Scientists Tap Folklore, Local Plants For Cures
GRANTSVILLE, Md. -- A new program in western Maryland is looking at ways to use traditional herbal remedies to advance modern medicine.
Many people are turning to natural products like herbs and supplements to treat common ailments. However, many of the treatments used today were practiced in early folklore and passed down.
Now, researchers at Frostburg State University are trying to uncover the medicinal secrets of many of the wild plants that grow in the Appalachian Mountains. It's called ethnobotany, or the study of the cultural significance of plants.
"A lot of the native plants have been used by the Native Americans, and even today, for a variety of ailments," naturalist Liz McDowell said.
McDowell and her husband, Ron Boyer, run an environmental company in Grantsville. Over the past few years, McDowell has been collecting and cultivating herbs that she finds right in her back yard. Her purpose is to preserve the plants in their natural environment.
McDowell and dozens of other people are now sharing their knowledge of wild plants with Frostburg State University researchers. The school has started a program to uncover some old family secrets about the use of Appalachian Mountain herbs and medicinal plants. They hope to eventually turn it into a huge ethnobotanical program.
"(We want) to establish a research center that would enable us to learn more about the kinds of plants that are in Appalachia, how they have historically been used for medicinal purposes, to (conduct) an inventory of the chemical compounds that might be in them and actually look for new plants that might be out there, that we have never identified as having medicinal uses," said Dr. Joe Hoffman, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
"I tend to see the forest as a pharmacy and I think of not just how we can preserve it but how we can use it for our own good," ethnobotanist Linda Lyon said.
Lyon teaches ethnobotany at Frostburg. She studies the biochemical makeup of medicinal plants found in the forests around the area. A walk through the woods with her is a real learning experience about how plants have been used over the years to soothe aches and pains, treat sore throats, even reduce the symptoms of menopause.
"Lady's Fern is kind of a neat one. It was appropriately named because it's used for all kinds of women's purposes," Lyon said. "People think that a plant is just a plant. But, really, I think they just don't know the medicinal quality of it. And they all have medicinal purposes."
And there's more to this study than just science and sociology. Researchers are hoping that their findings can also lead to some real economic benefits to this region.
"We have put in utilities to help establish a science and industrial park to draw industries such as pharmaceutical prospecting industries to western Maryland and we are hoping that some of our work may be helpful to these industries," Hoffman said.
The idea of providing native plants to industries is financially appealing. But the university researchers are most interested in preserving the native species and the history that goes with them.
For example, American ginseng, which grows abundantly in the area, is extremely popular as a dietary supplement, especially in Asia. Families in western Maryland have been harvesting ginseng plants for generations.
To keep the herbs from becoming extinct in the wild, students at Frostburg are taking the ginseng seeds and growing the plants in controlled environments, leaving the original ginseng plants to grow wild.
"There is a conservation component. We can't just take what we need, which is kind of what our society has gotten real good at doing. We have to remember we have to put something back," Lyon said.
To Liz McDowell, the idea of conserving plants is important, not only for the environment but for further medical research.
"There are plants that they are still studying -- certain plants that may provide a cure for Alzheimer's. The list is limitless because we really haven't investigated all the different species," McDowell said.
Ethnobotanists say people should not try to grow and harvest such plants on their own.
Anyone wanting more information about McDowell's project can visit ElkRidgeNatureWorks.com.
GRANTSVILLE, Md. -- A new program in western Maryland is looking at ways to use traditional herbal remedies to advance modern medicine.
Many people are turning to natural products like herbs and supplements to treat common ailments. However, many of the treatments used today were practiced in early folklore and passed down.
Now, researchers at Frostburg State University are trying to uncover the medicinal secrets of many of the wild plants that grow in the Appalachian Mountains. It's called ethnobotany, or the study of the cultural significance of plants.
"A lot of the native plants have been used by the Native Americans, and even today, for a variety of ailments," naturalist Liz McDowell said.
McDowell and her husband, Ron Boyer, run an environmental company in Grantsville. Over the past few years, McDowell has been collecting and cultivating herbs that she finds right in her back yard. Her purpose is to preserve the plants in their natural environment.
McDowell and dozens of other people are now sharing their knowledge of wild plants with Frostburg State University researchers. The school has started a program to uncover some old family secrets about the use of Appalachian Mountain herbs and medicinal plants. They hope to eventually turn it into a huge ethnobotanical program.
"(We want) to establish a research center that would enable us to learn more about the kinds of plants that are in Appalachia, how they have historically been used for medicinal purposes, to (conduct) an inventory of the chemical compounds that might be in them and actually look for new plants that might be out there, that we have never identified as having medicinal uses," said Dr. Joe Hoffman, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
"I tend to see the forest as a pharmacy and I think of not just how we can preserve it but how we can use it for our own good," ethnobotanist Linda Lyon said.
Lyon teaches ethnobotany at Frostburg. She studies the biochemical makeup of medicinal plants found in the forests around the area. A walk through the woods with her is a real learning experience about how plants have been used over the years to soothe aches and pains, treat sore throats, even reduce the symptoms of menopause.
"Lady's Fern is kind of a neat one. It was appropriately named because it's used for all kinds of women's purposes," Lyon said. "People think that a plant is just a plant. But, really, I think they just don't know the medicinal quality of it. And they all have medicinal purposes."
And there's more to this study than just science and sociology. Researchers are hoping that their findings can also lead to some real economic benefits to this region.
"We have put in utilities to help establish a science and industrial park to draw industries such as pharmaceutical prospecting industries to western Maryland and we are hoping that some of our work may be helpful to these industries," Hoffman said.
The idea of providing native plants to industries is financially appealing. But the university researchers are most interested in preserving the native species and the history that goes with them.
For example, American ginseng, which grows abundantly in the area, is extremely popular as a dietary supplement, especially in Asia. Families in western Maryland have been harvesting ginseng plants for generations.
To keep the herbs from becoming extinct in the wild, students at Frostburg are taking the ginseng seeds and growing the plants in controlled environments, leaving the original ginseng plants to grow wild.
"There is a conservation component. We can't just take what we need, which is kind of what our society has gotten real good at doing. We have to remember we have to put something back," Lyon said.
To Liz McDowell, the idea of conserving plants is important, not only for the environment but for further medical research.
"There are plants that they are still studying -- certain plants that may provide a cure for Alzheimer's. The list is limitless because we really haven't investigated all the different species," McDowell said.
Ethnobotanists say people should not try to grow and harvest such plants on their own.
Anyone wanting more information about McDowell's project can visit ElkRidgeNatureWorks.com.
