Woody Plants and pharmaceutics

Take a moment to think about your health over the last year. How often have you taken a painkiller to manage that headache or fever? These powerful tools have the ability to save you from a day of pain, allowing the survival of that long shift at work or half-marathon which has slowly crept up on you. How many relatives or friends have had their health improved through life saving medications such as chemotherapy or anti-depressants. There are a large variety of medications widely used today that have transformed our lives and we would struggle in a world without them. Many are aware that it is advances in medical research which have enabled the development and availability of these. However, it is often forgotten that when developing such drugs scientists will usually take their inspiration from similar compounds found in nature. But where? This article gives much deserved recognition to nature’s own pharmacologists. After all, these magicians are our true heroes.

So, what natural marvels are responsible for these compounds? – mainly plants, animals and fungi. This article will focus primarily on woody plants and their ability to produce useful chemicals. The extraction of compounds from plants goes back years. From tribes making herbal remedies to the scientific extraction of the chemicals we use today. Below are a few examples of how woody plants have completely transformed our lives:

Aspirin:

screen-shot-2016-09-19-at-20-04-45Aspirin is a silicate sold as an over the counter medication. Its main purpose is to reduce pain and inflammation. The active ingredient in this common drug originally comes from willow tree bark and has actually been used for about 6000 years. So, how does this drug work? Willow bark contains a substance called salicin which the body transforms into salicylic acid. This acid reduces the production of certain prostaglandins in our nerves. Prostaglandins are produced in response to tissue damage or infection, their role being to facilitate the healing process. However, alongside their healing properties they also cause pain, therefore reducing their production can minimise the pain associated with the healing process. It can subsequently be deduced that willow trees do much more for us than just creating a gorgeous aesthetic landscape!

Irinotecan:

screen-shot-2016-09-19-at-20-05-23Irinotecan is a chemotherapy medication primarily used to treat colon and rectal cancer. The active ingredients within this medication include camptothecin, pentacyclic quinolines and 10-hydroxycamptothecin, which are derived from Camptotheca Trees, Camptotheca acuminata. The mechanisms by which these compounds interact with the human body are complex. They inhibit DNA topoisomerase I which is important for the replication of cancer cells. It would therefore make sense that without this substance, cancer cannot thrive. This is because type 1 topoisomerases are catalysts for the transient breakage of DNA and for the re-joining of the strands following this during cell replication. Without this catalyst, replication would occur at a very slow rate. Cancer is a devastating disease and advances such as this are hugely important.

Digoxin:

Top: Normal heart activity. Bottom: Heart fibrillation
Top: Normal heart activity. Bottom: Heart fibrillation

Digoxin is well established in the treatment of heart arrhythmias including atrial fibrillation. It is extracted from the leaves of the common foxglove plant, Digitalis purpura. It works by slowing down the heart alongside improving ventricle filling which increases the blood supply available for each pump. The heart is one of the most important organs in the body, subsequently reflecting the importance of this medication and its lifesaving qualities.

These are just three examples of how woody plants have transformed our lives. However, there are still many unidentified species that have not yet been discovered in our ecosystems which have the potential to contain life-saving chemicals. In addition, there is the potential for the availability of medication that has fewer side effects to those currently in use. Unfortunately, many biomes are currently being destroyed at such a rate new species, and perhaps medically active chemicals, are being removed before any possible benefits can be uncovered. Therefore, the increased rates of deforestation may be destroying more than just habitats, they may be taking with them a wealth of potentially undiscovered medicines. This is just one more example of why conservation work is so important and I urge that it is taken seriously. Effective conservation is clearly vital to improve the lives of our future generations. It can be concluded that plants have played a huge role in our lives over many generations and continue to help us on a daily basis thus reflecting the importance of conserving them.

Take home message: Next time you take that aspirin in a moment of despair, take a moment to really appreciate the unsung heroes of pharmacy – woody plants. It is a shame that whilst many plants save us, we thank them by cutting them down, destroying biomes and causing extinction.

Post by: Alice Brown


References:

http://medicinalplants101.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/camptotheca-aka-cancer-tree.html

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2011/where-does-medicine-come-from/

http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/complementary-and-alternative-medicines/cam-report/complementary-medicines-for-rheumatoid-arthritis/willow-bark.aspx

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/publications/papers/Medicinal_Plants_042008_lores.pdf

http://www.ebi.ac.uk/interpro/entry/IPR018521)

http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/plants-fungi/digitalis-purpurea-common-foxglove

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319610310000578

https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/medical/drug-cabinet/digoxin

https://www.drugs.com/aspirin.html

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Irinotecan&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiygLePlu7NAhXJB8AKHRwJBloQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=kiktTvOYld7YIM%3A

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=type+1+topoisomerase&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwishr_Uke7NAhULAsAKHZxHAeIQ_AUICCgB#tbs=sur:fc&tbm=isch&q=arrhythmias+&imgrc=rri9FbPzjvwvoM%3A

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=willow+tree&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjxs7bnje7NAhXoC8AKHQhNC2YQ_AUIBigB#q=willow+tree&tbm=isch&tbs=sur:fc&imgrc=nDpmo_llPSg_1M%3A

Save

Share This