Largest natural pharmacy

Owing to the biodiversity in the world’s tropical rainforests, around 25% of all western pharmaceutical products come from ingredients in these regions. Indigenous tribes have used plants for medicinal purposes for millennia but the western world only began to rediscover them in the second half of the 20th century.

Approximately 120 prescription medicinal products are sold worldwide that originate from plants in tropical rainforests.

The US National Cancer Institute estimates that around 3,000 plants have anti-cancer properties, and that 70% of these come from tropical rainforests.

In fact, Westerners have used herbs as the primary form of medicine for thousands of years. Plant medicine started to fall out of fashion in the early 20th century when synthetic quinine became readily available, but many common medicines remain plant-derived.