Nature is a rich source of medicine

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For thousands of years, nature has remained our biggest source of medicine. Even from the primeval era, health-related issues have been treated with natural products derived from the environment. Today, one-third of medicinal products are developed from these natural sources and are used to save millions of lives every year.

Medicine has obviously benefited a lot from nature, but is that all there is to it? Does the development of synthetic drugs spell the end of nature-sourced drugs?

Here’s what we think.

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The Medicine in Nature is Everywhere

Plants have continually served as the most crucial source for drug development. Most of our basic and essential drugs were developed from plant-based ingredients. However, though we seem to have thoroughly explored and experimented plant-based medicine, the truth is that we have barely scratched the surface.

From the primitive times until now, man has always had various herbs for curing different ailments. Under the traditional medicine approach, herbs and teas are used to treat the most chronic diseases. But many of these natural-made treatments have not been considered for scientific research. While there may not be enough scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of these treatments, there’s potential benefit if modern science researches into these alternatives. The hemp remedies are a great example of the benefits of interaction between traditional and modern medicine.

Marijuana used to be a largely misunderstood drug. However, research reveals that 5000 years ago, it was also a popular ingredient for traditional medicinal purposes. Today, as a result of the handshake between traditional and modern medicine, hemp is reprocessed into CBD products which are also used to treat severe health conditions and save lives.

 

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Nature is a rich source of medicine. There’s more to nature than weeds and herbs. Uncomplicated gestures such as spending more time in the open air or the woods is good for mental stability. Doing this helps you to relax and shed restlessness.

Additionally, a team led by Michael Fischbach, an Associate Professor of Bio-engineering have proven that there may be medicine on your natural skin. The team identified 3,118 unique clusters of bacterial genes found at different sites of the human body. These genes contain codes for cellular factories that make drug-like molecules. This implies that interactions between the human and its microbiomes affect the human health and can be deployed for our benefit. Nature scores again!

There are yet many medical wonders waiting to be discovered. However, concentrated effort needs to be injected into supporting scientific research focusing on exploring nature’s medicine. This can lead to the development of enhanced drugs and treatments for more health conditions.

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