![Hundreds of Medicinal Plants in Canada](https://img.passeportsante.net/1000x526/2015-11-09/i36915-des-centaines-de-plantes-medicinales-au-canada.gif)
OTTAWA (PasseportSanté.net), October 27, 2003 – The threats to biodiversity do not endanger the survival of an exotic South Sea snail or that of a rare plant that grows in a mysterious corner of the Brazilian rainforest.
Canada alone has about 2000 native plants. How many contain remedies just waiting to be discovered? Hard to say, but some experts estimate there could be as many as 4,001.
For example, recently Professor Robin Marles of Brandon University in Manitoba and his students met over 100 healers across the country. This exercise enabled them to identify 208 plants, 13 fungi and eight lichens used for therapeutic purposes.
“These are all plants that the shamans agreed to share with us because they felt it was important to disseminate their knowledge,” explained Professor Marles. We did not go and loot their knowledge for commercial purposes ”.
These healers, 62 men and 60 women, came from different tribes, such as the Montagnais, Cree, Dene, Ojibway and Métis. The researchers went to meet them in their community.
Among the plants listed, we should mention only the sweet flag (Acorus calamus), a plant that grows along waterways and whose roots are used to treat coughs, sore throats, digestive problems and fatigue. ; bear grape (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), a mountain shrub that is taken as a decoction to treat bladder and kidney problems; and blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium), used to treat acne and nausea.
Unfortunately, many plants could soon disappear from Canadian soil if nothing is done to protect them. Another conference participant, Dr. Ernest Small, Agriculture Canada, explained that the southern prairies and southwestern Ontario have the greatest biodiversity in the country. However, it is also where it is most threatened by human development.
Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
1. Jones NP, Arnason JT, Abou-Zaid M, Akpagana K, Sanchez-Vindas P, Smith ML. Antifungal activity of extracts from medicinal plants used by First Nations Peoples of eastern Canada. J Ethnopharmacol 2000 Nov; 73 (1-2): 191-8.