Stephanie Quinn

Psychology

mailto:squinn1@lhup.edu

Medicinal Plants and Animals

History

      Humans must have searched from early times for any substance that would relieve their sufferings and cure their loved ones.  An illness was thought to be caused by mystical agents underlying the natural world.  Cures for mental and physical diseases were sought among plants and animals.  Medical knowledge accumulated slowly as it was passed on by word of mouth from generation to generation (2). 

    Substantial record of the use of herbs in medicine comes first from the Code of Hammurabi, a series of tablets carved under the direction of the king of Babylon in about 1770 B.C.  Later, the Egyptians recorded their knowledge of illnesses and cures on temple walls and in the Ebers papyrus, which contained over 700 medicinal formulas (2).

 The golden age of Greece was a time of great advancement in medicinal and biological knowledge.  Hippocrates earned his reputation as the father of medicine by being the first chronicler to discuss illnesses and their treatments in a rational way (2).

    Dioscorides, however, made the most significant Greek contribution whose legacy was a 5-volume work entitled De Materia medica.  This encyclopedic work described the preparation of about 1000 simple drugs (2).

 Until the invention of the printing press in 1439, herbals were available to only a handful of people.  Once the printing press allowed the wide circulation of ideas and recipes for medicines, remedies could be explained, compared, and discarded if they were found to be ineffective (2).

Active Principles in Plants

    Alkaloids are a diverse group of compounds of which more than 3,000 have been identified in 4,000 species of plants.  Although they vary greatly in chemical structure, alkaloids (29). share several characteristics: they contain nitrogen; they are usually alkaline (basic); and they have a bitter taste.  They affect the physiology of animals in several ways, but their most pronounced actions are on the nervous systems, where they can produce physiological or psychological results or both.  The difference between a medicinal and a toxic effect is dosage.  Common alkaloids include caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and morphine.  Glycosides are widespread in the plant kingdom and are second in importance as medicines.  They are so named because a sugar molecule is attached to the active component.  The active portion of the molecule varies greatly, but the sugar is generally glucose (1).

Plants Formerly of Importance in Medical Treatment

     Among the worst diseases that have historically afflicted humans are leprosy and malaria.  Leprosy was one of the most dreaded diseases of ancient times because of the terrible disfiguration it caused and the slow and painful way in which it led to death.  The medicines first used with any success in treating these two diseases came from plants (2). 

    For centuries leprosy was considered an incurable disease and lepers were shunned or confined to colonies designated for them.  Leprosy is caused by a bacterium related to the microorganism that causes tuberculosis and is transmitted by contact between susceptible individuals.  Over 2000 years ago an oil called chaulmoogra (3) helped in curing leprosy.  The oil that was used came from the tree itself (3).  However, the Europeans did not pay attention to it until the middle of the 19th century.  Once chaulmoogra reached Europe, its effectiveness was evident (2).

    Before the cause of malaria was known, people believed that it was transmitted through the air.  Malaria is caused by a single-celled organism belonging to the genus plasmodium.  When bitten by a mosquito that has previously had a blood meal from a malaria victim, an individual become inoculated with the microorganism.  The disease is characterized by fever, chills, anemia, and spleen enlargement.  For centuries there was no way to control the effects of malaria.  Finally, in the middle of the 17th century, Jesuits in South America discovered a native remedy for the disease consisting of an infusion made by steeping pieces of the back of cinchona (4).  The Jesuits proclaimed that they had found a cure for malaria, but that religious order was so hated and feared in Europe that large segments of the population, believing promotion of the drug to be a conspiracy to kill Protestants.  Cinchona was not universally accepted as an efficacious treatment for malaria until 1681 (2).

Plants Important in Medicine Today

    There is an extensive number of plants that are used in medicine today.  Due to this fact I am only going to mention a few in this presentation.  However, I will provide links  where you can find others if you are interested.

