When I was your age, I lived on the island of
Ponape far out in the Pacific Ocean. It
was a tropical, volcanic island covered with jungle and lots of banana
plants. One day while playing outdoors
with no shoes on (we never wore shoes), I stubbed my big toe on a sharp
object. It was bleeding badly! Two gardeners working close by heard my
cries. Immediately the younger man came
running and taking his long machete, he cut down a small banana plant in our
yard. I was confused. I didn’t understand why he was chopping it
down! The older man filled a tub with
water, and started chopping up the stalk of the banana plant in the water to
make a mash of banana stalk. All I could
do was stare at the mash.
Read more about the banana.“Put your foot into the tub!” said the older man. Dazed, I followed his directions. To my amazement the blood stopped flowing! I started to pull my foot out. “No, no your foot is not healed yet” he said. “Keep your foot in a little longer.” It took about 20 minutes. When I pulled my foot out, my big toe looked as if it were healed! I sat on the ground staring at my toe, thinking, “How can a cut heal so quickly?” Once in a while I think about this event and I wonder, “What was in those banana plants to create such healing? How can I find out?” The plant world is filled with species that contain chemicals with medical properties, including neuroactive properties. Like in the banana story, traditional healers use plants to treat illness. Current research seeks to understand the potential health benefits of different plants and is exploring whether documented health benefits are due to single chemicals found within the plant or many chemicals within the plant working together. |
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