Can treat depression, wounds and Alzheimers though has the side-effect of lung cancer in some cases
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Morphine
Can be used as pain reliever or anaesthetic
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Where is the Rosy Periwinkle found?
Madagascar, although now common in many tropical and sub-tropical regions
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What conditions do the plant require?
A warm tropical climate without frost and where soils are well-drained but moisture retaining and slightly acidic
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What can it be used for?
Wasp stings, diabetes and even in the chemotherapy in childhood leukemia
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An advantage of rosy periwinkle?
Can only be grown in tropical environments, meaning ACs have to buy them from areas like Madagascar - could create money for smaller communities and support areas with lower GDPs
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A disadvantage of rosy periwinkle?
Pharmaceutical companies make huge amounts of profit, but barely any of this gets back to Madagascar - unfair profit sharing
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Advantages of sourcing medicines from nature
Many plants located near poorer areas without access to pharmaceutical companies
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Profit sharing
In return for indigenous people conserving rainforests, companies divert % of profits to help local communities. Samoa - prostialin to treat HIV - part of profits returned to Samoa
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Supply and demand
80% of the population in the developing world rely on traditional medicines meaning demand is huge
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Over-harvesting
The sourcing of medicinal plants is unsustainable - reducing plant populations and their genetic diversity, endangering their survival. Can result in extinction. Slow-growing plants are most at risk.
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What is the estimated number of medicinal plants that are endangered?
over 4000
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Deforestation
Only 1% screened for medical use, meaning many plant species could be disregarded despite being useful.
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What does the Centre for Biological Diversity predict?
that atleast one potential major drug is lost every two years due to deforestation
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