1/1/2013

PLANTS THAT HAVE

INFLUENCED THE WORLD

Sarah Gordon

Plants That Influenced the World

1. The Opium Poppy: Although the poppy is a simple flower, it has had both a good and a bad influence on the world: Anaesthetising: The extraction of Morphine, one of the opiate alkaloids found naturally in opium, was revolutionary in the medical world. Even though local anaesthesia is available to us by a completely different plant, the Coca, general anaesthesia became possible with the Opium poppy. It allowed patients to be knocked out completely for operations they were having, which gave doctors the opportunity to make great advances in the surgical field.

Wars: In the 19th century, British India was producing mass amounts of opium, to feed Chinas large demands for the product. However when the Chinese government realised how harmful it was if you were addicted, they banned it, effectively cutting off one of Britains main income sources, which led to two wars, fought between 1839-1842 and 1856-1860. The Pharmaceutical Industry:

Plants That Influenced the World

Obviously the opium from poppies has been of great use to pharmaceutical companies. They have been able make millions from painkillers like Morphine, which is extracted from opium. Morphine was discovered to be far more superior that Aspirin. The only downside was that Morphine was highly addictive. Addiction: The Opium poppy has introduced society to one of the most dangerous and copious issues in the modern world: drug addiction. Before the drug was known to be so powerful and addictive, it was sold as a painkiller for uncontrolled use.

Plants That Influenced the World

2. Quinine Malaria is an infectious disease caused by parasites, which is spread by the bite of infected mosquitos. People catch malaria when the parasite enters the blood. Many people are killed by this infection every year. People usually get malaria from the Anopheles or Culex mosquitos Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid found in the bark of the cinchona tree. It has anti-inflammatory and painkilling properties, but is probably most wellknown for its anti-malarial properties. Quinine can be made artificially, but it is more expensive than extracting it from the cinchona tree. There are 3 conditions necessary for malaria to thrive, a certain type of mosquito, stagnant water and infected humans. While the removal of just one of these conditions would cause the disease to go away, there are many situations where the three came together, such as in cities where the population was large and the city is densely populated. Quinine is one of the best treatments for malaria tropica. Quinine is also used when other malaria drugs fail or are unavailable Quinine relaxes muscles and was used by the Incans to stop people from shivering. Europeans first reported using quinine against malaria in Rome in 1631 The best type of quinine used to treat malaria was found by Charles Marie de la Condamine in 1737. Before that

Plants That Influenced the World

time, people were afraid to go to places where malaria was present. But after the discovery of quinine, they were not. This was the main benefit of quinine. It gave countries greater opportunities to colonise. Side effects: Quinine is very toxic in an overdose and can cause death. If it is injected into a nerve it can cause paralyses.