Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Traditionally medicinal plants are used by many nations in the world. Their use even goes back thousands of years in human history.

Our oldest date are from 4,000 B.C., mentioning the use of opium of the poppy plant among the Sumerians, who lived in the Middle East of today. Egypt was also one of the oldest nations, using medicinal plants. In the 1500 B.C. this nation already used drugs of botanic origin, e.g. using onions, saw-dust of the coarse fir-tree, fruits of the juniper-berry, tree resin, pulses, wild cummin, pomegranate, acacia leaves, cassia, fresh dates,vegetable oil, etc. to tret gynecological disorders. Indian medicine (Ayur Veda : ca 3,000 years ago) and Chinese medicine are even of an older era.

Nearer to the West and to our time, the Greeks made use of the knowledge of traditional Indian and Chinese medicine. Altreya, a Greek physician, used,around 500 B.C., already ca 700 species medicinal herbs.

In the meantime our knowledge on drugs of botanical origin in creases. Around 1630 the use of cinchona bark against malaria, found in the New Worid, became known. The 18^th and the 18^th centuries were periods of important fundamental discoveries in the field of medical sciences, also in relation of medicinal plants. In Colombia the therapeutic action of botanical substances, also useful in modern medicine, like ipecacuanha (emetic) and Peruvian balsam (wound ointment), has been discovers. In 1785 Withering succeeded in discovering the action of digitalis (from the digitalis plant) on the heart. The 19^th century is the century of further research on the therapeutic action of botanical substances: morphine from the poppy plant, iodine from sea-weed (treatment of struma or goiter), quinine from cinchona bark. Meanwhle more progress has been archieved in the field of research on drugs from plants. In 1856 the weakening action of the Indian arrow toxine curare on the muscle was discovered and four years later Niemann extracted cocaine from the leaves of plant Erythroxylon coca found in the Andes mountains. Only after 20-24 years cocaine was used as a local narcotic in medicine for the first time.

The discovery of the bactericidal action of the fungus Penicillium notatum by Fleming in 1926, introduces the age of the application of antibiotics, which has become an integral part of the modern fight against bacteria. However, one has to wait until 1939, before the discovery of Fleming became available for practical application by preparation of a stable form of pinicilline. Even the use of corticosteroids (examples: cortisone, hydrocortisone) for 1948-1949) and the introduction of the anticonception pill, are made possible by plants. The necessary chemical hormone-like substances are namely drawn from the roots of some Dioscorea species, e.g. from Mexico.

Looking into the drugs used by our present physicians, it is shown, as remarked earlier, that many drugs of today, which probably can be synthesized in their natural from or as extracts are derived from plants. Their use is made possible by the traditional native medicine. The problem is still, hw to select the good ones from the mass of at least 20,000 used medical plants in the world. The following drugs of botanic origin (direct or indirect) are still in use.

Painkilling drugs (analgesics)

An example from the plant world is opium, prepared from the poppy plant, Papaver somniferum. In the course of the time opium has become a narcotic drug, like its most important alkaloids morphin/heroine. Codeine, also an alkaloid of opium, is practically irreplaceable as cough medicine. Papaverine, also found in opium, is used to treat angaina pectoris.

Drugs to treat heart disorders

Exemples are a.o. digitalis, strophanitine and chinidine. Digitalis is found in the leaves of foxgloves (Digitalis species); it stimulates the contraction of the heart. A conforming action to be expected from srtophantine, which is found in Strophantus species,. Digitalis and strophantine are socalled heart glycosides, also to be found in sea onion (Urginea or Scilla maritime), used as rat poison, and in Convalaria majalis. Heart glycosides are useful drugs to treat heart muscle deficiencies. The opposite action is exactly caused by chinidine, an alkaloid from the bark of the cinchona tree (used against malaria). This substance may inhibit specifically the stimulated heart, e.g. in case of irregular (especially it too fast) heart beat.

Drugs stimulation the central nervous system (analeptics)

E.g. coffein, theophylline, and theobromin, found in a series of beverage plants; coffee (Coffea arabica), tea (Thea sinensis), cola (Cola vera),. Coffein is the strongest in action of the three drugs and acts stimulating on brain rind, e.g. against tiredness an as stimulant for mental power. However, side effects on the muscles, the blood stream and the urine excretion are also noted.

Over-Diagnosing Prostate Cancer?

Over-Diagnosing Prostate Cancer?

HANOVER, N.H. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Each year, more than 230,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in America. The disease will kill about 30,000 of them. Some researchers, however, are beginning to question whether we need to do as many prostate screenings as we do.

H. Gilbert Welch, M.D., an internist at VA Hospital/Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, N.H., says, "The harder we look for cancer, the more pseudo-disease we find." Pseudo-disease is cancer that won't harm you if left untreated, according to Dartmouth Dr. Gil Welch. "We assume they're all bad, and we tend to treat people."

The treatment leaves some men with unnecessary side effects -- like impotence and incontinence. Dr. Welch, who literally wrote the book on screening, questions just how useful it is. "What we should be doing is tell people the whole story and let different people come to different decisions," he tells Ivanhoe.

The increase in prostate cancers diagnosed from 1973 to 2000 occurred when PSA screenings hit the scene. While the number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer has dramatically increased, the number of deaths over the same time has not. Dr. Welch says, "When everyone sees the pattern of the dramatic rise in incidence with no concomitant change in mortality, one has to worry that there's been an over-diagnosis."

Of course, Dr. Welch does have opposition.

Gary Onik, M.D., a radiologist at Florida Hospital Celebration Health, says, "That's kind of tunnel thinking, you know. Let's not diagnose it because the treatments are bad." Dr. Onik does acknowledge over-diagnosis happens but worries what would happen if screenings stopped.

"There are some that are very aggressive and you find those early, I think you will definitely be saving lives," Dr. Onik says. The problem is knowing which cancers are slow-growing and which will kill. There is still no readily available test to do that.

Dr. Welch says he only questions screenings in men with no symptoms for prostate cancer. For men who have symptoms of the disease, he strongly supports screenings.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/