Detection of cancer cure herbs, AIDS and malaria

Cancer-capable herbs, AIDS and malaria have been found in tropical forests in Borneo, according to one

(Photo: life.uiuc)

report of World Conservation Organization WWF based in Switzerland on April 27.

But WWF said rapid deforestation could ruin the opportunity to use these findings to cure the aforementioned diseases. The report said an anticancer agent was worked on by an Australian pharmaceutical company found in a shrub in Borneo, while a chemical found in the plastic of another plant could resist HIV proliferation.

The report adds that in another shell, researchers developed a previously unknown substance that could kill malaria parasites. The report said a total of 422 new herb species were discovered in Borneo - Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei - over the last 25 years and many other herbs here are thought to have medical applications.

But 'all these promising discoveries could eventually be lost if the rainforests disappeared from Borneo without proper protection', according to WWF.

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