Aloe Vera (5)

    The ALOE VERA plant (6), a member of the Lily Family, is a succulent that closely resembles a cactus. There are more than 200 species of Aloe Vera, but some are more nutritious and more effective medicinally than others and "Aloe Vera Barbadensis" is the species that is most beneficial.  Today many ancient tales of the healing powers of Aloe Vera are factual, rather than fanciful, as modern medicine unlocks the secrets contained within the leaves (6).

    The outside of the leaf is smooth and rubbery to touch and inside is the Aloe Vera gel that is so highly regarded. The gel appears to contain a "wound hormone" that accelerates the rates of healing of injured surfaces. Scientists have found that the Aloe Vera gel is a diverse mixture of antibiotic, astringent, coagulating agent, pain inhibitor, cell growth stimulator and scar inhibitor. Although scientists have not yet discovered all the secrets of why Aloe Vera works, they do realize that it is the "Specific Mixture of the Ingredients" in Aloe Vera that is responsible for giving the plant it's wide range of healing powers.  The properties of Aloe Vera Gel, applied externally or taken internally, have been described in numerous scientific journals and reveals that the Aloe Vera contains more than 70 essential ingredients including most vitamins, minerals, enzymes, protein, amino acids and a recent study also discovered vitamin B 12.  Taken internally, they report that stabilized Aloe Vera gel helped many ailments including: insomnia, infection, indigestion, heartburn, constipation, hemorrhoids, ulcers, arthritis, and there are many more. Used externally, many people attest to the effectiveness of Aloe Vera in helping to treat: burns, sunburn, scalds, psoriasis, eczema, acne, stings, scrapes, abrasions, scalp care, sore muscles, cold sores, bruises, sprains, arthritis, the list is endless (6).

Purple Foxglove (7)

    The purple foxglove is an attractive biennial in the snapdragon family with a large spike, purple, bell-shaped flowers.  Because of the attractive flowers, it is often used as a garden ornamental(1).  The medicinal use was discovered in 1775 by the English physician William Withering. He heard of an old woman in Shropshire, United kingdom,  who practiced folk medicine with herbs gathered in the countryside. A patient afflicted with excessive fluid retention due to congestive heart failure, whom Withering expected to die, was cured by this healer. From the woman's mostly useless bag of weeds, Withering identified foxglove as the key element in treating the swelling, or edema, associated with congestive heart failure. He also learned that foxglove is a deadly poison, as likely to stop a heart as to keep it going. For 10 years he conducted precise experiments to determine the proper dosage of the new drug. The paper he published in 1785 to inform other physicians of his findings is a classic of medical literature (7).

Snakeroot (8)

    Snakeroot (30) consists of long coiled roots that resemble a snake.  Healers believed that the root could be used for treating snakebites.  For more than 4,000 years, Hindu healers in India used the root of this rain forest shrub for the treatment of snakebites, insect stings, and even mental illness.  Tea brewed from the leaves was known to have a soothing effect and was often used to induce a meditative state.  Snakeroot only came to the attention of Western medicine 50 years ago.  In 1952, the alkaloid reserpine was the first active principle isolated from the roots.  The sedative effects of reserpine made it valuable as one of the first tranquilizers prescribed for schizophrenia.  A side effect observed during the administration of reserpine to mentally ill patients was a reduction in their blood pressure.  Today, this side effect is the principle application of reserpine, a treatment for hypertension.  Originally native to forests in India, it is now cultivated in India as well as Thailand, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.  Snakeroot can be synthesized in the laboratory, it is much cheaper to extract them from natural sources (1).

