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Medicinal plants (1-33)

Plants to watch out for 2/2

Some say that nature is being abused and that the environment and man have become sick because of it.

Medicinal plants always need to be handled carefully, because even though they are natural products, they are not necessarily harmless. Indeed, numerous plants have the main powerful assets which can be toxic and even mortal (For example: curare, digitaline, etc.).

Thus, the composition of a plant differs in terms of the region where it grows, the sun, rainfall and sunlight levels. In other words, the same species will have several varieties, and the differences will not exactly be visible to the naked eye even though it will have an identical appearance (Shape, colour, etc.), but these differences may be characterised by their secondary metabolite (This is what helps the plant to survive, reproduce, etc.).

To do this, you need to number the different molecules and establish the chemotype of the plant (Closer to the human genotype). This identity card helps to establish the differences between varieties of the same plant and determine its respective properties; the chemotype is therefore interdependent on the environment of the plant.

Shall medication continue to be plant-based in future?

Research on new plants, therefore new molecules, is indispensable for the preparation of treatments against diseases which weaken humans. Thus, ethnobotanists tirelessly travel through mainly the tropical forests in search of curative plants. Apart from samples, they collect precious information from the local population on their ancestral usage of certain plants.

All cultures and civilisations have used plants, here are some examples:

In India, ayurvedic medicine uses plants and yoga.
In China, for several millennia traditional medicine has been using medicinal plants to maintain the yin and yang balance
In Japan, kampo is based on plant preparations
In Africa, healers use medicinal plants in numerous ways with a great deal of efficiency.
In the West, we use phytotherapy.

A medicinal plant is a plant which has curative properties

Phytotherapy is a healing method which uses medicinal plants; the actual origin of the word phytotherapy signifies treatment with plants, currently traditional medicine is based on the absorption or external usage of cataplasma, decoction, infusions, macerations, broth

Conclusion

Nature is the most extraordinary pharmacy that exists; most medication directly comes from it. Future treatments also depend on this biodiversity, which required hundreds of millions of years of evolution and which modern man is destroying in an irresponsible manner.

Pollution, pesticides, herbicides, ash farming and deforestation have direct and indirect consequences on our health, as we are also destroying what could help to heal us tomorrow.

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