The Spanish discovered in the 17th century in what is now Peru that the bark of the cinchona tree was used by the indigenous people to cure “fevers”, especially malaria. At that time the European “treatment” for malaria was to throw the feverish patient head first into a bush and they had to get out quickly enough to leave the fever behind! Quinine was purified from bark extracts in 1820, and it was found that it could prevent as well as treat malaria. It was an essential tool in the spread of the British Empire around that time. Colonists in regions like India had to take daily doses of quinine, and eventually started mixing it with soda and water to make the bitter powder taste better, and “tonic water” was born. It wasn’t long before the daily dose of quinine in tonic water seemed much better mixed with gin, and the quintessential gin and tonic was used thereafter by colonists to stay safe in the hot, humid environments they were living in. Quinine is also used to treat lupus and arthritis.

A beautiful pink flower from the island of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa, the “rosy periwinkle” as it is commonly known, was long used by traditional healers for diabetes, and in Chinese traditional medicine to treat diabetes, malaria and Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood and lymph cancer. In the 1950s two compounds from the plant were isolated – vincristine and vinblastine – which were found to have anti-cancer properties. Since the 1960s, these drugs have been used to treat blood cancers and have improved survival rates from 1 in 5 to 9 in 10! It takes 900 kg to make just one gram of the drug though, so pharmaceutical companies had to cultivate the plants on a large scale. Nowadays, however, vincristine and vinblastine are made synthetically.

Also known as “naked lady”, meadow saffron produces a chemical called colchicine, used to treat gout, a kind of arthritis caused by a build-up of uric acid crystals in the joints. The joints become red, hot and swollen. The drug is also used to treat a type of genetic inflammatory disease called familial Mediterranean fever, where symptoms include swelling of large joints, stomach pain, and inflammation of the lining of the lungs, making it difficult to breathe or lie flat. Nobody really knows how the drug works, but it does. It was first described as a treatment for rheumatism and swelling on an Egyptian medical papyrus in 1500 BC. It was first used as a treatment for gout in the first century AD, but the drug was only isolated from the plant by two French chemists in 1820. Side effects include numbness and tingling of the hands and feet, and overdose causes burning in the mouth and throat, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea. This demonstrates the powerful actions that some plants can have on the body, and why it is so important to preserve the plants we have in case we discover more medicines.

The active ingredient in aspirin is called acetylsalicylic acid, and it comes from the leaves (or bark) of the white willow tree. Aspirin has been around for centuries for the treatment of pain, fevers, inflammation, and even those who have had a heart attack. It reduces pain and inflammation and also thins the blood. It has even been used to reduce the risk of getting cancer and dying from cancer, mostly colorectal cancer. The use of willow leaf extracts has been known since ancient times when the benefits were inscribed on clay tablets in ancient Egypt, and it has been a major asset to the medical world. Unfortunately, some side effects are ulcers in the stomach and using it way too much can cause deafness. One interesting fact about aspirin was its effect on the son of the last czar of Russia, Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov, who had haemophilia, a blood-thinning disease. Since aspirin thins the blood, which is why it is useful for heart attacks, it made his haemophilia worse. The mystic Rasputin suggested he should rely on spiritual treatments, not modern medicine, and Rasputin’s influence on the family is said to have led ultimately to the uprising against the czar, and the end of czarist Russia. 

Reserpine, a drug isolated from the roots of the smooth-stemmed herb Rauwolfia serpentine, is a very effective medication used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) and psychotic disorders. The plant has been used in India for 4000 years as a treatment for snake and insect bites, malaria, abdominal pain, and dysentery. Even Mahatma Gandhi used to take Rauwolfia tea as a way to relax in the evenings. It is also said to have anti-depressive properties. Reserpine was first isolated in 1952, but unfortunately, despite its great success as a blood pressure drug, its use has been phased out because of interactions and side-effects, which include a stuffy nose, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, stomach cramps, and even, unexpectedly, depression! 