White Willow (9)

    The bark of willow trees has long been known among many cultures as an effective treatment for reducing fever and relieving pain.  The ancient Greeks used an infusion of bark from white willow to treat gout, pain and fever.  This later became a well-known folk remedy throughout Europe.  The evolution of the drug from willow bark tea into synthetic aspirin began in England in the 19th century.  Reverend Edmund Stone experimented with willow bark tea for 6 years and found it beneficial for the treatment of fever and chills.  In the early 19th century, French and German chemists sought to isolate the active compound from the willow bark. In 1828, salicin was first isolated, and, over the next decade, the extraction method was refined.  Salicin is a glycoside of salicyclic acid.  The next step was the laboratory synthesis of salicyclic acid by several German scientists.  Since it was then widely available , an inexpensive treatment existed for many ailments. It was used for rheumatic fever, gout, and rheumatoid arthritis.  Today, it is still used, but primarily applied topically to the skin for the removal of warts, corns, and various skin ailments (1).

      In 1898, while searching for a similar compound that caused less gastric distress to help his father who was afflicted with arthritis, Felix Hoffman, a chemist at Bayer Company, came across acetylsalicycic acid in the chemical literature.  The new compound was more palatable and was soon given the name aspirin.  Aspirin is valued for its three classic properties as an anti-inflammatory, antipyretic (fever reducing), and analgesic (pain relieving), although the mode of action in the body is not completely understood.  It has also found new uses in the prevention of heart attacks, strokes, and colon, ovarian, and esophageal caner.  Aspirin may also delay the development of cataracts in the elderly and enhance the immune system in protecting the body against bacteria and viruses (1).

Yew Tree (10)

    The yew tree (11)  is is erect, usually much divided, with thin red-brown bark. The leaves and seeds of yew are very poisonous to stock.  Yew is a resilient tree which will tolerate a lot of shade and withstand smoke and salty winds.  Yews are a symbol of immortality. Ancient peoples were in the habit of planting yew trees as acts of sanctification near to where they expected to be buried. Over the centuries, it has been widely planted in churchyards as an ornamental tree. The tree has a reputation for living longer than almost any other species in the UK.  There is an old yew at Fortingall in Glen Lyon, Scotland which might be 2000 years old.    During the 1960's, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) began a search for plants with an effect on chemotherapy for cancer.  The process was very time consuming and many plant extracts underwent random screening. Finally, the hard work paid off and taxol was discovered. This wonder drug was produced from the bark of the Pacific yew tree, Taxus brevifolia (10), from which the name taxol was derived.  Although the drug was discovered forty years ago, it was not tested experimentally until 1977.  It took another sixteen years to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and Kaposi's sarcoma.

Bloodroot (12)

    Bloodroot is an early spring wildflower of eastern North America. Its unmistakable orange-red sap was formerly used by Native Americans as a skin stain for war dances and ceremonial rituals, as well as a fabric dye. Bloodroot belongs to the poppy family and is allied to the opium poppy from which is obtained important drugs like opium, heroin, morphine, and codeine.  The leaves and flowering stem shoot up from the rhizome in early March or April. In the beginning, the leaves are wrapped around the flower bud, but later on the daisy like flower begins to expand above them as they gradually unfurl. The 8 to 16-inch flowering stems bear a single flower almost 2 inches in diameter, which can have anywhere from as little as six or as many as 12 white petals.  Bloodroot (13) was used by  American Indians for rheumatism, asthma, bronchitis, lung ailments, laryngitis and fevers.  The red-orange juice from the root was applied to warts, used as a dye and a decorative skin stain. 

Here is a website that will provide quite an extensive list of some medicinal plants as well as if they are edible or not:

Wilderness Survival (14)

Animals Used for Medicinal Purposes

Bears (15)

    Bears are the only mammals to produce significant amounts of the bile acid ursodeoxycholic acid, which has been used in Traditional Oriental Medicine for approximately 3,000 years.  Of the eight species of bears in the world, all except the giant panda have seen their numbers reduced as a result of the bear bile trade.  The Asiatic Black Bear is most impacted through the demand for bile acid.  This species of bear is more commonly knows as the Moon Bear as a result of the beautiful yellow crescent on their chest.  In countries across Asia, bears, surgically implanted with catheters into their gall bladders, are confined in restraining cages so that bile can be extracted and used to cure aliments spanning headaches to hemorrhoids.  The surgery to insert the implants is crude and unsanitary and many of the bears die as a result. 

