"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Fortune of the Replubic"
Questions for Discussion....
What are some of the popular herbal supplements in Canada.?
What are they used for?
Are any of them considered dangerous?
Why are herbal supplements classified as food rather than drugs?
What federal entity oversees dietary supplements?
How do regulations for these supplements differ from regulations pertaining to drug development?
How has the herbal supplement lobby affected the regulation of these products?
Would you use an herbal supplement? Why or why not?
What would you use it for?
Alternative Remedies & Therapies for Common Ailments..... EXTENSIVE LIST!!
Plants have been a source of medicine in just about every culture in the world. Various medicinal teas, pastes, and ointments have been created by boiling and grinding plants. Comfrey leaves, coriander, sage, sarsaparilla root, and hot peppers have all been used to relieve pain. The stems and leaves of banana and aloe plants have been used to treat burns and blisters. Many of these ancient remedies developed into the modern medicines that we use today. For example, aspirin is a medicine that is commonly used today to reduce pain, inflammation, and fever. Early forms of aspirin were actually derived from myrtle leaves, willow bark, and birch bark, which contain a pain-relieving substance called salicin. One of the earliest salicin-based medicines was a myrtle leaf treatment made by ancient Egyptians to soothe back pain in 1500 BC. What are the origins of other modern medicines? How do humans typically discover that a plant can be used as medicine? Are there new plant-based medicines waiting to be discovered? What are some other ways in which humans depend on plants?
adapted from Thinkquest competition page
"Plants live by their chemical wits" Richard Schultes
Unit
PowerPoints/Assignments
**some of these are large files and take some time to download!**
Herbal Medicines and Alternative Healing Practices - outline and opening discussion
The Bean Competition - outline & student suggestions
| Basic Plant Structure | Uses of Roots, Stems & Leaves | Comparing Monocots & Dicots |
| Flower Anatomy Lab | Flower Colouring Sheet | Fruit & Seed Lab |
| Identifying Flower Parts Sheet | Identifying Flower Parts Answers | Independent Investigations Guidelines and Lab Frame |
| Label the Flower Sheet | Label the Flower Answers | Spice Up Your Life lab activity - antimicrobial properties of spices |
| Why Cooks Spice Up Their Foods - article | Preparation of plant extracts - water and ETOH | Monocot & Dicot Seed structure lab |
| Comparing Moncots & Dicots | Medicinal Plants of Manitoba - Assignment |
Scott's botanical links... more than you'll ever need!!
| Flora of Manitoba - an extensive collection of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens | |
| Naturalist Service Branch - has clickable links that lists plants found in and around Wpg. | Natural Areas in Parks Map with clickable links that list plants found in and around Wpg |
| Manitoba Habitat Stewardship Project has an extensive site that contains information on a wide variety of habitats in and around Winnipeg. | Plants of Winnipeg - with clickable links that list plants found in and around Wpg |
 | plant species checklist for Manitoba
Medicinal plants of Manitoba - that are grown in Manitoba or have been grown in the past |
| Anise Hyssop | Monarda |
| Flower Dissection Lab | Medicine, Technology and Society students will be able to explain the major divisions of tradional Chinese medicine and prepare an herbal extract. | ||
| Flower Power - dissection | Herbal Medicine students investigate the effectiveness of herbal remedies by preparing extracts from plants, testing the antibiotic effects of the herbs and antifungal effects of common moulds , Each student group is in charge of their experimental design. | ||
| Design your own lab guidelines & lab frame | Evaluation of Natural Compounds for Antimicrobial Activity Presents an experiment that provides students with an opportunity to investigate folk medicine and herbal cures and their accompanying claims. Involves isolating some active compounds from plant materials and demonstrating their antibacterial activity. | ||
| Microbes In Action In this lab students will evaluate various spice aromas for their ability to kill bacteria. | Spice Up Your Life In this activity, students will collect spices and place them on a plate containing bacteria commonly found in foods. If the spices contain antibiotic-producing qualities, the growth of the bacteria on the plate will be visibly inhibited. | ||
| American Daffodil Society - loads of links on the flower including a lab activity | Ethnobotanicals thematic unit which will explore the medicinal values of local plants - generic design | ||
| Teaching People Plant Collecting Collecting, preserving and naming plants is a great "hands on" way to introduce students to field biology. By applying the five activities presented here, students will become real scientists. They will use all the steps field-biologists use when making a scientific plant collection. | |
| Making a Leaf Collection This site contains detailed student instructions on the preparation of a leaf collection including how to make a leaf press. | Making a Wildflower collection detailed student instructions on the preparation of a collection. |
A Plant Collecting Kit
| Ethnobotanical Data Base: a searchable data base by plant name. | More important herbs | ||
|
The
Herb Guide This site provides the names of many herbs and their uses...
