Michael Regilio

You're spending your entire life on the spot your parents conceived you. Okay. Gross. It does not sound like a very good deal. Yeah, it's actually really rough. And as a result, plants have to deal with everything life throws at them while totally stationary, like environmental assaults, temperature, drought, co-evolving bacteria and fungi, and animals that want to eat them.

And they do it all with one thing and only one thing to defend themselves. Chemistry.

And they do it all with one thing and only one thing to defend themselves. Chemistry.

And they do it all with one thing and only one thing to defend themselves. Chemistry.

And as a result of that, and the fact that they've had 500 million years to tinker with chemistry, plants have developed an absolutely jaw-droppingly massive array of chemicals. Chemicals that can be helpful to humans, They can be hurtful to humans. And some of these chemicals just make people trip their faces off.

And as a result of that, and the fact that they've had 500 million years to tinker with chemistry, plants have developed an absolutely jaw-droppingly massive array of chemicals. Chemicals that can be helpful to humans, They can be hurtful to humans. And some of these chemicals just make people trip their faces off.

And as a result of that, and the fact that they've had 500 million years to tinker with chemistry, plants have developed an absolutely jaw-droppingly massive array of chemicals. Chemicals that can be helpful to humans, They can be hurtful to humans. And some of these chemicals just make people trip their faces off.

And like plants experimented with chemicals, humans have experimented with plants for thousands of years. So just statistically speaking, if enough people tried enough plants enough times, it stands to reason they would have figured out a few that act as medicine.

And like plants experimented with chemicals, humans have experimented with plants for thousands of years. So just statistically speaking, if enough people tried enough plants enough times, it stands to reason they would have figured out a few that act as medicine.

And like plants experimented with chemicals, humans have experimented with plants for thousands of years. So just statistically speaking, if enough people tried enough plants enough times, it stands to reason they would have figured out a few that act as medicine.

Yes and no. Most of it is not proven and almost certainly not effective. But a tiny fraction of it is, yes, effective. As effective as pharmaceutical drugs then? No, probably not. But pharmaceutical drugs owe a lot to plants and will continue to as chemists and pharmaceutical companies still look at plants and plant chemistry.

Yes and no. Most of it is not proven and almost certainly not effective. But a tiny fraction of it is, yes, effective. As effective as pharmaceutical drugs then? No, probably not. But pharmaceutical drugs owe a lot to plants and will continue to as chemists and pharmaceutical companies still look at plants and plant chemistry.

Yes and no. Most of it is not proven and almost certainly not effective. But a tiny fraction of it is, yes, effective. As effective as pharmaceutical drugs then? No, probably not. But pharmaceutical drugs owe a lot to plants and will continue to as chemists and pharmaceutical companies still look at plants and plant chemistry.

Some Chinese herbal medicines have proven to be the basis for modern drugs. In fact, the Nobel Prize-winning treatment for malaria artemisinin is a giant leap forward in treating this deadly disease. And the treatment was first written about in ancient Chinese texts.

Some Chinese herbal medicines have proven to be the basis for modern drugs. In fact, the Nobel Prize-winning treatment for malaria artemisinin is a giant leap forward in treating this deadly disease. And the treatment was first written about in ancient Chinese texts.

Some Chinese herbal medicines have proven to be the basis for modern drugs. In fact, the Nobel Prize-winning treatment for malaria artemisinin is a giant leap forward in treating this deadly disease. And the treatment was first written about in ancient Chinese texts.

Yeah, you got that right. In fact, according to a recent WHO report, 97 countries have a malaria problem. About 3.4 billion people are at risk of getting malaria and 1.2 billion are at high risk. So... Not a joke. But thanks to artemisinin, the mortality rate has dropped 42%.

Yeah, you got that right. In fact, according to a recent WHO report, 97 countries have a malaria problem. About 3.4 billion people are at risk of getting malaria and 1.2 billion are at high risk. So... Not a joke. But thanks to artemisinin, the mortality rate has dropped 42%.

Yeah, you got that right. In fact, according to a recent WHO report, 97 countries have a malaria problem. About 3.4 billion people are at risk of getting malaria and 1.2 billion are at high risk. So... Not a joke. But thanks to artemisinin, the mortality rate has dropped 42%.

And Jordan, key component to the drug was first written about by Ge Hong in his book, A Handbook for Prescriptions for Emergencies in 340 AD.