    A human illness that bears might help with is osteoporosis. Sufferers of osteoporosis slough off tissue faster than its made resulting in a build up of calcium in the bloodstream.  If excess calcium in the bloodstream is not excreted it could be lethal.  Mammals, including humans, that maintain non-weight bearing positions for a longtime suffer from osteoporosis (a thinning and weakening of bone) except for bears.  Black Bears (16) which lie in dens too small for weight-bearing positions should suffer from osteoporosis just like human astronauts and the elderly or bedridden because bones support almost no weight.  If hibernating bears do lose bone, they would have to prevent the calcium in their blood rising too high.  Researchers have found that the Black Bear's blood levels of calcium and phosphorous (both used to make bone) remain constant throughout summer and winter because the bear's bone metabolism operates like that of an active animal.  Researchers are now trying to isolate a regulatory substance circulating in the blood which is responsible for maintaining bone mass. This may eventually enable physicians to prevent osteoporosis in humans.  Researchers believe that there is a hormone produced by part of a bear's brain which controls temperature as well as appetite.  If this is true and the hormone can be isolated then potentially it could be administered to patients with kidney problems, obesity or anorexia nervosa.

Rhinoceros (17)

      The two main uses of rhino horn have been ornamental and medicinal.  Rhino horn has a beautiful translucent color when carved, and from as far back as A.D. 618 the Chinese have made ornamental bowl cups and other carvings. One of the rhino horn’s more useful purposes was for ornamental drinking cups to detect poisons. It is thought that this may have been because many early poisons were strong alkaloids that may have reacted strongly with the keratin and gelatin in the rhino horn, thereby indicating the presence of poison.  Rhino horn is a key ingredient in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Even today, traditional Chinese practitioners use rhino horn to treat life-threatening fevers. While current clinical evidence is inconclusive, the Chinese belief that rhino horn is a fever reducer may have some pharmaceutical basis. In many Asian markets rhino horn (18) sells for $16,535 to $22,046 per kilogram ($7,500-$10,000 per pound), well above the price of gold.  Interestingly, many consumers of rhino horn have no concept of where it comes from or that rhinos are endangered. They are simply taking the medicine prescribed to them by their respected medical practitioners.

Bee's (19)

     The medicinal use of honey bee products, has been practiced since ancient times. In the modern world honey bee venom has found wide uses in treating arthritis and other inflammatory and degenerative diseases.  Bee Venom therapy can be useful in a wide variety of medical situations. Charles Mraz, a beekeeper in Middlebury, Vermont who has popularized bee venom therapy for the past 60 years, says that it is reasonable to try bee venom therapy in any clinical situation where nothing else works. However, there are four situations which are most frequent:  Arthritis and other systemic inflammations. Bee venom therapy can be useful in both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, helping with both pain and swelling. In the case of rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid nodules can lessen in size.    Acute and chronic injuries. Bursitis, tendonitis and other areas of injury respond well to bee venom therapy. In this case, the effect is probably a local anti- inflammatory effect, involving the humoral and cellular immune responses to a foreign protein. Chronic back and neck pain may respond, as can other aches and pains.  Scar tissue. Keloids and other scar tissue are broken down and softened by the substances in the venom, and can flatten out and fade in color. Internalscar tissue, such as adhesions from previous surgery, may respond to treatment over the area. Multiple Sclerosis. This use of bee venom is poorly understood, and needs to be studied further. Recently, the MS Association of America awarded a grant to an immunologist, Dr. John Santilli, to prepare the venom in extract form to study its effect on MS patients. Hundreds of patients with MS currently seek out bee venom therapists and beekeepers. The treatment is prolonged and not for the squeamish, but the common responses are increased stability, less fatigue, and less spasm.

