People for millennia have used what grows around them as medicine. LorenzoT81/iStock via Getty Images Plus June 9, 2023 ‘From Magic Mushrooms to Big Pharma’ – a college course explores nature’s medicine cabinet and different ways of healing Heather McIlvaine-Newsad, Western Illinois University An anthropology course explores how peoples and cultures around the world use nature-based medicines to heal.
Castor oil plant is popular in rural South Africa for its medicinal qualities. Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images July 15, 2021 South Africa is rich in plants used for skincare: rural women helped us document some Abiodun Olusola Omotayo, North-West University; Adeyemi Oladapo Aremu, North-West University; Tshepiso Ndhlovu, University of Mpumalanga, and Wilfred Otang-Mbeng, University of Mpumalanga Traditional herbal medicines and cosmetics remain popular in South Africa especially in rural areas where they are part of people’s culture.
A Brazilian soldier puts out fires. AP Photo/Leo Correa November 14, 2019 Dwindling tropical rainforests mean lost medicines yet to be discovered in their plants Walter Suza, Iowa State University Destruction of rainforests through wildfires or deforestation may harm human health. As these forests disappear, we may be losing precious medicinal plants that hold treatments for various diseases.