Zoopharmacognosy: The Use of Medicinal Plants by Animals

Abstract

The last years of the twentieth century offer both challenges and opportunities for phytochemists. The AIDS epidemic is still expanding and to date medical science has not been able to find effective treatments. Resistance to antibiotics, antimalarials, and other drugs occurs with increasing frequency. Crisis like these have created a new demand for phytochemical screening programs to detect antiviral plant products. Consequently the attention of phytochemists has turned to the tropical rain forests that contain most of the world’s species of plants and animals.