Native Plants
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Tuesday - July 29, 2008
From: Cagayan de Oro , Philippine
Region: Other
Topic: Medicinal Plants
Title: Question about Allamanda cathartica
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
how would i prove that allamanda cathartica is an antidote for anti-tetanus in a cheaper way?ANSWER:
First of all, Allamanda cathartica (allamanda) is native to Brazil and not to North America. Since our focus and expertise are with plants native to North America, this is not a plant for which we have information at hand. We did learn by Googling its name that it has long been used in folk remedies to treat malaria. One study by S. Nayak et al., "Evaluation of wound healing activity of Allamanda cathartica L. and Laurus nobilis. L. extracts on rats" (BMC Complement Altern Med. 2006; 6: 12) gives you a sort of model for what would need to be done to determine if this plant has applications to tetanus. You would need to carry out a rigorous scientific study to show that allamanda was as effective, or better than, the current treatment, immune globulin and penicillin, in treating tetanus. Such a project would require a laboratory, non-human test animals, and someone with scientific credentials to carry out the experiments. It would probably require a lengthy study and, no doubt, be expensive. If you have substantial evidence that it is effective against tetanus, you might be able to interest researchers at a university or a drug company to test it scientifically.More Medicinal Plants Questions
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