How is Bee Venom Performed? (19)

    Bee Venom Therapy can be performed by a beekeeper, or by a patient or partner who is taught to use the bees.  A bee is removed from a jar or hive with tweezers, held over an area of the body, which it then stings. The number, sites, and frequency of the stings depend on the patient and the problem. A simple tendonitis might just take a few stings, perhaps 2-3 at a session for 2-5 sessions. A more chronic problem like arthritis can take 2-3 times per week, several stings at a time, for 1-3 months. Multiple sclerosis takes months to respond, though sometimes patients feel more energetic after a few times. MS patients who use bee venom insist that one must keep it up 2-3 times per week for 6 months in order to give it a full trial.   There are physicians around who use bee venom therapy in their practices. This is done by obtaining the venom (in sterilized vials) and injecting it under the skin, sometimes mixed with a local anesthetic. Some say that collecting the venom in vials loses some of its potency, but in many situations this is more realistic than finding a beekeeper or handling bees.

Deer Velvet (20)

    Deer velvet antler (21) not only gives you more energy, but also is a potent immune system stimulant, performance enhancer. It is one of nature’s most effective rejuvenating sexual boosters. Although it’s been in use for over 2000 years in Asia, it’s only just now beginning to be sort after in the West. Deer antler velvet in traditional Chinese medicine is regarded as highly as other health treatments such as ginseng and ginkgo.  It raises the hormones necessary for healthy sexual functioning and restores the body's energy levels depleted by stress or exhaustion. It has the scientifically proven to increase physical stamina. The effects of deer velvet antler on people with sexual disorders has been widely documented, especially by Russian clinical researchers where it is widely used treat sexual dysfunction. It is regarded as an effective remedy for impotence, increasing libido and general sexual function.  It reduces the factors that reduce sexual function such as tension, anxiety and stress. It can lower cholesterol and normalize blood pressure, which are factors that can lead to erectile dysfunction. Deer velvet antler enhances the blood and improves muscle tone. Deer velvet antler also builds endurance.  It increases the libido and the general sexual function and is found to normalize menstruation and the symptoms of menopause.

Snake Venom

    Snake Venom has been used in medical treatments for thousands of years.  In the 12th Century, doctors used snake venom to treat leprosy.  They thought that if snakes' wounds improved after shedding they could transfer the property to humans.  By 1880 people administered rattlesnake venom by mouth, lotion, or wet compresses to treat often unsuccessfully 50 diseases.  The most widely known medicinal use for venom is the production of antivenin that hospitals give patients to reverse the effects of a venomous bite (22).  Venom is milked from the fangs of snakes and in the U.S., the venom is sent to Wyeth Ayerst Laboratories. According to Audrey Ashby, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Laboratories, scientists inoculate horses with the venom and then collect the horse serum which contains antibodies that neutralize the venom.  Antivenin is effective if injected into the infected blood stream in time, usually within an hour. 

Seahorse

    To some people, it's a charming sea creature. But in many parts of Asia, the seahorse is prized for its medicinal properties. Used to cure ailments ranging from asthma to impotence, more than 20 million seahorses are harvested each year to supply the traditional Chinese medicine market. More than 45 countries now trade in dried and live seahorses and with demand increasing at a rate of 10% per year (31).

Leeches (23)

    Since the Golden Age of Greece, leeches have been famed for their bloodsucking ability. In fact, during the middle ages of Europe through the early to mid-nineteen hundreds, they were used for medicinal purposes. Today, though it is rare, they are still used to reduce blood volume or control bleeding in some patients. The leeches (24) used in hospitals look exactly like any other; however, they are not just run-of-the-mill night crawlers. Breeders raise them on special farms, using a process that is a carefully kept secret. The people at Leeches USA, primary supplier of leeches, located on Long Island, will only say that breeding leeches is very involved. They are not fed before they're shipped.  When they arrive, they are empty and very hungry. They can feed sometimes for as long as an hour. The cost of one leech is about $7.

