Ask A Scientist© Environmental Science Archive

Author:     amj
Text:       What rare kinds of medicines are found in the rain forests? What 
do they cure or what diseases do they cure or prevent?

Response #: 1 of 1
Author:     Don Libby
Text:       I am aware of a few medicines from tropical plants. Aspirin was 
originally derived from trees that grow in Peru. Quinine is used to treat 
cramps and fever, and also comes from Peru. Cocaine used to be used as a local 
anesthetic, and comes from Peru. An anti-leukemia drug has been developed from 
the Rosy Periwinkle, which grows in Madagascar. Eli Lilly, a large drug 
company, is engaged in a joint venture with a California company called Shaman 
Pharmaceuticals to learn how people that live in rain forests use plants as 
antibiotics.