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		Outreach N° 66 - Drugs - Part 3: Herbal Medicine (OUTREACH - UNEP - WWF, 40 p.)
			(introduction...)
			Articles on herbal medicines that have appeared in back issues of OUTREACH
			Contents
			Plants that kill can often cure (plus exercise)
			The effect of plant chemicals on animals
			A disappearing storehouse of medicinal plants
			The effect of plant chemicals on humans
			War on drugs: the tobacco connection
			Traditional herbal medicine and “modern” medicine
			Using local plants to treat intestinal worms
			Treating cuts and wounds
			Understanding medicinal plants teaching materials available from World Neighbors
			Traditional medicine to graduate
			Film: Jungle pharmacy
			Indigenous treatment for drug dependence in Thailand
			Identifying health-protecting customs
			A simple and effective cough syrup we can prepare at little cost from the plants we find around us
			Discovering the uses of medicinal plants in your neighbourhood
			Film and teaching suggestions - Herbal medicine: fact or fiction?
			Pills and potions
			Revival of traditional medicine in Amazonia
			Decode the drug
			Biodiversity and health
			Barefoot doctors
			How a rainforest in Western Samoa was saved

A disappearing storehouse of medicinal plants

The rosy periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), a relative of some common house plants, has saved three-quarters of the world’s children who suffer from leukaemia, a type of cancer. It has also led research into many synthetic drugs which could be anti-cancerous.

rosy periwinkle

Unscramble the letters below to find out where this plant comes from:

S A C A R A D A G M

Little of the natural vegetation of this island country remains, and most of the rest is in danger. A close relative of the Rosy Periwinkle, Catharanthus coriaceus (also from this island nation) is critically endangered from bush fires. This plant, too, may have valuable chemicals to offer - if it does not become extinct first.

Answer: MADAGASCAR