Plants In Medicine By: Harminder Multani Ch:15.4 Pg:

Medicinal Use Of Plants In History Iraq The first known use of plants for medicinal use was about years ago in Iraq. They used 7 pollinated plants and formed them into clusters and arranged them into a wreath and prehistoric people, possibly Neanderthals wore them around their neck when sick. After studying the pollen that was found it is known that we use the same pollinated plants in present day medicine. Hollyhock, one of the plants used back then, is found in Ontario and is a powerful painkilling remedy.

Medicinal Use Of Plants In History China Another ancient record of plants used in medicine in history is from China around 2800 B.C. Around 200 B.C., doctors would test the medicines created and if successful they would send it to the emperor. And they were recorded. Ancient Chinese remedy called Yan Hu Suo Zhi Tong Pian used to relax muscle spasams.

Medicinal Use Of Plants in History Peru In the late 16 th century the peruvians discovered a cure for malaria. Malaria is a disease carried by mosquitoes and only used to effect people of the tropical climates. They would use the bark off of a tree called yellow bark cinchona plant also known as the “Fever tree”. Later the chemical Quinine was separated from the bark and was made into a therapeutic product to prevent and cure Malaria. In the 1940s scientists had realised their was a high rate of parasites in the quinine chemical and it was no longer used to treat Malaria.

Chemicals In Plants Intro The parts of plants where most chemicals are found are in the leaves, stems, roots, seeds, flowers, bark, fruits and wood. Sugars that are produced during photosynthesis allow the plant to create other substances, some being useful to today's medical research. Over 10,000 chemicals have been found in plants. But a lot of the uses are unknown. Effects These Chemicals in plants are used for many reasons. The chemicals may give you a soothing, stimulating or relaxing effects and can even kill microorganisms.

Chemicals In Plants Drugs The chemicals in all the drugs that are considered to be leisure drugs come from plants. Some examples of these are; caffeine, nicotine, chemicals in chocolate, and marijuana. ¼ of all prescription drugs use plant produced chemicals. This is the marijuana leaf that comes from a plant called cannabis. This is a drug that can be both leisure or prescription. It is a psychoactive drug. Unless you have a prescription it is illegal.

Chemicals In Plants The 2 most important chemical groups plants are Alkaloids and the Glycosides. Alkaloids Alkaloid chemicals are in morphine, nicotine, cocaine and quinine. The main chemical found in the Alkaloid group is Opium, and this is obtained from the latex of a poppy fruit. Glycoside The chemicals in this drug help out the heart. The main chemical comes from the foxglove plant. The Glycoside chemical group has saved many lives from heart disease over the years. Poppy Fruit Plant Foxglove Plant

Chemicals In Plants Other Random Uses Antioxidants are chemicals that help animal cells fight cancer cells. These chemicals are found in plants such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and other dark green Vegetables. Atropine is another drug made from the plant called belladonna. It is used by optometrists to dilate your eyes. Steroids are made from plant chemicals. The Estrogen in birth control pills comes from the plant called Yam. The Rosy Periwinkle is used to make 2 drugs. It is a rare plant that you can find in Madagascar. One of the drugs made from this plant cures Hodgkin's Disease while the other helps to treat leukemia.

Searching for New Plant Drugs Their are many difficulties trying to find new chemicals in plants to make drugs and find new cures. Because a large quantity of a particular plant is needed in order to investigate it. And sometimes getting the plant can become difficult because of its habitat or it may just be a rare plant to begin with. An example of this would be the Rosy Periwinkle, although it is a powerful drug, 500kg of the plant is needed in order to make 1 gram of the drug. Since the plant is already rare, it becomes difficult to produce a lot of the drug or even research the plant in more depth. Their are also about 300, 000 species of plants and scientists don't know which ones to study and which ones have chemicals that would be useful to humans. So scientists do not spend too much time anymore in studying plants for their medicinal usage. Rosy Periwinkle