some pictures as well. (FYI It is a commercial site that links to products that are for sale.) |
Nature's Pharmacy - Killing the Cure? a list of projects based on products made from rainforest plants | ||
| The History of Herbalism This site offers a timeline for the development of herbalism as well as a listing of some of the plants used by early peoples. | Herbal Remedies list the plant part used and the active agents (chemicals) | ||
| Tropical Plant Data Base......really wonderful site!!! This site lists the plants of the Amazon rainforest by use, scientific name, common name, etc. It also indicates which part of the plant is used in traditional medicines. | |||
| The Ethnbotany Resource Directory a collection of more than 85 ethnobotanical links which are divided into 11 subjects. The purpose of this site is to unify global information regarding ethnobotanical research and documentation on the Internet through the World Wide Web. | |||
| Herbal Remedies (more)includes the plant part used and a preparation recipe along with cautions for use! | |||
| Kojee's Educator's Ethnobotanical website | Chinese herb pictures | Herbal remedies chart - lists plants & uses/ailment | |
Traditional Chinese medicine shop in Hong Kong
Traditional/Cultural Knowledge
| Anishinaabeg plant knowledge Plants and herbs for Native American traditional teas, food, medicines; ethnobotany databases | Medicinal Plants (lecture) Updating information and techniques used in the study of pharmacological activities of medicinal plants - Preservation of traditional knowledge |
| Bio-Informatics on Medicinal Plants & Traditional Knowledge India - list of links on many topics of interest including - Details of medicinal plants that can be grown in Home Herbal Garden | Native American Traditional Herbal Remedies This site gives an overview of herbal remedies used throughout North America. Lists include which part of the plant was used in the preparation of the remedy. |
| Traditional Chinese Medicine |
| Ayurveda Ayurveda is a holistic healing science, based on the concept of balance representing health. The word itself is derived from two Sanskrit words: Ayu (meaning life) and veda (meaning knowledge) | Chiropractic doctors treat patients whose health problems are associated with the body’s muscular, nervous, and skeletal systems, especially the spine. | |||
| Homeopathy Homeopathy is a system of medicine based on the principle that a disease with a given set of symptoms can be cured by a medicine (remedy) which is known to produce a similar set of symptoms. This principle where "like cures like" is called “The Law of Similars” and is the foundation of Homeopathic Medicine | ||||
| Hahnemann's Chronic Diseases: Written in the mid-1800s, Hahnemann's book, originally written in German began the whole practice of homeopathy. An incomple on-line version of the book is setup. | ||||
| What is Homeopathy? A brief introduction to the concept of Homeopathy. | ||||
| Naturopathic medicine is a distinct branch of medical science and art, it emphasizes holistic approach to health and healing | ||||
| Traditional Chinese Medicine including acupuncture, massage, herbs and nutrition | Unani principles are those of the Hippocratic school of ancient Greece. They are based on four humours: blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile. | |||
| Australian Aboriginal Bush Medicine has been used for thousands of years by Australian Aboriginal people to heal themselves and maintain their health. | ||||
| Gemstone Therapy Many gemstone therapy practitioners use the Chakra method of therapy. They believe that by aligning specific stones with the seven Chakra centers of the body and bringing the centers into balance, health is promoted | ||||
| Healing Properties for Gemstones and Crystals a resource for information on the properties of a vast array of therapeutic gemstones, crystals, and even ayurvedic gemstones. | ||||
| Thinkquest library on Medicinal plants - 10 different websites that include: medicinal herbs, medicines in nature, ancient medicine, Chinese herbal medicine | Home Remedies - has a flavour of the "wild west" - pioneer medicine/remedies | |||
Alternative Horse Therapies
| Flower Essences & Reiki | ||
Lesson Plans/Activities
Flora of North America student activities for a variety of ages.... could be modified for use in high school.
Species & Specimens In this lesson, appropriate for middle through high school, students practice skills essential to all scientific investigation: carefully observing and collecting data. Students become field biologists in a series of hands-on activities to collect and identify specimens, and survey and calculate the diversity of plant species in their local environment. PDF version
North American Plant Distributions High school students practice skills interpreting graphs and drawing conclusions while learning about North American plant diversity and distribution. First, they investigate current patterns of plant diversity and distribution across North America, exploring broad latitudinal gradients of species richness and climate influences on vegetation type. Second, they build on this knowledge to predict changes based on current projections on global warming. PDF version
Plants & People Plants are a primary source of medicines, fiber, food, fuel, shelter, and other items in everyday use by humans. Roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds provide food for humans. Wood is a source for lumber, paper, and fuel. Fibers are a source of paper, cloth, and rope. Traditional medicine relies on many plants, and many current medicines have been developed from plants. Knowledge of wild plants was important to the development of more than half of the top 150 prescribed drugs in the United States. This lesson is designed to deepen students? knowledge of plants in their local environments. PDF version
Ethnobotany Defines the science, explains plant classification, offers articles on medicinal and food plants of Central and South America, and proposes classroom activities for high-school biology students
Developing New Medicines: Herbal Supplements and Safety
Plants have been used effectively as remedies for illness and injury for thousands of years. Today’s herbal medicines must be safe, since they are made from natural products, right?
Not necessarily. As part of this discussion on new medicines and clinical trials, the issue of using botanical supplements is raised. One concern is that some herbal remedies can interfere with the action of synthetic drugs. Another problem is that herbal products have been classified as food rather than drugs and are therefore not subject to the same scrutiny from the US Food and Drug Administration as are synthetic medicines. Yet some herbals can be downright dangerous.
A varied collection of materials from information to lesson plans and student activities!
Herbs:
Healthy Alternatives or Bad Medicine?
In this lesson, students compare herbal and pharmaceutical remedies for common
ailments.
Activities include visiting a health food store and pharmacy, researching how
alternative practitioners are trained, and studying pharmaceuticals derived
directly from plants.
Scientists
Say Herbs Need More Regulation - the related article
for this lesson
Plants in Our Lives - a series of activities to accompany the video by the same name - includes pre/post test questions
Secrets of the Dead - The Power of Potions lesson plans
Spice up your life - using spices to inhibit bacterial growth
Microbes in Action Science series - lessons on a variety of microbiology topics
| Plants ( a crossword quiz ) | Herbal remedies ( a multiple choice quiz ) | Herbs and names ( a matching quiz ) |
| Opposites ( a matching quiz ) | Synonyms ( a matching quiz ) | Definitions (a matching quiz ) |
Old
Wives Tales
The list of links that follows goes through some
of the folklore surrounding health
| Folklore of Plants | Old Wives' Tales | The Truth About Old Wives' Tales |