eds. 1986. Magic and Medicine of Plants. Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., Pleasantville, NY.

4) Duke, J. 1991. CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

5) Primack, R. 2010. Essentials of Conservation Biology. 5th edition. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.

6) Cardellina II, J. and Boyd, M. 1995. Pursuit of new leads to antitumor and anti-HIV agents from plants. In Phytochemistry of Plants Used in Traditional Medicine (eds. K. Hostettman, et al), Clarendon Press, Oxford.