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It would be nice if they could work out what this "medicinal" tree is and start mass-producing this paste because that looks like some serious healing going on

It would be nice if they could work out what this "medicinal" tree is and start mass-producing this paste because that looks like some serious healing going on there! ... or perhaps orangutans are just way better at this sort of thing that human are? I recently tripped up running and had a much smaller cut (compared to the apparent missing-chunk-of-flesh this orangutan had) on my knee that took several weeks to fully heal. I'd pay for this paste!

codethief 2y ago
> on my knee Wounds on/near joints are known to heal much more slowly because of the added movement-induced stress. In contrast, facial wounds heal particularly fast¹. For instance, I had a bike accident last September, which resulted in a small wound on my knee and several bigger, more severe injuries in my face. (I basically did a face plant.) The facial injuries healed within 2 weeks. Meanwhile, to this day people ask me what's wrong with my knee because while the wound has closed, I have severe scar tissue and it still looks like the accident had occurred only a few days ago. ¹) Not sure whether it's true but I read somewhere that this might have been selected for during evolution, since the face plays such a crucial role in communication.
- borski 2y ago
  hehe... face... plant... (sorry)
observationist 2y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibraurea_tinctoria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibraurea_tinctoria There are all sorts of beneficial chemicals in nature, way more than we've accurately assessed and documented. Because plants can't be patented, they're left largely unknown - the incentives that might bring access to things like this are almost entirely missing from the modern Western market.
- dudeinjapan 2y ago
  Wild plants themselves can’t be patented, but chemicals derived from plants can be, provided they are non-obvious and have utility. Novel plants like GMOs can also be patented.
alphazard 2y ago
There's obviously a lot of nonsense that floats around in the herbal medicine community. But antimicrobial plants are relatively common, and applied topically, they do what you would expect them to. They generally aren't an antibiotic replacement because they aren't orally bio-available. They won't reach an infection in the periphery if you eat them. To make a medicinal plant more effective you can immerse a lot of it in a solvent and use that to extract and concentrate the chemical you care about. These concentrates are commonly referred to as "essential oils". None of this stuff was invented by a person, working for a corporation, and so you should not expect to see any of it commercialized, regardless of its efficacy. There will always be a synthetic analog, usually more effective (because it has been designed), and more importantly, patent-able.
- kragen 2y ago
  that's a tincture or elixir, not an essential oil. essential oils are usually obtained by steam distillation, which does not involve a solvent. and there are lots of tinctures, elixirs, and essential oils commercially available
JohnMakin 2y ago
It is already known - > The team then saw Rakus chewing the stem and leaves of plant called Akar Kuning - an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial plant that is also used locally to treat malaria and diabetes.

codethief 2y ago

> on my knee Wounds on/near joints are known to heal much more slowly because of the added movement-induced stress. In contrast, facial wounds heal particularly fast¹. For instance, I had a bike accident last September, which resulted in a small wound on my knee and several bigger, more severe injuries in my face. (I basically did a face plant.) The facial injuries healed within 2 weeks. Meanwhile, to this day people ask me what's wrong with my knee because while the wound has closed, I have severe scar tissue and it still looks like the accident had occurred only a few days ago. ¹) Not sure whether it's true but I read somewhere that this might have been selected for during evolution, since the face plays such a crucial role in communication.

borski 2y ago
hehe... face... plant... (sorry)

observationist 2y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibraurea_tinctoria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibraurea_tinctoria There are all sorts of beneficial chemicals in nature, way more than we've accurately assessed and documented. Because plants can't be patented, they're left largely unknown - the incentives that might bring access to things like this are almost entirely missing from the modern Western market.

dudeinjapan 2y ago
Wild plants themselves can’t be patented, but chemicals derived from plants can be, provided they are non-obvious and have utility. Novel plants like GMOs can also be patented.

alphazard 2y ago

There's obviously a lot of nonsense that floats around in the herbal medicine community. But antimicrobial plants are relatively common, and applied topically, they do what you would expect them to. They generally aren't an antibiotic replacement because they aren't orally bio-available. They won't reach an infection in the periphery if you eat them. To make a medicinal plant more effective you can immerse a lot of it in a solvent and use that to extract and concentrate the chemical you care about. These concentrates are commonly referred to as "essential oils". None of this stuff was invented by a person, working for a corporation, and so you should not expect to see any of it commercialized, regardless of its efficacy. There will always be a synthetic analog, usually more effective (because it has been designed), and more importantly, patent-able.

kragen 2y ago
that's a tincture or elixir, not an essential oil. essential oils are usually obtained by steam distillation, which does not involve a solvent. and there are lots of tinctures, elixirs, and essential oils commercially available

JohnMakin 2y ago

It is already known - > The team then saw Rakus chewing the stem and leaves of plant called Akar Kuning - an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial plant that is also used locally to treat malaria and diabetes.