M. Keffer
Waterloo-Oxford
may, 2001
•malaria, leprosy, arthritis, dropsy, twilight sleep, cortisone,
aspirin, prostaglandins ….
•ethnobotany, bioprospecting, and rain forest degradation
•social and cultural aspects of healing shown by plant
remedies
•comparison of healing styles
•plants and religious activity
•toxins and drugs
•Doctrine of Signatures
stay tuned for future
presentations on:
Plants of economic importance
•spices, flavourings, and trade
•coffee, tea, saffron, cinnamon,
nutmeg, cloves and clove oil, coconut
• the Moluccas and the Spice Wars
•industrials -- rubber, cotton
• rubber and World War II
•structural materials: wood, palm
• lignins and structural strength
•alternate food sources: algae
Plants as biochemical
factories
•phytoremediation,
bioremediation, and Living
Machines
•oxygenators and water purifiers
for space travel
•genetic engineering and new uses
for tobacco
ethnobotany
Ethnobotany 1
• the study of plants learned from the people who use
them
• often includes medicinal plants
• often includes the study of indigenous peoples
• research methods involve living with the people who use the
plants, and learning their methods from them
• in many cases the proper use of the plants is wrapped
up with their everyday lives, and therefore difficult to
explain to foreigners
• e.g. it’s hard to walk into the forest and find a cure for
cancer when the local people don’t even have a word for
cancer
• therefore foreigners like us must go to learn in THEIR
environment, on THEIR terms.
threats to ethnobotanical knowledge
• Threats include:
• expansion of “civilized”
cultures into their habitat
• mining
• transport
• slash&burn agriculture
• pollution
• attrition
• (young members of
tribes leaving and not
returning to learn from
their elders -- no one to
carry on the traditions)
Significance of ethnobotany
• it’s not just the plants; it’s
•
•
•
•
how they are used,
their preparation,
their admixtures, and
knowledge of fine differences between
them (closely related plants, plants that
resemble each other at certain stages of
the year)
• in most cases this knowledge is NOT
written down ANYWHERE
• it is part of an oral tradition -- meaning
it is only passed from person to person
orally, through teaching
• not all peoples have writing
• even if they did, for most, their secrets
are sacred and not to be told to just
anyone
• Currently there are new diseases for
which there is no known cure
• also some existing diseases have
become resistant to antibiotics
• the forest may be the best place to
learn about drug substances
• forests are disappearing, and with
them, the people who know how to
use these plants
• Note: an admixture is something
added to the active ingredient to alter
it in some way
• make it less toxic
• reduce its side effects
• increase its potency by allowing it to
enter the bloodstream more quickly
• allow it to cross the blood-brain
barrier
Malaria life
cycle
• parasites live in gut of female
•
•
•
•
•
•
Anopheles mosquito
when mosquito bites, it
injects fluid to act as
anticoagulant and
anaesthetic
parasites enter human
bloodstream
travel to liver for another
stage
enter bloodstream and
replicate in red blood cells
burst the RBC when they
reach large enough numbers
and size
when another mosquito bites,
parasites move back into the
mosquito gut to start the next
round of replication
Malaria info from the WHO (World Health
Organization)
• Malaria kills more people than any other communicable disease except
tuberculosis
• Caused by a protist parasite that lives both in mosquitoes and humans
• since it is not a bacteria, antibiotics are NOT effective against it
• it is curable if promptly treated
• multi-drug resistant strains are now becoming more prevalent
• major problem in areas covering 40% of the world’s population
• symptoms:
•fever, shivering, pain in the joints, headache, repeated vomiting, convulsions,
coma, severe anemia
•recurrent cycles of shivering and fever that coincide with the release of
parasites within the blood
• kills over 3000 children per day worldwide -- far more than HIV
• a single bout of infection usually costs the equivalent of 10 working days
• ref: http://www.who.int/inf-fs/en/fact094.html
increased risk of malaria
a hidden risk of global warming….?
cinchona
• Malaria is the one of the top killers in the world
• Evidence suggests it has been a concern at least
back to 500 BC
• there were lots of “remedies” but no real cure
• the Cinchona tree from South America
provided quinine
• for several hundred years it was the only cure
• Significance:
• At this time European colonialism was
expanding explosively into the Americas, Africa,
India, Indonesia, and other areas of Asia.
