Nurturing nature is the key to good health, said a professor from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) in a recent conference conducted by the Department of Science and Technology (DoST).

UPLB professor Dr. Lourdes Cardenas stressed the importance of plants in the maintenance of good health.

"Plant is a component of our environment that greatly affects our health. From the oxygen in the air we breathe to food, shelter, and clothing, plants provide," said Cardenas.

“Man has been using plants as medicines for centuries. As early as 460-377 B.C., people have discovered the medicinal value of plants. It was during the time of Hippocrates that the bark of willow Salix sp was discovered to relieve pain. The glycoside salicin substance found in the willow salix sp is responsible for the relieving effect of the plant. In 1987, this substance was extracted from the plant and was developed into a drug, which is now known as aspirin,” she explained.

"A good percentage of commercial medicines are still derived from plants," said Cardenas, adding that people continue to extract substances from plants to develop medicine.

Drug discovery, she said, relies on flora and its diversity with flora referring to the indigenous plant life occurring in a particular region. However, Cardenas said that the flora is becoming extinct.

"It is estimated that about 90 percent of the calculated 250,000 species of flowering plant still await investigation. Yet, it is also projected that 25 percent of the flowering plant species of the world might become extinct within the first 25 years of this century," noted Cardenas.

In the Philippines, there is proof that the shrinking of flora is evident. In 1998, Cardenas went to Mt. Pulag in Benguet and found out that the locals have heard about the benefit of the yew plant Taxus.

Visiting foreigners have earlier told the locals about the value of this plant. The United States has approved the paclitaxel derived from the yew plant as an anti-cancer drug.