Sharks (25)

    There is a growing interest in the medicinal uses of shark products.  Shark liver oil has recently attracted interest for its pharmaceutical properties.  Squalene, a compound found in the liver oil of deep-sea sharks, is used in medicines.  Another property of shark liver oil, diacyl glyceral ether, is used in the treatment of wounds and burns and a substance derived from shark cartilage is used as artificial skin for burn victims.  Shark corneas have been used for human corneal transplants.  There is an international industry producing powdered shark cartilage to meet the demands of users of alternative medicine for an anti-inflammatory agent for the treatment of arthritis and healing wounds after surgery.

There are countless numbers of animals that are used for medicinal purposes.  I have only described a few, ones that I never considered were used by others for medical uses.

Wildlife Fact file (26)

* The World Health Organization estimates that up to 80 per cent of the world's population relies on plant and animal-based medicines for their primary health care needs.

* Medicines made from wild species are used as remedies for a variety of health problems, from the common cold to cancer.

* Faced with the combined pressures of increased exploitation and reduced habitat and numbers, a growing number of medicinal species are becoming threatened or in danger of extinction. These include all species of rhinoceros, Tigers, and American Ginseng.

* Rising demand for wildlife medicines has led to increased and often unsustainable rates of over-exploitation.

What Is Your Stand On The Issue?   

        Pros & Cons of Medicinal Marijuana (27)   

  Marijuana (28)

    Marijuana is the drug obtained from the flowering tops, stems and leaves of the hemp plant. Marijuana has been used as an agent for achieving euphoric pleasure since the time of the Egyptian pharaohs. Marijuana was cultivated extensively during World War II when Asian sources for hemp were cut off. Marijuana was probably introduced into the U.S. in the early part of this century by Mexican migrant workers, Latin American mariners, and emigrants from Jamaica and Haiti. In the 1930s the American government conducted a vigorous campaign against marijuana, decrying the dangers against what then became known as "reefer madness." However, in recent times, a growing number of doctors and scientists believe that the drug's medical merits greatly outweigh its hallucinogenic effects. Unfortunately that view still isn't shared by law enforcement officers, who enjoy arresting and confiscating the personal property of those who grow, sell, or use marijuana. Although often abused, marijuana is one of the world's oldest economic plants. Besides providing the material, hemp, for a lucrative cordage and cloth industry, marijuana has been a valuable medicinal drug. The ancient pharmacopeias of China, going back more than 2,000 years, listed marijuana, and the plant found favor around the world for its ability to ease pain, induce sleep, and soothe a variety of nervous disorders. Usually the leaves or seeds were taken, but in medieval Europe physicians prescribed the root to alleviate the agonies of gout and other painful diseases. Mixed with oil and butter, the root also made a salve for burns caused by that new import from the Orient, gunpowder. Today marijuana is under investigation as a treatment for asthma and certain types of glaucoma and as a means of controlling epileptic seizures and the nausea caused by radiation therapy and cancer chemotherapy. 

I have only provided a small sample of information.  However, in class we will go into more detail and see what others think of the issue.

Works Cited

1. Levetin, Estelle, and K. McMahon. Plants and Society (3^rd edition). McGraw-Hill Book Company, 2003.

2. Ogorzaly, M., and B. Simpson. 2001. Economic Botany (3^rd edition) Plants in our world. McGraw-Hill   Book Company, New York.

3. No author. (n.d.). Herbs to herbs. Chaulmoogra.      <http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_chaulmoogra.htm>     (2003, October 4).

4. No author. (n.d.). Herbs to herbs. Cinchona. <http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_cinchona.htm>     (2003,     October 4).

5. No author. (n.d.). Herbs to herbs. Aloe Vera. <http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_aloe_vera.htm> (2003, October 4).