• All these expansions were partially fuelled by
the “discovery” of quinine
• Without it it is unlikely that expansion would
have occurred nearly as quickly, since many
colonialists were killed by malaria
leprosy
• caused by mycobacterium similar to the one
that causes tuberculosis
• infects and kills peripheral nerves
(extremities)
• leads to numbness and lack of circulation
• this often leads to gangrene or muscle damage
• nasal membranes also often infected - probably initial entry point of infection
leprosy 2
• muscle wasting may cause bizarre contortion of joints (first
picture)
• eyes also may be affected -• nerves leading to cornea deteriorate;
• therefore cornea and other membranes deteriorate
• cornea become numb, therefore don’t know when something’s
in the eye
• leads to damage of membranes and eventual collapse of the
nose and nasal tissue
• for further information check this link
social and historical implications of leprosy
• dates to biblical times -- very old disease
• lepers have traditionally been ostracized (booted out of normal
society) and forced to live in leper colonies
• click here for further info on background
chaulmoogra
• from an Indian tree
• only thing found to be
effective for leprosy
throughout history
• more recently replaced by
dapsone (synthetic
derivative)
• this was ONLY made
possible by studying the
active principle of the
chaulmoogra plant
• currently there are many
strains of M.leprae showing
resistance to dapsone
• click here for more info
• also check here for specific
details about the oil
cancer remedies
• Found in Madagascar
• from the rosy periwinkle
• periwinkle currently almost
extinct due to rainforest
destruction
• vinblastine and vincristine
have been isolated from this
plant
• they are currently among the
very few successful
treatments for childhood
leukemia
the original Salix
•Native people in North America
chewed willow bark to relieve
headache
Willow blossom
•Willow bark is one source of
salicylic acid
•Salicylic acid has similar painrelieving and blood-thinning
properties as aspirin
•However, it also tends to cause
stomach upset, and lead to ulcers
•By chemically adding an acetyl
group (CH3-CH2-) to salicylic acid
it is changed to…
•AcetylSalicylic Acid (or ASA)
prostaglandins
• prostaglandins are secreted
by most animal tissues
• wide array of activities
• stimulation or relaxation of
smooth muscle
• dilation or constriction of blood
vessels
• stimulation of inflammation
responses
• enhancement of the perception
of pain
• aspirin works by
inhibiting the
synthesis of
prostaglandins
ASA and other pain relievers
•ASA is still one of the best pain relievers for arthritis, muscle pain, etc.
•lowers fever, relieves pain, reduces inflammation, and thins the blood
•inhibits the formation of blood clots -- therefore used to reduce risk of
stroke and CVAs (cardiovascular accidents)
•ASA is packaged into many different brands of “aspirin,” as well as
cough meds, cold remedies, etc.
•The other two main pain relief medications available without a
prescription are acetaminophen and ibuprofen -- both reduce
prostaglandin action
•acetaminophen is the active ingredient in Tylenol and many other
headache pills
•it has many of the same actions as ASA but does not tend to cause the
same amount of gastrointestinal discomfort
•acetaminophen does not work as well for reduction of inflammation or
blood thinning -- ASA is still the best balance of relief and lack of side
effects
•acetaminophen is a coal tar derivative
“world’s worst diet”?
Camel blood
Camel milk
World’s worst diet 2
• This desert tribe survives on a frothed
mixture of blood and milk.
• It provides all needed nutrients
• but “should” produce a high blood
cholesterol level.
• However, members of this tribe
regularly have among the lowest blood
cholesterol levels of any group on earth
• Ethnobotanical research found that the
members of the tribe add a type of bark
to their mixture
• Further research suggests that this bark
has blood cholesterol-lowering
properties.
epena and shamanism
•This shows a shaman (herbal healer) and his apprentice at the start
of a healing ceremony.
•Which one do you think is the shaman?
•What do you think is happening in the picture, and why?
Epena and shamanism 2
• Without diagnostic tools,
indigenous peoples have relied
on spirit helpers to help them
discover what is wrong with a
sick person.
• Shamans (healers) also ask
their spirits to help the sick
person get better.
• In order to speak with their
spirits, shamans often go into a
trance
• certain drug substances are
often used to speed up the
process of entering the trance
• in the picture, the shaman is
the one on the right.
• His assistant is blowing a
powder, called epena, into the
shaman’s nose
Within minutes, the shaman will be
deeply entranced.
(The patient is not in the picture.)
