The Amazon Rainforest By Alec |
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The Amazon rainforest has many different plants that can be used
as herbal medicines. Some of the most important medicines come from
the Amazon. They have been used for hundreds and hundreds of years.
These plants can be deadly if taken in large doses, but in small doses
they can be very helpful. They can be used to cure headaches, skin
irritation, high blood pressures, and many other diseases. Here are
some of them. |
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White Trillium |
The white trillium has three petals, three sepals, and three leaves. If the leaves are chewed, it can help cure snake bites. If the plant’s petals are chewed, they can help ease childbirth, and the sepals if chewed are used to help cure fevers. |
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Cinchona Tree (Cinchona officinalis) |
The bark of this tree is used to make Quinine, a medicine that helps treat Malaria, a serious disease. A number of various other chemicals can also be made from Cinchona, and these chemicals include cinchonine, cinchonidine and quinidine. However, quinine has been replaced by other drugs such as chloroquine and mefloquine, and now quinine is rarely used to treat malaria. |
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Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) |
The leaves of this plant contain digitalis, a substance used to treat heart problems. When taken in large doses it can produce palpitations and dizziness, but when taken in smaller doses it can help the heart beat more slowly. This medicine had many effects, and sometimes it cured in miraculous ways, but it mostly produced violent reactions, occasionally killing because it was taken in very large doses. The foxglove tea is used as a morning tea to aid in birth control. |
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Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum) |
The opium poppy is used to make Morphine and Codeine, two drugs that are used as painkillers. The opium gum may be crudely refined and smoked, or converted to morphine and heroin. |
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Coca |
Coca has been used in folk medicine in South America for thousands of years both as a general stimulant and other medical purposes. The Coca plant’s leaves are used, while being chewed, to treat headaches, and prevent tiredness. It is also used to relieve altitude sickness, hunger, fatigue, and aches and pains. |
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Buttercups |
Buttercups are used to help mask or relieve pain and treat skin irritations, but too much can cause big skin irritations. The smell of the leaves or juice from the leaves, applied to the nostrils, is said to cure headaches. |
Castor Beans (Ricinus communis) |
Castor Beans yield Castor oil, oil that if you drink it, can help relieve constipation; however they are extremely poisonous, so they were replaced with safer drugs. It is a very effective cathartic or purgative and is still used to this day, however, there are milder, less drastic methods of inducing regularity. Castor oil is also used as a lubricant. It is sometimes applied as a soothing lotion for dry skin, dermatitis, other skin diseases, sunburn, open sores, and it is the primary ingredient of several brand name medications. |
| Sources: http://www.herbalmedicines.com, http://www.rainforesgifts.com, http://www.rain-tree.com Click on the picture to see where it came from. Background by http://www.grsites.com |
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| Other Pages What Medicines Come From Australasia? Herbal Remedies From Madagascar Medicinal Plants of the Amazon Rainforest |
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