From ice cream and margarine to shampoo and lipstick, Palm Oil is everywhere. It’s in about half of all packaged products at the supermarket, and makes things more ‘creamy’ – but at what cost? The Oil Palm Tree only grows in the tropics and was originally grown in West Africa on small-scale family farms. As demand for processed food and make-up has grown, demand for Palm Oil has too. Now it’s grown in huge plantations mostly in Indonesia and Malaysia. Lots of tropical forests have been cleared to make way for these plantations. In Southeast Asia, 45% of plantations used to be tropical forests. Tropical forests are home to some of the most precious and diverse plants and animals on our planet. Plus, our use of Palm Oil is going up – putting more and more forests at risk. So should you give up ice cream? It’s not quite that simple. Not all ice cream contains Palm Oil (some contain corn or rape seed oil instead), and some will contain Palm Oil that’s sustainably sourced. Just take a look at the label to find out. Though if you do decide to quit Palm Oil, it’s likely that the alternative will be more expensive. Is that a price you’re willing to pay?

Flying abroad produces a lot of GHG emissions. It’s not easy to work out, but roughly 100 g of CO2 is produced for each kilometre you fly. For a return flight from London to Rome, that’s about 300 kg of CO2. Although planes have become cleaner as technology has improved, we’re flying more and more. As a result, GHG emissions from flights in Europe increased by 87% between 1990 and 2006. A number of companies now offer ‘carbon offsetting’ against flights. You can pay for a company to plant trees or invest in renewable energy to ‘balance out’ the CO2 produced by your flight. But maybe it’s better just not to fly at all? You could try using a more environmentally friendly form of transport e.g. electric trains? Or perhaps you can try to persuade your family to take holidays closer to home?

Producing meat requires a huge amount of energy and releases damaging greenhouse gases (GHG). These GHGs contribute to global warming – with negative effects on plants and whole ecosystems. But why is meat so bad for the environment? It’s all to do with efficiency. To produce meat, we need space to rear the animals and space to grow trees (or other plants) to feed them until they’re big enough for slaughter. Large areas of forest have had to be cleared to make way for this type of farming, which has destroyed the natural habitats of plants and wildlife across the world. Plus, not to forget, the pollution created when transporting the animal food and animals themselves. So should you give up burgers? Or even give up meat, eggs and dairy and go fully vegan? The choice is yours. But reducing the amount of meat you eat can definitely reduce your impact on the environment. It is predicted that if we all adopted a mostly vegetarian diet, we could cut food-related GHG emissions by 63%.

What about switching off your laptop? Or your TV? Or just remembering to turn off the lights? 
Most of UK electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels – in coal, gas and oil-fired power plants. And all of this releases damaging greenhouse gases. Making small changes to reduce your energy use can all add up. Turn off lights, take shorter showers, turn off your laptop and your TV. It’s important to remember that lots of devices use energy even when they’re in power-save mode.

What does organic actually mean? Organic food is produced by using fewer chemicals. Instead of chemicals, organic farmers rely on more natural methods like weeding and spreading manure to produce good crops. Choosing organic fruit and veg could help reduce your impact on the environment – particularly the plant life and ecosystems in rivers and lakes. The chemicals used by non-organic farmers to produce bigger and better crops can run-off into rivers and lakes and lead to 'eutrophication'. This means the water has too many nutrients, so algae blooms and less sunlight reaches other plants. The end result can be the death of many plants and fish. Reducing the number of chemicals in our water sounds like a great idea, and choosing organic food can help. But it’s not so simple. Organic farming produces less food per square mile of land – as it’s less efficient. With a growing population and more mouths to feed, can we afford to feed everyone organically?  

Do you normally get a lift in the car to school? Perhaps you have friends who do? Or maybe you take a lift in the car at weekends? Petrol and diesel cars are doubly bad. Not only do they release GHGs which lead to climate change, but burning petrol and diesel also releases pollutants like nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxides. These pollutants can react in the atmosphere and lead to acid rain which can destroy plants (and animals and even some buildings). These pollutants are also bad for human health, so some cities are looking at becoming car-free in the not-too-distant future. Cycling to school instead of driving seems like the perfect solution. Cycling is good for the environment and your health. But it’s not always safe. If cycling isn’t an option, maybe you could take the bus or train? Or car-share with a friend? All these alternatives should reduce your impact on the environment.