Alternative medicine has made a big impression on Americans in recent years, and La Salud, a public health student association, presented topics in the field of traditional herbal treatments last night.
A crowd of about 500 people attended the event, titled "A Real Life Medicine Man," in Rackham Auditorium.
"La Salud is a public health organization that tries to increase latino issues in School of Public Health issues," said Public Health fourth-year student Ann-Gel Palermo.
The discussion featured Eloy Rodríguez, a professor of environmental studies from Cornell University. Rodríguez is a chemist who studies ecosystems worldwide in an attempt to understand the medicinal properties of plants.
Rodríguez opened his presentation by recalling a time he once worked as a migrant worker in Michigan.
"One of my worst moments as a human was as a migrant worker," Rodríguez said. "When you treat people worse than you treat your own dogs, memories like that never leave you."
But the experience left Rodríguez "very involved in the quest for knowledge."
Throughout his college education, Rodríguez said he had a deep interest in organic chemistry and plant biology.
"But I always kept in the back of my mind my interest in traditional herbal medicine."
Rodríguez said he believes that women are the ones "that really get down to the business of growing herbal medicines."
He said he hopes to see a cooperative effort between researchers and the indigenous people who practice natural medicine.
"I think it was growing up as a chicano in Texas where I was cured by women," Rodríguez said. "I was cured by herbs and religious magical ways."
Rodríguez said this area of research is exciting because it is multi-disciplinary and has great medical potential if combined with solid scientific evidence.
"There are still many new miracle plants coming out of the rain forest," Rodríguez said.
But not all herbal medications are quickly embraced by mainstream pharmaceutical industries, Rodríguez said. "Most plants do not produce drugs that will make pharmaceutical companies happy."
Much of the work Rodríguez has done has been in the Amazon region.
He said he tells his students, "if you're going to pick field research, don't pick the city dump of Ann Arbor - go to the Amazon."
New species of plants are constantly being discovered in the splendid diversity of the Amazon, which provides a "multi-layer of natural products" and can be used as herbal medications, Rodríguez said.
Rodríguez has spent time studying the diets of animals such as monkeys, which cure their own ailments such as malaria and parasites by feeding on a specific plants.
Even humans can feed off the flowers of plants, which are usually harmless, Rodríguez said.
"If you ever get separated from your Club Med tour, eat flowers and you won't drop dead," Rodríguez said.
03-24-98
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