Comparison of healing styles
"western" medicine
"traditional" medicine
Most diseases are c aused by
mic robes
Most diseases caused by
imbalanc e of natural levels, or
"bad spirits"
Restore balanc e or drive out
bad spirit
Find offending organism and kill it
Use diagnostic tests to disc over the
nature of the disease
Use divination or "vision" to
assess disharmony -- must get
beyond the "normal"
Mental status of patient usually
Mental status of patient cruc ial
separate from disease proc ess
to understanding disease
proc ess
Emphasis on diseases suc h as heart Emphasis on problems of skin,
disease, c ancer,
digestive tract, problems due to
insec ts and animals
Western vs. indigenous
pharmacopoeia
Note especially the differences for cardiovascular, cancer, and
dermatology (skin)
connection with religion
Ancient
Egyptian art
showing a god
pollinating a
papyrus plant
Why would
gods be
associated with
plants?
hunter-gatherers vs agriculturalists
• for hunter-gatherer societies, plants were important but not as
important as the spirit of the animals on which they depended
• when a society sees something as being extremely important, they
tend to deify it -- make it into a god in their art and culture
• through this, we can learn about their culture by looking at their
religious art
• concept of sympathetic magic says that by portraying a thing,
they can help to make it happen
•example: rain dance
• with the agricultural revolution, people realized that their success
depended on their plants
• stories involving gods were good ways to teach
• plants in some cases offered routes to things beyond the normal
experience, and therefore became identified with gods
poppies
Opium and opiates
• opium has been used for centuries
as a narcotic and a painkiller
• when research on brain chemicals
began, it was found that the brain
produces chemicals that “look”
exactly like morphine
• the brain chemicals are called
endorphins
• they are natural pain-killers
• morphine has its effect because
it happens to have the same
shape as the endorphins
• morphine and endorphins act as
either hormones or
neurotransmitters -- affecting the
nerve cells they encounter
Research significance of drug
substances
• Understanding the structure of morphine allowed
understanding of the receptors in the brain through
which morphine functions
• one way to understand a pathway is to find an
example where the pathway DOESN’T WORK.
• Then look at the differences between the one that
works and the one that doesn’t.
• neurotoxic plant substances show how pathways
work by shutting down certain pathways -- they
provide a case where the “normal” doesn’t work
• example: saxitoxin blocks sodium channels
Coca -- very different from cocoa
• Coca plant unmodified
is an excellent source
of calcium and
vitamins
• many diets in the
Andean highlands are
deficient in calcium
• acts as a mild
stimulant -- similar to
strong coffee
• prevents fatigue and
hunger
• excellent prevention
against altitude
sickness (common in
the high altitudes of
the Andes)
coca
• Coca became a very popular
additive to drinks such as wine
• it is still included in Coca-cola
• this is the only situation in which
it can be legally imported
• you won’t find it on the
ingredients
• it’s allowed for it to be listed as a
“natural flavouring.”
• many anaesthetics such as
novocaine were created based
on cocaine and its derivatives
Coca -- significance
• important historical, social, and
religious significance
• people feel that it connects
them to their land -- they see it
as a gift, and to use it
responsibly is their way of
returning the gift
• also seen as sacred
reaffirmation that they belong
• reminder from their gods to take
care of the land
Coca -- VERY different from cocaine!
• Coca leaves must be treated with strong acids to modify the
active ingredients into cocaine -- it is a long process that
does NOT occur naturally under any circumstances
• many countries have destroyed wild coca growth, and coca
plantations, in the attempt to cut down supplies
• these efforts are supported and promoted by the US “War
on Drugs”
• this is in hope of reducing the amount of cocaine coming
into the US… BUT:
• reduction in supply has the effect of increasing demand
• probably does little to reduce the amount of coca funneling
through illegal routes
• however, this does remove it from “natural” users
• further info and source of pictures, click here.
calabar, witchcraft, and voodoo
Trial By Poison
• Trial by Poison was a common way to test a
person who was suspected of lying
• person would be given calabar beans, which
are TOXIC (due to the physostigmine)
• person would become very sick, dizzy, would
foam at the mouth, and might die.
• If the person died, they were obviously guilty
• If they did not die, they must have been
innocent.
papaya
• provides papain (meat
tenderizer)
• also chymopapain (contact
lens cleaner and treatment
for slipped discs)
• Inject enzyme into problem
disk
• it dissolves the jelly in the disk
• This shrinks the disk and
relieves pressure on the
adjacent nerves
• reduces need for back surgery
Jimsonweed
• also called angel’s
trumpet, or
• Datura stramonium, or
• thorn apple
• toxic -- to people and
livestock
• may be hallucinogenic if
properly prepared
• attractive flower with
nice floral smell
• leaves have distinctive
unpleasant odour when
touched
“Jimsonweed”
•called Jamestown weed
according to legend that
soldiers marching through
Jamestown were treated to a
lunch by the residents
•the soldiers spent the next
few days variously on the
rooftops, in the gutters, and
wandering around in a
“lunatic state.”