6. Aussiepol Trading. (n.d.). Benefits Of Aloe Vera. <http://homepages.tig.com/au/~aussipol/aloevera.html> (2003, October 9).

7. No author. (n.d.). Herbs to herbs. Purple Foxglove. <http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_foxglove.htm> (2003, October 4).

8. No author. (n.d.). Herbs to herbs. Snakeroot. <http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_senega_root.htm> (2003, October 4).

9. No author. (n.d.). Herbs to herbs. White Willow. <http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_white_willow.htm> (2003, October 4).

10. University of Edinburgh. (2001). Yew Tree. <www.portfolio.mvm.ed.ac.uk/studentwebs/session2/group13/taxol.html> (2003, October 4).

11. 3 pints gone. (n.d.). The Yew Tree. <www.3pintsgone.com/Enhanced/YewTree.htm> (2003, October 4).

12. No author. (n.d.). Herbs to herbs. Bloodroot. <http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_bloodroot.htm> (2003, October 4).

13. No author. (n.d.). Bloodroot. <http://ncnatural.com/wildflwr/blodroot.html> (2003, October 4).

14. Jalic LLC. (2001-2002). Wilderness survival: Edible and medicinal plants. Edible and Medicinal Plants. <http://www.wilderness-survival.net/Appb.php> (2003, September 7).

15. Animals Asia. (n.d.). Animals Asia Foundation. China Bear Resuce. <www.animalsasia.org/belnformed/cbRescue/cbp006.html> (2003, September 25).

16. American Zoo and Aquarium Advisory Group. (1997). A collection of facts on bears: Majestic mammals that share our planet. <www.bearden.org/sounds5.html>. (2003, October 4).

17. Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. (2001). Uses of Rhino Horn. <www.lewa.org/rhino-horn-uses.htm> (2003, October 4).

18. No author. (2001). Rhinoceros. <www.rhinoceros-rhinoceros.com/rhinoceros-endangered.htm> (2003, October 4).

19. Rothfield, G., M.D. (2001) Bee Venom Therapy. <http://www2.shore.net/~spectrum/apitherapy.html> (2003, October 4).

20. No author. (1997). Deer Velvet History. <www.reverseaging.net/deer_velvet/history.htm> (2003, October 4).

21. Ryan, J. (2001). Deer Velvet Antler. <www.aboutaphrodisiacs.org/velvet.htm> (2003, October 4).

22. Davidson College. (2001). History of Snake Venom Use for Medicinal Purposes. <www.bio.davidson.edu/bilogy/kabernd/seminar/studfold/MUVT/history.html> (2003, October 4).

23. Kazee, M., & Townsend,L. (1995). Universityof Kentucky Entomology. Leeches. <www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/misc/ef013.htm> 

24. UMDNJ. (1998). Pulse. Mix the eye of newt.<www.umdnj.edu/umcweb/hstate/fall98/leech.html> 

25. No author. (n.d.). Sharks. <www.geocities.com/buhsmsm/SHARKS.html> 

26. Traffic. (1998). Factfile: The medicinal trade in wildlife. <www.traffic.org/dispatches/archives/april98/medicinal_trade.html> 

27. Messerli, J. (2003). Should marijuana be leagalized under any circumstances. <http://www.balancedpolitics.org/marijuana_legalization.htm> (2003, October 4).

28. No author. (n.d.). Herbs to herbs. Marijuana. <http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_marijuana.htm> (2003, October 4).

29. Fredeli, G. (n.d.). Alkaloids <http://www.friedli.com/herbs/phytochem/alkaloids/alkaloid1.html> (2003, November 13).

30. Doer, G. (2001). Senega Snakeroot <http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/medicinal/bkq00s06.html> (2003, November 13).

31.  The International Development Research Centre. (2003).  Project Seahorse: Conserving the ocean's medicinal resources <http://network.idrc.ca/ev.php?ID=5089_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC> November 4, 2003.