4 Medicinal Plants that Are Incredibly Good for You

Did you know that 25% of all prescription drugs in the U.S. come from substances that are found only in plants? In this episode of SciShow, we take a look at four of these talented plants that are helping us to live healthy lives! Hosted by: Hank Green.
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[tyrael]

"Plants have probably made you feel a whole lot better." I can confirm this statement.

[captainredbeard]

I mean plants have *definitely* saved my life from starvation, but I'm listening.

[heathers]

I seriously love that this channel lists the sources for your information.

[fergieluver]

I'm a pharm tech and serve nursing homes and long term facilities. I'm actually watching this on break lol. I see most of these chemicals daily in so many of the meds I deal with. This was very interesting!

[porgingtonporgi]

i now grow periwinkles in my garden as an ode to vincristine saving my life. it’s amazing how plants have so many things in them. and it’s also a smaller amount compared to other chemos i’ve had, yet it is so potent and works so well. i’m very glad it’s getting recognition

[banderi]

The plant doesn't understand what you said, but feels flattered anyway.

[nikiichan]

As someone that had malaria and survived I am extremely thankful for plants and modern day science.

[TrilliumWildEdibles]

Very informative video! There are so many plants in the United States alone that we walk right by that have not had enough conclusive studies done on them to prove traditional uses. On the other hand there are plants like boneset, echinacea, dandelion, plantain, lobelia, maitake, and more that have amazing medicinal benefits. So you never know the plant in your yard or gardening pestering you could be a medicinal, or even edible plant!

[Poetryandthings]

I use Wild lettuce (Lactuca virosa). I just started using it in the past 2 months for pain I was sceptical at first but it works for me. I was taking naproxen but it was giving me acid reflux tearing up my stomach. Glad I tried it works for my pain and my stomach is happier.

[reneaking]

Rosy periwinkle is my all time favorite flowering plant. I love the simple single petals of the flower. I love how it flowers all year round non stop. And the many colors! It's so easy to care and propagate.

[HeSheXie]

No love for ipecac, willow, or aloe? Or chamomile, tea tree, tansy, garlic... Actually, I can see why they kept it at four. I can name a dozen more plants off the top of my head that are great for you.

Thanks, plants!

[photosinensis]

No love for the willow tree? Its leaves and bark have been used for medicinal purposes since the earliest of times, mostly because aspirin is actually some pretty awesome stuff.

[Jmv.]

My grandmother has a bunch of the Rosy Periwinkle in her garden in DR and as a kid I thought it was some useless flower but I didn't know it was so important to cancer research. Makes you think about how much plants help us

[joanmanalo]

Listening to you is like standing in front of a sales representative.. explaining a promo of a certain product at a nearby shopping mall.. very informative anyway.👌👌👌👌👍👍Keep it up Sir!

[procopio_sagalpot]

WE locally have this wild plant called "Tawa-tawa"[Euphorbia hirta] that we use to treat people with who have Dengue. we just boil the fresh tawa tawa (Like tea) then make the patient drink it. It Helps a lot to make the patients platelet goes back to normal. Its a Traditional medicine use by locals. Doctors won't even allow patient to bring it to hospital. I'm glad that there are research going on to study this plant.

[TrishTruitt]

Excellent videos, graphics, writing and narration. I really enjoyed this one in particular.

[AlvinLee]

4 plants? That felt like 40.
But, that was Hank. I could listen to 400.

[pnwRC.]

Fantastic videos your channel has! I've watched 6 so far, & still have a few more I intend to watch.

[jannmikoingelrabagogamingc]

As a pharmacy student, in behalf of my fellow pharmacy students, I felt prideful knowing all of the information presented in this video, really!

[calliarcale]

Another interesting one to mention is Taxus brevifola, the Pacific yew. It is currently rated at "near threatened", because it has a relatively limited range (parts of California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia). But a substance extracted from samples of Pacific yew yielded the drug paclitaxel, which is used to treat certain forms of breast, ovarian, and lung cancer. Work with the chemical revealed a way to synthesize it from similar compounds found in other, more common yew species.