Yesterday's Plants - Today's Medicines

There's a catch phase, "better living straight through chemistry" used to exalt the wonders of contemporary rehabilitation to aid man kind. Yet, many of these medicines would not be potential without our remedial plants. Nearly forty percent of all prescribed medicines are derived from plants and fungi or are designed from simply occurring chemical compounds. Many natural substances, such as assorted plant alkaloids, have been found to disrupt cellular function and are well marvelous for assorted cancer treatments. Some natural substances abate bacterium growth; some alleviate pain and are analgesic.
These medicines contain aspirin, digoxin, warfarin, and the vinca alkaloids used in treating childhood leukemia and breast cancers.

Certain populations of a plant species may be more potent than others, and plant parts vary in their concentrations of remedial compounds. The inexpressive parts of plants, such as roots, rhizomes, and bulbs, are often the most potent part of a remedial plant, where the secondary compounds produced by the plant metabolism are most concentrated. Organic compounds could by synthesized by chemists in the laboratory. Early in the nineteenth century, plants were no longer the whole source for productive medicines. Some plant compounds still must come directly from plants because they have not yet been successfully synthesized, including morphine, cocaine, ergotamine, podophyllin, and digitalis. Other plant compounds such as atropine and reserpine are too expensive to synthesize, so pharmaceutical associates continue to rely on natural sources.

Testicular Cancer

About eighty percent of people in developing countries still rely on remedial plant-based primary medicines for their primary health care. In the U.S., about twenty-five percent of prescriptions are filled with drugs whose active ingredients are extracted or derived from plants. several of the drugs sold today are easy synthetic modifications or copies of the simply obtained substances.

Approximately 120 prescription drugs are derived from plants, and these drugs come from only 95 plant species. Today there are at least 120 determined chemical substances derived from plants that are carefully as prominent drugs currently in use in one or more countries in the world. These chemical substances are shown in the table below.
We tend to think of prescription and cancer rehabilitation drugs as coming from new healing plant discoveries, but there have been many drugs and chemicals that are ordinary now that we don't think much as "wonder drugs" any longer that were derived from remedial plants. The following is a short list of some over-the-counter (Otc), anti-malarial, cancer, and specialized rehabilitation drugs and herbal supplements, which benefit mankind, and whose active ingredients are extracted or derived from plants:

Common (Drug; Source; Action/Use):
Aspirin; Willow bark (Salix species); Analgesic Emetine (Syrup of Ipecac); Cephaelis ipecacuanha; Induce vomiting; particularly in cases accidental swallowing of poisonous or harmful substances Scopolamine; Hyoscyamus niger; appeal sickness Camphor; Cinnamomum camphora; Rubefacient a-Lobeline; Indian tobacco (Lobelia inflata); Smoking deterrant Sanguinarine; Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis); Dental plaque inhibitor Stevia (Stevioside); Stevia rebaudiana; Sweetener Thymol; Thymus vulgaris; Antifungal (topical); favorite in mouthwashes Valapotriates; Valeriana officinalis; Sedative; with no morning hangover effect Silymarin; Milk thistle (Silybum marianum); Antihepatotoxic; supports liver health Morphine, Codeine; Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum); Analgesic ; antitussive (Codeine) Pseudoephredrine; Ephedra sinica; Sympathomimetic Erythoromycin; Tropical fungi; Antibiotic Tubocurarine; Chondodentron tomentosum; Muscle relaxant Pilocarpine ; Jaborandi; Glaucoma
Anti-malarial (Drug; Source; Action/Use):
Quinine; Cinchona ledgerian; Anti-malarial Coartem; Sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua); Anti-malarial
Cancer rehabilitation (Drug ; Source ; Action/Use):
Vinblastine; Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus); Hodgkin's disease Vincristine; Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus); Leukemia Taxol/Paclitaxel; Pacific Yew (Taxus brevofolia ); Ovarian and breast cancer VePesid, Etopophos/Etoposide ; Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) ; Lymphomas; leukemias; lung, breast, testicular cancers Hycmatim/Toptecan; Chinese Tree of Hop/Joy (Camptotheca acuminata); Ovarian, breast, lung cancers; determined types of leukemias
Specialized rehabilitation (Drug; Source; Action/Use):
Chaulmoogra oil; Derived from trees in the genera Hydrocarpus and Taraktogenos; Antibiotic against bacterium that causes leprosy Digitoxin, Digitalin, Digoxin; common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea); Cardiotonic, functioning as a heart stimulant that improves the tone and rhythm of an ill heartbeat Reserpine; Snakeroot (Rauvolfia species); Tranquilizer Kawain; Kava (Piper methysticum); Tranquilizer Atropine; Atropa belladonna; Anticholinergic, aids cognitive impairment Gossypol; Gossypium species (Cottonseed); Male contraceptive Hydrastine; Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis); Hemostatic, astringent

Yesterday's Plants - Today's Medicines