•most active ingredient is
scopolamine
arthritis
• Joint disorder that can effectively
cripple a person
• immune system begins attacking self
tissue in the joints
• joints become inflamed and sore
• this calls even more inflammatory
cells
• positive feedback cycle
• joint surfaces become pitted and
misshapen
• this further accelerates inflammation
• many people have it and there is no cure
• otherwise not damaging -- affected people must often live with it for the
rest of their lives
• can prevent simple tasks -- like driving a car, holding the phone, or
opening the aspirin bottle
Arthritis and cortisone
• 1930s: rheumatoid arthritis
patients showed dramatic
improvement after jaundice
• jaundice is liver disease -- leads to
yellowing of the skin and eyes;
occurs as a symptom of some other
disease, such as hepatitis
• also: arthritis would decrease
during pregnancy, but come back
after birth
• hormone called compound E
found in both cases
• but compoud E was very difficult
and expensive to synthesize
Cortisol and cortisone
• Steroid hormone
made by the adrenal
cortex
• causes:
• increase in blood
sugar
• increase in liver
glycogen
• increased rate of
conversion of protein
into carbohydrate
• elevates blood sugar
by conversion of
non-carbohydrate
molecules into
glucose
adrenal
gland
Cortisone: miracle cure for arthritis?
• first test on humans: woman
with severe rheumatoid arthritis - so bad she could hardly move
• previously, no treatment had
shown any effect
• after three days of cortisol
injections she could move easily
• after eight days of injections her
symptoms were mostly “gone”
Cortisone: Overall Wonder Drug?
• Cortisone increased test animals’ resistance to cold, poisons, and other
stresses
• Pneumonia symptoms would disappear, although the bacteria causing
it was still there (remove the cortisone and the symptoms reappear!)
• tuberculosis symptoms would also disappear -- but bacteria still
present also
• side effects: high blood pressure, excessive hair growth; mental
problems; ulcers; brittle bones; fluid retention; obesity; mood swings
• Often abused! Athletes with joint injuries find that cortisone
injections directly into the joint will reduce swelling and allow them
to continue playing
• however, this usually leads to further damage of the joint
• also can lead to softening of the joint and permanent damage and
disability
Mexican Yams, cortisone, and
Dioscorea
• In the 1930s and 40s, there was
an intense search for a plant
source of cortisone
• none were found, but a vine
called Strophanthus was found
that could produce a substance
that could easily be modified to
provide cortisone
• however, this plant could not be
cultivated outside its native
jungle (not sure why)
• later it was found that certain
Mexican yams (Dioscorea) could
provide the same substance very
cheaply
• this is the source of cortisone,
progesterone, and estrogen for
many birth control pills also
cortisone and
progesterone
• note the similarities
between the different
substances
• for such similar
molecules, they
produce vastly different
effects in the body!
plant toxins
Larger bar = more poisonous
Huratoxin is more than 10 million times more toxic than cyanide
distance to
herbs
•Graph shows amount of
walking time necessary
for a particular healer to
reach a forest large
enough to find the plants
he needs
•the time has increased
greatly since 1940 due to
forest being cut down in
his area
may apple
• podophyllotoxin for
cancer from the North
American mayapple
Strophanthus vine
•
produces atropine
•
also cortisone precursors
Digitalis (foxglove)
•A relatively common disease in the 16th - early 20th
century was called dropsy
•caused fluid retention in patients’ feet (swelling, also
called edema)
•they also had weak hearts and often died of heart failure
•it was found that an extract of foxglove would help clear
up the disease
•foxglove was often grown in gardens for its pretty
flowers
•“wise women” had known of this cure for a long time
•but it didn’t become “valid” until an established (male)
doctor started treating patients with it
•now known that foxglove contains digitalis
•digitalis is, even now, one of our most important drugs
for increasing the strength of the heart’s contraction
•dropsy occurred due to weakening of the heart -therefore pumping was not strong enough, and fluids
pooled in the lower limbs
Scopolamine (hyoscine)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ophthalmic atropine, homatropine, and scopolamine are used to dilate (enlarge) the
pupil of the eye.
used before eye examinations, before and after eye surgery, and to treat certain eye
conditions, such as uveitis
obtained from plants of the nightshade family (Solanaceae), chiefly from henbane,
Hyoscyamus niger.
