The fact sheets form part of WWF’s Biological Diversity
Campaign which was launched on 30 March 1989. As part of the campaign, WWF
published a more comprehensive 30-page statement entitled, “The
Importance of Biological Diversity”, which has been endorsed by 10 of
the world’s top scientists and environmentalists. The statement gives a
basic understanding of what biological diversity is, why it is important for
everyone in the world and what can be done to conserve it. For a free copy of
the statement, write to Soh-Koon Chng, WWF International, and the address above.
The following are just a few examples of how protecting
biological diversity - the variety of flora and fauna - can also protect our
health.
· Vincristine and
vinblastine, from the Madagascan rosy periwinkle Catharanthus roseus are
used to treat childhood leukemia and Hodgkin’s disease.
· Reserpine, extracted from the
small Indian snakeroot shrub Rauvolfia serpentina is used in
tranquilizers.
· Digitoxin, from the European
foxglove Digitalis purpurea is a powerful regulator of erratic hearts.
· Diosgenin from the Mexican yam
Dioscorea elephantipes is used in the treatment of rheumatism and to
produce oral contraceptives.
· The mayapple Podophyllum
peltatum, used by American Indians to treat warts, has provided a blueprint
for a new drug to treat testicular cancer.
· Tubocurarine from
Chondrodendron tomentosum, a chief ingredient of curare from the Amazon,
is used as a muscle relaxant.
· Comfrey Symphytum
officinale is now the source of allantoine, a wound-healing agent formerly
obtained by the application of sheep blow-fly larvae to wounds.
· Mandrake of the Solonaceae
family, mentioned in the Bible and by Plato, yields the important sedative
hyoscine; under the name of scopolamine it remains the standard pre-operative
medication.
· The chanca piedra leaf is
commonly used by Peruvian Amazon Indians to reduce and expel gall and kidney
stones.
· Many South American tribes use
a tea brewed from Erythroxylum coca leaves to ease pain, cure attitude
sickness and as an antidepressant.
· The bitter yellow leaves of
the fenu-greek plant Trigonella foenum-graecum are used in India to help
alleviate the effects of diabetes.
· A tea brewed from a shrub
called Maesa lanceolata is used by Kenyan medicine men to combat cholera.
· The Barasana of Colombia use
the dried and pounded spadix of unripe lilies (Araceae) as an oral
contraceptive.
· In China, fresh cotton seed
Gossypium barbadense oil provides the male oral contraceptive gossypol.
· The autumn crocus Colchicum
autumnale was used in Arab medicine for treating gout at least as long ago
as the tenth century AD.
· A distillation made from
sandalwood (Santalum species) is used in Pakistan to treat infections of
the urinary tract.
· The Achual Jivaro Indians in
Peru chew a plant called yana muco which appears to prevent tooth decay.
· Quinine from the cinchona tree
Cinchona ledgeriana is used to fight malaria.
· Scientists use extracts from
an Amazonian oak and an Australian chestnut to coagulate proteins in their
attempts to develop AIDS vaccines.
· Some scientists estimate that
as many as 1400 plant species in tropical forests offer potential cures for
cancer.
· Among drugs now produced
synthetically but with natural origins, we can count aspirin, first discovered
in Meadowsweet Spirea ulmaria; the anaesthetic lignocaine, based on
cocaine; and alkaloids based on quinine.
· A little sea
squirt (Tunicata) produces a compound called didemnin B, a drug which is now
being tested for anti-cancer properties.
· A Caribbean sponge (Porifera)
provided a model for the synthesis of ara-c, now used in tumour treatment.
· Highly active chemicals found
in sea hares (Nudibrancha), soft corals, sea whips and sea fans (Coelenterata)
secrete chemicals with potential anti-tumour activity.
· Leeches (Hirudinia) produce at
least eight medical chemicals, including hirudin, a powerful anticoagulant.
· Maggot (Diptera) saliva
contains bacteria that secrete powerful antibiotic chemicals.
· Chinese health experts say
that powder made from ants (Formicidae) can cure rheumatoid arthritis.
· Bee (Apis species)
venom is used in the treatment of arthritis.
