Science Behind Plants

I often hear people saying that they can’t see how herbs could possibly have an effect on a person’s health. In fact, just this morning on the radio I heard someone say “that’s just not how science works”. This is an unfortunate belief that many share, but if you dig a little further you’ll see that herbs do have an effect on health, and the effects that plants have on a person’s body is in fact very scientific.

Plants have natural chemical compounds in their composition which may play a part in allowing them to survive by deterring those trying to eat them (animals, insects, etc.). It’s these compounds that have an effect on us when we make use of the plant in our different ways- whether that’s ingesting the plant, or using it topically.

A really nice example of this deterring mechanism is that of chilies. I am the biggest baby when it comes to spicy food. I just can’t handle it. My eyes water, my nose runs, and I just don’t like the burning feeling in my mouth- it hurts! This burning feeling is a result of the chili producing a compound called Capsaicin. Essentially, a lot of animals that eat this plant in the wild would have the same reaction as me and would not eat this plant again! Remember that plants want to survive, but also want to germinate and spread their seeds, and so not all animals are put off by Capsaicin. I will put a fascinating blog post that you can read further about this below! (2)

But how does this relate to healthcare? Well, two really well-known medications that we know today and can talk about are aspirin and morphine. Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anti-pyretic (meaning it helps with inflammation, pain, and fever). The active ingredient of Aspirin is acetylsalycilic acid which is derived from salicylic acid, which is a compound in Willow species! The opium poppy is a plant with opium compounds such as morphine- which is a very well known, powerful painkiller!

The discussion on the radio this morning was about Ginger and if ingesting a shot of ginger everyday could have health benefits. The simple answer is YES! Ginger will have it’s own compounds and properties that will have it’s own effects. But, to make the answer a little more complicated, like with any medication/supplement the dosage needs to be just right. In a study looking at the effectiveness of ginger in nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, we see that their results were positive with using 750mg daily, as compared to a study cited in their study that had less impressive results at 500mg daily. Dosage is important- how strong the substance is and how often you take it play a huge role in how it can benefit you!

I hope that you now understand the amazing science and chemistry behind the healing power of plants and the powerful effect that plant compounds can have on your health (when used right of course!)!

Resources and further reading

The use of Ginger in nausea & vomiting during pregnancy: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4228518/#__ffn_sectitle

Information on morphine: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Morphine#section=Experimental-Properties

An amazing read about plant alkaloids: https://www.intechopen.com/books/alkaloids-their-importance-in-nature-and-human-life/introductory-chapter-alkaloids-their-importance-in-nature-and-for-human-life

Really cool information about chilies and their protective alkaloid: http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2012/issue131b/

Disclaimer! People often use the terms ‘homeopathy’ and ‘herbal medicine’ interchangeably. Herbal preparations are preparations from the plant substance, while homeopathic medications have been further prepared using certain methods. Homeopaths in South Africa use both homeopathically prepared medications as well as herbal preparations in the form of tinctures in their practice. Naturopaths and phytotherapists train in the use of medicinal plants.