Kill the forests, lose cures
By RUBEN SARIO
sario@thestar.com.my
KOTA KINABALU: Compounds derived from plants growing in the Borneo rainforest hold the promise of cures for cancer, AIDS and malaria.
But the greatest fear for scientists is that these jungles are being cleared faster than they can develop the drugs.
“It takes a long time before a substance found in a plant can be developed as an efficient drug and used by doctors,” said Universiti Malaysia Sabah Assoc Prof Dr Menno Schilthuizen.
He authored a World Wide Fund for Nature report on Borneo rainforest plants currently being researched for their medicinal properties.
“I believe that hundreds of plants have been screened, dozens of compounds have been identified but only a few of them are now clinically tested,” added Dr Schilthuizen, who expressed concern over the forest clearing.
His report was recently released in Switzerland.
According to his report, an Australian pharmaceutical company had identified a promising anti-cancer substance in a shrub found in Sarawak.
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