Structurally similar to the nerve substance acetylcholine
scopolamine acts by interfering with the transmission of nerve impulses by acetylcholine
in the parasympathetic nervous system
produces symptoms typical of parasympathetic system depression:
•
•
•
•
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dilated pupils
rapid heartbeat
dry skin, mouth, and respiratory passages
Because scopolamine depresses the central nervous system, it is used as a sedative prior
to anesthesia and as an antispasmodic in certain disorders characterized by restlessness
and agitation, e.g., delirium tremens, psychosis, mania, and Parkinsonism.
When combined with morphine, the effect produced is a tranquilized state known as
twilight sleep; this combination of drugs was formerly used in obstetrics but is now
•
considered too dangerous.
Overdosage of scopolamine causes delirium, delusions, paralysis, and stupor.
Solanaceae family (SOL-un-A-see-uh)
(the Nightshades)
• The chief drug plants of the family are
•
•
•
•
•
belladonna, or deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna),
henbane (Hyoscyamus niger)
mandrake (Mandragora officinum)
Jimson weed (Datura stramonium) (angel’s trumpet)
tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum).
• Many of the above were used in herbals and in magic potions
• The family also includes several important food plants:
•
•
•
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potato (Solanum tuberosum) (note greens are poisonous, but not roots)
tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)
peppers (but not black pepper, which is a different family)
eggplant (Solanum melongena), (the only one native to the Old World)
• Species of salpiglossis, petunia, butterfly flower, and the genus Solanum
are among the members of the family cultivated as ornamentals.
Atropa (deadly nightshade)
Monk’s hood
Source of aconitine
curare
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•
•
•
from strychnos plants
these plants are the source of strychnine (rat
poison)
arrow poisons of many different tribes
similar substance found in buttercups
•
•
“In preparing the arrow poison, the
seeds, deprived of their hairs, are
pounded to a pulp, the adhesive sap of
another plant is added, and the mixture
smeared for 6 inches along the point of
the arrow. Game wounded by such an
arrow is said to be rarely able to move
100 yards, while the flesh can be eaten
without bad effect.”
(from encyclopedia.com)
•curare is a very important muscle relaxant for surgery
•an adventurer tried the drug on their donkey -- no Westerners knew how the drug actually
killed
•they used a set of bellows to keep its lungs inflated (simulate its breathing)
•the donkey survived after the drug wore off -- with no ill effects
•drug works by paralyzing the muscles, including the breathing muscles
•otherwise it does no harm at all to the body
Doctrine of signatures
•use of various plants was indicated by the form or
shape of the plant.
•Concept was in wide use throughout the middle ages
and Renaissance (ca. 800 - 1500 AD)
•based on much older belief:
“As Above, So Below.”
•Things that happened in the heavens, and in nature,
had influence on the affairs of humans
•God wanted to indicate the plant’s purpose to humans
-- so that’s why they were shaped as they were.
Bloodroot
Click here for web link
•A blood red juice can be
extracted from the reddish orange
root
•The juice from the root was used
as a body paint and dye by
Native Americans.
•Warriors painted their faces with
it
•produces a yellow-orange dye
that is very fast (permanent)
•has flesh destroying properties
•therefore good for treating
conditions of the skin such as
ringworm, warts, polyps, fungal
growths
boneset
•long been used to treat fevers
from simple colds to typhus.
•tea often used as a diuretic
•leaves of E. perfoliatum
were once considered useful
in mending broken bones
•belief probably came from
observation of the fusion of
the leaves at their bases
•does have some toxic
properties
•toxic propterties had nothing
to do with healing, but led
people to believe in its
effectiveness
note
fusion
of
leaves
hepatica
same
guess what people used this plant for….
Other notes
• Fishing and the source of
rotenone
• admixtures that are not
necessarily “active”
ingredients, but that may
increase toxicity or reduce
side-effects
• frankincense
• cassava beer, bread
• role of “modernization” -increased skin infections due
to western clothing and also
to discouragement of plant
remedies as “un-Christian”
• Zoopharmacognosy:
• elephant herbs
• monkey soil
• the spirit of the Great Bear
• “Snake Oil” and “Indian Elixir”
• as people moved west across North
America, they learned many herbal
remedies from the native people
• soon, anything that appeared to
have come from a Native recipe was
considered to be good
• “entrepreneurs” took advantage of
this and began selling “Indian Elixir”
on every corner -- often with
absolutely no connection to any
Native recipes