Chimps consume a particular plant during the rainy season to combat parasite infections. The plant contains sesquiterpene lactones that have anti-worm, anti-amiba, and antibiotic properties, demonstrating significant activity against tropical diseases and drug-resistant malaria.
In protected areas without any indigenous people, there's no guidance on which plants are essential for investigations, leading to the erosion of the rainforest and extinction of species like jaguars and macaws. This article considers ethnobotanist Karen Stryer’s experiences in the Eastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais in the 1980s.
Wade Davis discusses the historical and cultural significance of sacred plants like ayahuasca and coca and their potential benefits.
Fred Provenza and Stephen VanBouwet's work on regenerative agriculture have shown that when animals are eating a wide array of wild plants or planted grasses and flowers, they will seek out medicine in the food. This results in nutrient-dense food rich in phytochemicals, good fats, antioxidants, and minerals that improves biodiversity, conserves water, reduces climate change and regenerates the environment.
Learn how salvinorin A, the active principle of salvia divinorum, was discovered to be the most potent naturally occurring psychedelic and its impact on the kappa opioid receptor.
Dental micro-ware analysis has shown evidence of early human Australopithecus sediba's diet to include bark, leaves, grasses, fruits, and palm, dating back two million years ago. This supports the development of techniques to learn about the early human diet through methods such as phytolith analysis.