How plants have contributed towards advancing medicine

2020 is International Year of Plant Health - a year to promote and raise awareness on plant health in order to protect the environment and achieve goals such as global food security. Protecting plants' health means caring for the environment, tackling climate change, maintaining biodiversity, and protecting plants from disease and pests. 

Plants have not only been used for food, energy and oxygen, but in medicine, they have been sourced for their active substances - chemicals which have an effect on living organisms. Over the years, various plants have played a role in the development of medicines to treat disease.

While we work towards promoting and maintaining plant health, here is a look at some of the plants that have contributed to advancing medicine and securing our health.

1. Sweet wormwood

Artemisia annua, or sweet wormwood, originated in China and has since been grown in other parts of the world including Kenya, Tanzania and south Europe. It was used in traditional Chinese medicine for reducing fever. The plant contains Artemisinin, which was discovered by scientist Tu Youyou and is extracted from its leaves. This chemical has antimalarial properties and is able to kill the malaria parasite by attacking its proteins.

Artemisinin is now used as part of a standard treatment for malaria in combination with other medications.

2.  Willow bark

The Ancient Egyptians used the bark of willow trees as a pain remedy. Its use in traditional medicine spanned over 3000 years. In 1828, it was Johann Buchner who extracted the pain-relieving ingredient in willow bark and named the chemical Salicin. Over the years, the chemical was further refined by other scientists through the addition of other chemical groups. It was later formed into salicylic acid. In the late 1800s, researchers at Bayer further modified the acid to produce Aspirin as an anti-pain medication. Additional investigation and testing found that Aspirin also reduced risk of mortality (death) due to heart attack. Aspirin is now widely used for prevention of heart disease.

3. Common Thyme

Thymol is a chemical component found in the oil of common thyme. It gives the herb it's unique flavour and also makes the plant an antiseptic - preventing growth of microorganisms that cause disease. Thymol has been used as an ingredient in toothpaste, mouthwash and other dental products - preventing tooth decay. It's also an ingredient in some soaps, sanitizers and disinfectants, and is added to other medications to keep their ingredients active during storage.

4. French lilac

The French lilac is a flowering herb of blue, purple or white flowers with a close link to the treatment of diabetes - a disease where the body is not able to take up glucose into cells, leaving high glucose levels in the blood. The herb contains a chemical substance called guanidine. Different forms - also called derivatives - of guanidine were then used in labs to develop medicine to lower blood sugar in people with diabetes. Unfortunately, these had severe side effects and were discontinued. Later, in the 1950s, another derivative of guanidine called Metformin was tested. It had much fewer side effects while still able to lower blood sugar. Today, Metformin is one of the most widely used treatments for type 2 diabetes.

These and many more plants have helped us develop medicine and products to treat disease and keep us healthy. We should certainly be thankful for nature's healers. Protecting plant health has never been more important than it is today. The future of plants, our health and access to food lies in taking action for sustaining the health of plants while protecting their environment.