Despite the incredible advances in technology mankind has achieved over the last two centuries, ranging from the industrial revolution to the development of modern antibiotics, we have yet to reach our full potential. The machines we build still suffer from mechanical failures and our medicines are becoming less and less effective. In fairness, we have only had a short period of time to optimize our innovations. Nature has had billions of years to perfect some of the most amazing compounds in existence.
Nature has offered us a plethora of powerful resources to treat our diseases and relieve our suffering for thousands of years. Despite the impressive progress we have made in global healthcare with the advent of pharmaceuticals, where new medicines are synthesized based on knowledge of specific molecular targets, most prescribed medicines are still derived from natural compounds. While the production of a new synthetic medicine may take several decades, its important to remember that organisms have had 4 billion years to evolve the biologically active compounds necessary for protection. Due to the remarkable uniformity of life, genetic diversity on the planet offers us a virtually endless supply of potential medicines for all kinds of diseases and conditions.
The Most Effective Antimicrobial Plant Chemicals
Source: Oxford University (2016)
Genetically speaking, all life on the planet is surprisingly similar in structure. Modern biotechnology is helping us further understand nature’s complex codes in order to develop life saving technologies and products. Until recently, the natural world was the only source of medicine. There are an estimated 400,000 species of plants in the world and mankind uses approximately 15% of these to cover our basic needs such as food, medicine and shelter. More than 1,000 species of plants have been used to treat a range of ailments for thousands of years, and many continue to be used to this day. For example, Living Foundries is developing programming microbes from a variety of genetic sources to produce customizable medications.
There is profound potential for creating solutions to many of mankind’s most significant challenges by using the compounds, designs and ideas found in nature. Neem is one such source of innovation. An ancient medicinal tree, celebrated for its remarkable healing properties as far back as 5,000 BCE, neem offers a wide range of medicinal benefits due to its antimalarial, antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral and anticarcinogenic properties. With over 200 compounds proven to be effective against inflammation, infection, fever, skin disease and dental illness, neem is a solution to a variety of ailments. Over the past twenty years, several thousand papers have been published exploring the plant’s effectiveness as a natural medicine from major institutions such as the Mayo Clinic, University of Oxford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
This research has revealed that neem delays the coagulation of blood, which calms erratic heart beats, therefore reducing risks of heart disease and high blood pressure. For non-ketonic and insulin-sensitive diabetic patients, neem leaf extracts reduce their insulin requirements by 30-50%. Neem leaves have even shown clear antiretroviral activity in humans suffering from AIDS and neem extracts have been shown to sensitize cancer cells to immunotherapy and radiotherapy, enhancing the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents.
Neem truly is the Tree of the 21st Century