Rainforests don't protect us directly when we are sick but they do provide us with number of medicines that help us to get better when we are ill.
Rainforests have produced thousands of life saving and enhancing drugs. Pockets of native people have used these medicines for years to treat ailments and illnesses having known the plants that cure certain sicknesses for centuries.
In the western world we have only used the rainforest as a drug store for illnesses. Currently drug companies' work with conservationists, native groups and governments to categorize and make sure the rainforest is preserved to get the most out of it for medical and other purposes.
There are currently 120 different drugs derived directly from rainforest plants. More than two-thirds of drugs for treating cancer come directly from the rain forest in some way or another. Plants such as the now-extinct periwinkle plant found only in Madagascar have been used to treat cancers in adults and children alike. Preventing deforestation is one of the biggest challenges in being able to develop these cures to their full potential.
Compounds from plants in the rain forest are used to treat everything from malaria to heart disease, bronchitis, hypertension, rheumatism, diabetes, muscle tension, arthritis, glaucoma, dysentery and tuberculosis, among other health problems. Many over the counter medicines like cough bottle and enzymes also have a number of compounds from rain forest plants in them.
As only 1 per cent of these plants have been fully tested for these chemicals there is an onus on conservation of these plants in the face of deforestation. This is very hard for conservationists in the face of development, money for governments and native peoples. 137 types of animals and plants become extinct in the rainforest every day. These plants could be crucial in curing some of the world's most common diseases.
There are many ways in which the rain forest helps us when sick, though we need to try to respect and conserve it.
Rainforests have produced thousands of life saving and enhancing drugs. Pockets of native people have used these medicines for years to treat ailments and illnesses having known the plants that cure certain sicknesses for centuries.
In the western world we have only used the rainforest as a drug store for illnesses. Currently drug companies' work with conservationists, native groups and governments to categorize and make sure the rainforest is preserved to get the most out of it for medical and other purposes.
There are currently 120 different drugs derived directly from rainforest plants. More than two-thirds of drugs for treating cancer come directly from the rain forest in some way or another. Plants such as the now-extinct periwinkle plant found only in Madagascar have been used to treat cancers in adults and children alike. Preventing deforestation is one of the biggest challenges in being able to develop these cures to their full potential.
Compounds from plants in the rain forest are used to treat everything from malaria to heart disease, bronchitis, hypertension, rheumatism, diabetes, muscle tension, arthritis, glaucoma, dysentery and tuberculosis, among other health problems. Many over the counter medicines like cough bottle and enzymes also have a number of compounds from rain forest plants in them.
As only 1 per cent of these plants have been fully tested for these chemicals there is an onus on conservation of these plants in the face of deforestation. This is very hard for conservationists in the face of development, money for governments and native peoples. 137 types of animals and plants become extinct in the rainforest every day. These plants could be crucial in curing some of the world's most common diseases.
There are many ways in which the rain forest helps us when sick, though we need to try to respect and conserve it.
