Nature-Inspired Solutions to Disease Problems

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 23.05.06

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Rationale
  3. School Demographics
  4. Overview
  5. What is Biomimicry and Biodiversity and why do they matter?
  6. Biomimicry and Medicine
  7. Biomimicry and Tools/Machines
  8. Now What?
  9. Teaching Strategies
  10. Classroom Activities
  11. Activity One- Compare and Connect
  12. Activity 2- Mimic Matching
  13. Activity Three-Mimic Who?
  14. Activity 4- Nature Walk
  15. Bibliography
  16. Endnotes
  17. Teacher Resources
  18. Student Resources
  19. Appendix-Implementing District Standards

Nature Says Do This: Solving Problems by Mimicking Nature

Aliyah Hoye

Published September 2023

Tools for this Unit:

Biomimicry and Medicine

Figure 3

Figure 3: Examples of Biomimicry and medicine. Shown on the left are the plants that have inspired different medicines. Shown on the right side are the medicines that have been created by mimicking the various plants.

It is vital to understand the definitions of traditional and herbal medicine because many times these terms are either confused with one another or thought to be one idea.  Traditional medicine is the sum of total knowledge, skill, and practices based on theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvements, or treatment of physical and mental illness. Traditional medicine is used by many of the world’s population and many places have integrated traditional medicine into their public health care. Herbal medicines include herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations, and finished herbal products.4 Traditional medicine, herbal medicine, and biomimicry have been combined to help treat and cure ailments both physical and mental.

Traditional medicine can be broken up into six categories which are:

  1. Legendary Traditional Medicine
  2. Instinctive Traditional Medicine
  3. Witchcraft Traditional Medicine
  4. Empirical Traditional Medicine
  5. Theoretical Traditional Medicine and
  6. Integrated Traditional Medicine.

During this unit, we will focus more on empirical traditional medicine which can be described as medicine derived from or guided by direct experience or experiment rather than principles or theories. For one to practice or understand empirical traditional medicine, they are required to have certain experience such as medical experience. Medical experience is the recognition of life, health, and disease compiled by ancient ancestors in the practice of production and life.5 An amazing example of this would be the use of fire and stones and combining the two to create healing stones. Our ancestors used fire to cook, stay warm, and keep animals and predators away. They eventually began sharpening the stones to use to fight the animals and predators. Through these experiences with both fire and stone, the ancestors noticed that when you apply heat to the stone it could be used to generate warmth on a certain part of the body to alleviate pain or discomfort. It was also discovered that it could be used to burn wounds to prevent infection and expedite the healing process. Ancestors also sharpened stones to make pointed edges to scrape, pick, and stab wounds for treatment, which eventually evolved into the original medical treatment method which is known as stone need therapy.6

In the wild, plants cannot defend themselves from predators as easily as other animals. It is not as if they can just get up and run away, use their claws to scratch, or teeth to bite at predators.  Though some plants may have thorns or spikes which may deter predators, what about the plants that do not have these features? Simple answer: chemical warfare. Plants create chemicals that will harm their predators to stay safe. These chemicals are called “secondary compounds” which the plant creates that give way to the various flavors, smells, spices, medicines, and poisons that we can see in the plant world.7 But what happened when we studied these chemicals? We were able to extract certain chemicals that could help humans medically.

It is not just enough for us to study the plants, we also need to observe how other animals interact with the plants, and for what reasons. For example, there were two populations of baboons (Papio hamadryas), that lived near Awash Falls in Ethiopia, studied by Jane Phillips-Conroy from Washington University. One population of the baboons was strictly feeding above the falls while the others were feeding below. It was observed that baboons below the falls were more exposed to a fluke worm that causes a debilitating disease in primates, including humans. The baboons who lived below the falls were eating a plant (Balanites aegyptiaca) whose berries and leaves have a compound, diosgenin, that is known to be effective against the fluke worm. It was noticed that not only do the baboons who are more vulnerable to the fluke worm were eating more of the berries and leaves than the others. The Native people of that land long ago were also using the Balanites to control their infections. This is what leads to the thought that animals are not just using plants as a nutritious source, but as a medical or healing source as well. Thus, leaning us toward traditional medicines taken from these plants. 8

Another example of observing animals and their medicinal uses of plants is bears and traditional Navajo teachings, studied by Harvard ethnobotanist, Shawn Sigstedt. In traditional Navajo teachings, it is said that bears gave humans medicines and many of the medicines and practices they use include the name “bear”. The Navajo observed how the bears interacted with one plant in particular: Ligusticum porter. This herb that has a vanilla/celery scented smell grows in the Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions of the United States and the purpose of the Navajo using this herb was to treat worms, stomachaches, and bacterial infections. 9

There was a time when we specifically focused on our biodiverse planet to find drugs and that is how we found 40% of all of our prescription medicines. From the Pacific Yew Tree (Taxus brevifolia)¸we have extracted Taxol which we use to treat ovarian and breast cancer in patients. We have isolated digitalin from the Purple Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) which we use to treat heart failure and other cardiac disorders. From the Poppy flower (Papaver somniferum) we isolated codeine and morphine that we use for pain medication. From the mint plant (Mentha), we use menthol to treat mild joint and muscle pain. Lastly, the thyme plant (Thymus vulgrais) has given us thymol that we use for medical disinfectants and fungicides. These are only a few examples of how we have used biomimicry to find solutions to human medical problems.

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