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The rainforest may someday provide the cure for AIDS, pancreatic cancer, antibiotic-resistant staph infections,
lassa fever, or Alzheimer's disease, if given the chance to do so. Unfortunately, as primary forest cover is diminished by
1-2 percent every year, it is projected that 20-25 percent of the world's plant species will be extinct by the year 2015. Perhaps
in some remote Andean valley, slated for destruction today, lives a rare orchid which has developed an anti-viral
chemical that kills HIV, halts cancer, or slows aging. In addition, the shamans who provide much of the insight
into identifying these plants and their uses, are disappearing at an even faster rate as their villages seek a
more Western lifestyle. These shamans are generally elders and when they die, their unique knowledge of traditional
uses of rainforest plants will die with them.
Some organizations are trying to prevent the loss of medicinal knowledge when indigenous elders die. The Terra
Nova Rainforest Reserve is the first ethnomedicinal forest reserve designed to ensure that medicinal plants will be
available for local use. The reserve encourages the use of such plants and has also implemented a program teaching
youths about uses of medicinal plants so this knowledge will not die, but be passed on to future generations and
researchers.
National botanical gardens, like those of Missouri and New York, are playing an important role in propagating medicinal
plants that are either threatened in the wild or so rare that collection cannot satisfy demand. Several gardens
have propagated such medicinal plants and freely distributed seedlings to peasants who can integrate them into
their traditional food crops. The plants can provide substantially more cash than many traditional crops like bananas,
coffee, and cocoa.
Animals as an inspiration for drugs
Animals also provide compounds useful to humans as medicinal drugs. Both leeches and vampire bats have powerful
anticoagulants they use in feeding on their prey. From the saliva of the leech comes hirudin, which is now used
to dissolve blood clots in humans. The vampire bat has a salival substance that can be used to prevent heart attacks.
The slimy secretions of frogs are used to treat infections, mental disorders, and even HIV, while scientists hope that
one day blood from the ubiquitous (in the western U.S.) western fence lizard (more popularly known as the "blue-belly")
will help prevent or cure Lyme disease. ABT-594 is an experimental painkiller derived from the skin secretions of Epipedobates tricolor, a colorful poison arrow frog, and crocodile blood is being examined for its anti-HIV properties.
PESTICIDES
Plants have been synthesizing chemicals for millions of years to protect them from predation by insects and infection
from disease. Thus rainforest plants have developed a complete array of natural pesticides. These pesticides can
be isolated, and some can be synthesized in the laboratory by pharmaceutical companies. These natural pesticides
are effective for protecting cultivated crops from destruction by pests and disease, without the adverse effects
of chemical pesticides like DDT.
New research shows that using natural predators like wasps and flies combined with limited use of pesticides is more
effective in eradicating pests in the tropics than regular spraying with synthetic pesticides. Chinese scientists have even engineered wasps to deliver lethal viruses to insect pests.
In addition to protecting crops from infestation, many rainforest plants can be used as insect repellents. The roots
of the liana, a philodendron from American rainforests, have an odor that keeps away mosquitoes, while the bright orange
berries of another New World plant, Bixa orellana, are effective in deterring biting insects, in addition to being
used as a body paint and dye. These compounds may be further studied and analyzed by pharmaceutical companies to create new insect repellents that might be less
detrimental to the skin and plastic materials than conventionally-used DEET. These highly effective insect repellents are more ecologically sound and inexpensive
to produce.
Dirt-munching helps protect chimps from malaria
(1/10/2008) Soil ingestion helps chimps protect themselves from malaria, reports a new study published in the journal Naturwissenschaften. Apparently geophagy, as the deliberate behavior is known, increases the potency of ingested plants with anti-malarial properties.
Amazon Conservation Team wins "Innovation in Conservation Award" for path-breaking work with Amazon tribes
(12/11/2007) The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) was today awarded mongabay.com's inaugural "Innovation in Conservation Award" for its path-breaking efforts to enable indigenous Amazonians to maintain ties to their history and cultural traditions while protecting their rainforest home from illegal loggers and miners.
Amazon rainforest children to get medicinal plant training from shamans
(11/21/2007) The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) -- a group using innovative approaches to preserving culture and improving health among Amazonian rainforest tribes -- has been awarded a $100,000 grant from Nature's Path, an organic cereal manufacturer. The funds will allow ACT to address one of the most pressing social concerns for Amazon forest dwellers by expanding its educational and cultural "Shamans and Apprentice" program for indigenous children in the region.
7-year old nature guide becomes Belize environmental hero as adult
(11/16/2007) Each year hundreds of thousands of nature-oriented tourists visit Belize to see the Central American country's spectacular coral reefs, biodiverse rainforests, and ancient Mayan ruins. However few visitors realize that Belize's natural resources are at risk. Timber and oil extraction, agricultural encroachment, coastal development, pollution and unrestrained tourism are all increasing threats to Belizean ecosystems. Unless something is done to address these concerns, within a generation these pressures could present considerable problems for Belize. Dr. Colin Young, head of the environmental science program at Galen University in Belize, says that while he is greatly concerned about these issues, there is still time to ensure healthy forests and reefs in Belize.
Ethnobotanist honored for contributions to wilderness medicine
(8/8/2007) Renowned ethnobotanist and conservationist Dr. Mark Plotkin of the Amazon Conservation Team was honored Wednesday with the 2007 Paul S. Auerbach Award, a distinction awarded by the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS).
