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Medicinal
Plants Appeal
Kew’s scientists began a major new project in 2004 to search for new medicines among the UK’s 1,600 native plant species. With your help we can investigate the most promising 300 plants by the end of 2008.
Kew is already a leading centre in studying the uses of plants in medicine, especially in developing countries. New medicines, which we aim to find in Britain’s native plants, could ultimately save the lives of millions of people, here in the UK and elsewhere.
For centuries native plants such as skullcap, bugle and burdock were the only available medicines. Although in Britain these traditional herbal remedies have largely been replaced by modern drugs, plants are still the ultimate source of medicines for 75% of the world’s people. Meanwhile a quarter of all modern drugs – including painkillers such as asprin and the malaria treatment chloroquine – are either derived from or based on plant compounds.
Yet amazingly more than 80% of the world’s plants have never been scientifically studied for their potential in modern medicine – and that includes the majority of British native species.
How the Appeal will help
It
costs £1,000 to carry out the detailed investigations on each plant
species. With your help we can investigate the potential UK native species
to provide medicines for diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, HIV/AIDS
and for the treatment of wounds. The urgency of our research is accelerating
as plant species are becoming extinct so rapidly that they often disappear
before we know anything about the benefits they could bring to medicine.
Cancer Treatments
By 1997 almost two-thirds of all approved anti-cancer drugs were directly or indirectly derived from plants.
One of the most important is paclitaxel, used to treat breast cancer and leukaemia among others. It was first isolated from the bark of Pacific Yew trees in North America but by the late 1990s had also been found in yew leaves, and also in other species such as hazel (including the nuts) and some fungi.
Kew has recently identified new taxoids in native yews, compounds that could have anti-cancer activity. Now with your help we can study many other UK native species which may have similar or entirely new types of anti-cancer compounds.
How you can help
With your help we can accelerate the rate at which we can investigate plants for their medicinal potential. Over the next year the appeal aims to raise funds to examine 100 British native plants, as well as support research into specific diseases, such as malaria.
It costs £1,000 to undertake the necessary work on a single species and we are grateful for whatever amount you are able to give towards this.
A monthly gift is particularly welcome as it enables us to plan ahead, knowing that our vital work will be funded. In return for your donation we will send you regular updates on our work.
Gift Aid
Whatever amount you are able to give, if you are a UK taxpayer, the value of your donation can be increased by almost a third at no extra cost to yourself, through the gift aid scheme. Please contact us for more details.