On Monday, November 11, medical ethnobotanist Cassandra Quave presented a lecture about medicines from nature, and the

ethnobotany and science of human health. Dr. Quave is the Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Emory University School of Medicine and the Emory Center for the Study of Human Health. Her studies are mostly focused on traditional plant uses cross-culturally and she works on dermatological treatments coming from traditional medicine. Though obvious from the lecture title, Dr. Quave spoke about medicines that are used that come from nature; whether they come from plants or animals. It was interesting to learn how there are two types of drug resistance: acquired resistance and intrinsic resistance. Acquired resistance refers to the exchange of genes between species, while intrinsic resistance refers to the activity of biofilms and how they stick to each other to heavily resist activities of particular antimicrobial agents. Nowadays, bacteria present themselves and then we immediately find a type of resistance in order to prevent ourselves from catching these bacteria. This resistance is extremely important because bacteria have this communication system called quorum sensing that they use to talk to each other. In reference to the Star Trek analogy that Dr. Quave used, bacteria throw up a force-field when they attach to somewhere in our bodies, and antibiotics dont work against the force-field; they have to break through it. Therefore, its important for people to realize where drugs against these bacteria come from. The sources of these new drugs come from soil, animal proteins, and plants and fungi. Animal proteins are often used to fight and treat infection. For example, the American alligator has antibacterial activity that can fight staff infection. However, because these animal proteins may be much more difficult to get a hold of, we usually get a hold of plants and fungi because they are the easiest to sample. These natural products are beneficial because they have rich structural diversity, and the plants likely produce these natural products in order to fulfill specific needs. Also, plants secondary metabolites play a huge role in their survival. Because plants cant move, they need to have ways to communicate and survive. Therefore, these secondary metabolites provide plants with these opportunities like, for instance, defense against pests and herbivores and attraction of pollinators. Additionally, Dr. Quave spoke about some examples of foods that are used as both food and medicine. For example, garlic is something we eat, but its also used to treat athletes foot and yeast infections. Cranberry juice is a common drink, but its also beneficial because it turns off the bacterias ability to stick to surfaces and prevent antimicrobial activity. Also, blackberries are biofilm inhibitors and are used to treat skin infections. These are only some examples of some dermatological treatments that come from foods we eat and use as traditional medicine. Today, dermatological therapies make up about a third of medicinal treatments. As mentioned before, these therapies come from soil, animal proteins, and plants and fungi. Though the traditional knowledge about how the natives used these plants isnt evident, there has been a lot of successful research about plants that have provided this world with traditional forms of medicine. Through this lecture, we learned how health and well-being can be manifested through both the humanities and the sciences. In this lecture, health was exhibited through ethnobotany and zootherapy (the use of animals for medicinal purposes).