Nature’s Homemade Remedies

Written By: Kathy Liu
Edited By: Linda Qi
Designed By: Cece
Published By: Linda Qi

 

Introduction 

It’s time for you to look into your backyard and beyond. Plants, a worldwide food source and source of ecological equilibrium, also have another fantastic property-the ability to be harnessed for medicine! Remedies for illnesses, injuries, and diseases have been historically derived from plants. A superficial burn in 3000 B.C.E that might have called for the soothing gel of an aloe vera plant may require a plant-based medicinal cream today. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, “A full 40 percent of the drugs behind the pharmacist’s counter in the Western world are derived from plants that people have used for centuries, including the top 20 best-selling prescription drugs in the United States today” (Medicinal Botany). Without plants, the world would lose not only a key food source, but also an important area of future innovation and current necessity. 

 

Plants Utilized in Medicine 

  1. Aspirin–Modelled after naturally occurring polyphenol salicylic acid

Commonly misconceived to 

  1. Foxglove (Digitalis)–Solution for Arrhythmia 
  2. Cinchona calisaya-Quinine
  3. Pacific Yew(Taxus brevifolia)-Paclitaxel
  4. Madagascar periwinkle plant (Catharanthus roseus) – Cancer Research

 

Did You Know? – Plants and Leukaemia 

Certain plants like strawberries have been proven to contain petrochemicals, which are very important in today’s society!

 

Conclusion

Plants have so many incredible uses, allowing us to learn more and more about them every day!

________________________

Works Cited

https://www.atalayabio.com/en/the-history-of-aloe-vera/

https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/ethnobotany/medicinal/index.shtml#:~:text=A%20full%2040%20percent%20of,in%20the%20United%20States%20today.