The Utilization/Exploitation of Tropical Plants for their Medicinal Value (Outline1)

This topic submitted by Stephanie Smith ( smithsk@muohio.edu) at 1:34 AM on 3/31/08.

A beautiful Praying Mantis, SE Costa Rica!

Tropical Field Courses -Interdisciplinary Studies-Miami University

Through exploring the utilization and exploitation of tropical plants for their medicinal value, one is able to experience an aspect of Costa Rican biodiversity that has dominated the scientific field in the quest to cure and prevent diseases. In the discussion of medicinal plants there will be an emphasis on the constituents that make up the components of medicinal plants, their incorporation into Alternative Medicine, as well as the exploitation of these plants through deforestation, fragmentation, global climate change and overharvesting. I will also highlight some important medicinal plants in which medical researchers have been able to utilize in the production of pharmaceutical medicines. Medicinal plants are a vital aspect in regard to not only Costa Rican biodiversity, but also in our daily lives through the utilization of herbal remedies and other medical drugs. If these plants were to be lost due to deforestation and other methods of exploitation, a huge supply of our medical resources would in essence be lost forever, and the implications of this are huge in regard to our very existence. It is vital that we are aware of the benefits of utilizing medicinal plants, as well as the problems surrounding the exploitation of our resources. I have elected to use an Interdisciplinary approach which encompasses focusing on the biological aspects of medicinal plants, to indicating societal concerns/ environmental politics, an anthropological insight into the history of medicinal plants via the utilization by Indigenous tribes, as well as a medical standpoint in regard to the pharmaceutical remedies that are obtained through using medicinal plants.

Medicinal Plants

I. Components/Chemical Constituents Making Up Medicinal Plants
a. Biosynthetic pathways are universal in plants
i. Primary metabolites
1. Carbohydrates, proteins, etc.
ii. Secondary metabolites
1. Phenols, alkaloids, etc.
iii. Secondary compounds once regarded as waste products of a plantÕs metabolism
b. Significance of primary and secondary compounds
c. Many medications are derived from active principles isolated from plants (directly/indirectly)

II. Alternative Medicine
a. Ethnobotany/Ethnomedicine
i. Utilization of medicinal plants through herbal/pharmaceutical research
1. Obtain medicinal value through medicinal plants
b. Alternative methods of classifying plants as medicinal
i. ÒDoctrine of SignaturesÓ
1. Shape, color, or other characteristics of a plant indicates the specific disease/part of the body a plant would be effective at treating
ii. Traditional healers
1. Attribute knowledge of plants and medicinal applications to plants
2. Rely on spiritual senses
c. Treatment/Prevention of Specific Ailments
i. Whole herbs not viewed as drugs but as a way of promoting health and healing
d. Phytomedicines
i. Medicinal products in which active components are derived explicitly from medicinal herbs

III. Utilization Of Medicinal Plants Via Indigenous Tribes (Traditional Medicinal Practices)
a. History of Indigenous health
i. Methods of obtaining medicinal plants
ii. Types of medicinal plants utilized
b. Present Indigenous health practices
i. Methods of obtaining medicinal plants
ii. Types of medicinal plants utilized
c. Indigenous health systems
i. Complex link between health of an individual with the health of an ecosystem
ii. Health systems range from traditional/isolated systems to systems influenced by traditional western medicine
d. Loss of ancient knowledge in regard to local medicinal plants and their ecosystems
i. Migration of indigenous groups to cities due to destruction of ecosystems
ii. Extinction of whole groups of Indigenous tribes
e. Shamans and Apprentices program
i. Preserve knowledge of traditional medicine

IV. Animal Self-Medication
a. Animals utilize medicinal plants for antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial purposes
i. Utilize secondary components of medicinal plants

V. Exploitation Of Medicinal Plants
a. Habitat Destruction/ Fragmentation
b. Global climate change and chemical pollution
c. Introduction of invasive species and its effect on biodiversity.
d. Overharvesting
e. Market of medicinal plants
f. Need for conservation
i. Save medicinal plants, many of which are still undiscovered
1. Discover new medicines
ii. Ecosystem services-Medicinal Plants Ecological Role
1. Regulating concentration of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor in the atmosphere
2. Filtering pollutants

VI. Examples Of Medicinal Plants Obtained In The Tropical Rainforest And Their Remedies
a. Plant (Botanical Description)
b. Origin/Distribution
c. Medicinal Uses/Therapeutic Significance
d. Chemical Constituents
e. Research Trials
f. Drug Products
g. Other Potential Uses
h. Adverse Effects
¥ Leaves of Coca shrub- cocaine (modern local anesthetics)
¥ Bark of Cinchona species- quinine, quinidine (treatment of malaria)
¥ Chinese wormwood- used in treatment of malaria
¥ Bark of Pacific yew Tree- taxol (cytostatic properties -treatment of malignant tumors)
¥ Chondodendron vine- d-tubocurarine
¥ Rosy periwinkle plant- vinblastine and vincristine

VII. Challenges/Threats To Medicinal Plant Research
a. Race to develop new medicines with few/no side effects for therapeutic and preventive treatment
b. Issues in Botanical Medicine
i. Dispensing Herbal Medicines
ii. Dosage Issue
c. Intercultural Health
i. Challenges of integrating western and traditional indigenous medicine

Resources

Akerele, O. (1993). NatureÕs medicinal bounty: donÕt throw it away. World Health Forum, 14(4),390-395

Chivian, E. (2001).Environment and health: 7. Species loss and ecosystem disruptionÑthe implications for human health. CMAJ, 164(1), 66-69.

Clayton, D.H., & Wolfe, N.D. (1993). The Adaptive Significance of Self-Medication. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 8(22), 60-63.

Cowen, R. (1990). Medicine on the Wild Side. Science News, 138(18), 280-282.

Green Medicine. (2007). Medicinal Plants. Retrieved March 28, 2008, from
http://www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal/plants.htm

Mignone, J., Bartlett, J., OÕNeil, J., & Orchard, T. (2007). Best practices in intercultural health: five case studies in Latin America. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 3(31).

Montenegro, R., Stephens, C. (2006). Indigenous health in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Lancet, 367(9525), 1859-1869.

Simpson, Ogorzaly, Levetin, & McMahon. Medicinal Plants. Retrieved March 28, 2008, from
www.clas.ufl.edu/users/mattjp/Lecture%20Notes/Medicinal%20Plants.doc Ð

Swanson, T.M. (1995). Intellectual Property Rights and Biodiversity Conservation: An interdisciplinary analysis of the values of medicinal plants. Cambridge University Press

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