Unlocking Nature’s Secrets
MSTF Media reports:
There have been times in our lives when we felt relaxed after drinking a mug of chamomile tea, or when that one nasty cold was soothed by a lemon tea. These moments of calm and contentment may have made us appreciate these natural products and think about other benefits we can receive from flowers, fruits, herbs and spices. We may have asked ourselves: Can natural remedies replace the conventional synthetic methods that we receive when we have an illness? Does the latter need to be altogether discarded or can both methods coexist and provide us with more effective medicine?
We asked for an expert opinion in the field, Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary to explain these issues. Choudhary enlightened us on nature’s healing legacy, his ongoing research on curing “neglected diseases,” and the importance of creating a “seamless healthcare system.”
Plants: a Treasure House of Fascinating Molecules
Plants: a Treasure House of Fascinating Molecules
According to Choudhary, since ancient times, humanity has depended on plants for various needs, including food, shelter, and medicine. Many of them have helped humanity to survive against pandemics, epidemics, and various diseases. Over time, human experiences and accumulated wisdom have contributed to the development of traditional medicine. “This collective knowledge of humanity was built over generations, and it is a treasure that we should never lose,” he said.
He believes that nature is “the best synthetic chemist” and plants are the treasure house of fascinating molecules,” molecules that have an effective role to play in human well-being and health.
Choudhary thinks we have a responsibility toward nature to conduct research on traditional plants. So, what he and his team have been doing is analyzing plants used in traditional medicine, and trying to understand their chemistry and how they function with biological system. They study the interaction of plant products with the biological system and manifest their therapeutic activity.
In simple words, plants produce many molecules to defend themselves against extreme weather, insects, infections and other things. These are organic compounds that are made of carbon, hydrogen, sometimes nitrogen and other elements like oxygen. These molecules have different structures, shapes and sizes. He described these compounds as “keys” that unlock disease mechanisms. They help us control several disease processes and treat various diseases.
Where Modern Medicine Fails, Traditional Medicine Enters
Choudhary’s specific interest has been identifying those compounds which can help the treatment of prevalent and neglected diseases. This scientist explains that “there are so many diseases which cannot be treated by modern medicine, but it's possible to use plant constituents on natural products for the treatment of those diseases, as we [our predecessors] have done that in the past.”
For example, there was a time when Malaria was at its peak, infecting and killing large numbers of people. Effective treatments for this disease, however, were provided thanks to artemisinin, a key drug used in every cure of the disease. Choudhary mentioned that artemisinin was isolated from a plant called Artemisia by the Noble Prize winner, Tu Youyou. Other examples include Taxol, an anti-cancer drug, and morphine, a drug used to reduce chronic pain. “So, there are many molecules that are present in nature and can help us improve the quality of life,” he maintained.
So far, his team has isolated natural products that show promise in treating prevalent and neglected diseases like leishmaniasis and neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Choudhary contended that these diseases cannot be treated by conventional medicine, they can just be controlled and managed. This is a serious issue with today’s conventional medicine, also called biomedicine, allopathy or Western medicine. For example, patients afflicted with high blood pressure, diabetes, dementia or chronic pain are provided with medicines that only manage their disease. For many of such prevalent diseases, there are no treatments and people have to live with them for the rest of their lives. So, he believes, “There is no single system or a medicine which can treat all diseases.”
What does a “seamless healthcare system” look like?
Now, the question comes to mind: Is traditional medicine effective or reliable? The answer is yes. Through years of research, Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary has proven that human wisdom and human experiences which are called traditional systems of medicine, complementary systems of medicine, or alternative systems of medicine, provide very good and important treatment. These include biomedicine, complementary medicine, the Persian system of medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Ayurvedic medicine, and traditional Unani medicine, all of which are well-developed systems of medicine.
He strongly believes that after being meticulously tested and fulfilling the scientific criteria of efficacy and safety, traditional medicine needs to be integrated into the healthcare system, creating a “seamless healthcare system.” As a result of such assimilation patients have the opportunity of being treated with the best medicine available, regardless of what system they belong to.
Choudhary points out that at the end of the day, what is truly important is that patients get treated and be relieved of pain, benefiting from the best approach possible. He believes that the world is going towards an integrated healthcare system and integrated medicine, combining all of these human healing practices and knowledge.
Tackling Diseases the World Ignores
Currently, Choudhary is focusing on inventing treatments for neglected tropical and neurological diseases. “We are using nature's molecular diversity and the traditional knowledge with science to develop medicine which is effective and safe and that can be used by a large number of people for diseases with unavailable treatments,” Choudhary observed.
Neglected diseases, also called “poor man’s diseases,” are prevalent in poor regions of the world. They include schistosomiasis, leprosy, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, etc. According to Choudhary, they receive no attention or very little attention from pharmaceutical industries since it is not financially viable for pharmaceutical companies to invest in creating drugs for them.
A neglected disease that Choudhary and his team have been conducting research on is Leishmaniasis, a parasitic and potentially deadly disease that is spread through the bite of a sand fly. They are also working on identifying herbal products or natural compounds that can prevent the onset of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy and lower their symptomatic burden.
Their formulation against Parkinson’s is currently under clinical trials. They have also isolated compounds that can improve the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and have registered multiple patents.
A groundbreaking discovery by his team is ISOX, a new plant-derived molecule that has potent anti-epileptic properties. This isomeric mixture is one of the most effective anti-epileptic compounds and offers a potential treatment for epilepsy, particularly in cases resistant to Western medicine.
What’s Plan B if the Medical Industry Shuns Your Product?
Carrying out research and putting it into practice comes with challenges. A challenge that their team have faced is the lack of funding due to pharmaceutical industry’s focus on managing diseases, rather than treating them. A second, and closely related issue, is that even after they are produced, the industry shows a complete disregard for traditional medications as they do not seem viable enough or commercially feasible.
He believes that the challenges of funding and pharmaceutical disinterest can be easily overcome if “the developing world, particularly the Muslim world, unite their resources and knowledge and try to move into pharmaceutical sector, developing their own pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceutical, and vaccines.”
Choudhary finds research exciting, especially when working with nature, as it often leads to unexpected discoveries. He stated that these discoveries drive research forward and motivate scientists, with the ultimate goal of benefiting humanity.
He ended his remarks by offering a piece of advice to young scientists and science communicators: “Always remember that science should benefit humanity. Your discoveries should improve lives and make the world more sustainable and broadly beneficial.”
