AHS17 Phyto-biological Warfare: An Evolutionary Approach to Botanical Medicine - Guillermo Ruiz

Plants have been engaging in biological warfare against other plants and competing species for millennia. At the same time, humans have used plant materials as medicine. Historically, we have relied on tradition to guide their use. In this presentation, we will connect the need for these evolutionary biological weapons with our ability to use them as medicine. Our studies have been able to identify and validate traditional botanical extractions with medicinal properties by using evolutionary data and laboratory proof of their efficacy. We will discuss the distinct evolutionary adaptations that have made plants resilient, useful and even dangerous. We will also extrapolate our methods to expand these botanicals beyond their traditional use, and use their properties to fight viruses, bacteria and even cancer. Finally, this presentation provides with guidelines to assure the safe implementation of botanicals in our evidence-based world and precautions for their proper applications.