The
Amazon Rainforest
By Alec
The Amazon rainforest has many different plants that can be used
as herbal medicines. Some of the most important medicines come from
the Amazon. They have been used for hundreds and hundreds of years.
These plants can be deadly if taken in large doses, but in small doses
they can be very helpful. They can be used to cure headaches, skin
irritation, high blood pressures, and many other diseases. Here are
some of them.
White Trillium
The white trillium has three petals, three sepals,
and three leaves. If the leaves are chewed, it can help cure snake
bites. If the plant’s petals are chewed, they can help ease
childbirth, and the sepals if chewed are used to help cure fevers.
Cinchona Tree (Cinchona officinalis)
The bark of this tree is used to make Quinine, a medicine that
helps treat Malaria, a serious disease. A number of various other
chemicals can also be made from Cinchona, and these chemicals include
cinchonine, cinchonidine and quinidine. However, quinine has been
replaced by other drugs such as chloroquine and mefloquine, and
now quinine is rarely used to treat malaria.
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
The leaves of this plant contain digitalis, a substance used
to treat heart problems. When taken in large doses it can produce
palpitations and dizziness, but when taken in smaller doses it can
help the heart beat more slowly. This medicine had many effects,
and sometimes it cured in miraculous ways, but it mostly produced
violent reactions, occasionally killing because it was taken in
very large doses. The foxglove tea is used as a morning tea to aid
in birth control.
Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum)
The opium poppy is used to make Morphine and
Codeine, two drugs that are used as painkillers. The opium gum may
be crudely refined and smoked, or converted to morphine and heroin.
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