Biodiversity and Pharmaceuticals

    Biodiversity is important to the ecosystem and the natural balance of life. That’s all well and good and should not be taken lightly but does it affect human life in a more direct way?

The truth is that much of our modern lifestyles rely on the functions of biodiversity. A good example of this is the medical field, specifically pharmaceuticals. While synthetic material has replaced much of what was originally plant and animal extracts, the basis for nearly 25% of all the drugs in your local pharmacy contained these ingredients.

    The medicines gained from biodiversity aren’t just multi-vitamins or holistic health substances, they are prescription-strength blood thinners and pain killers among other things. They come from mammals, snakes, lizards, fish, fungi, and  tree bark.
    Without the range and difference of life provided by biodiversity, plants and animals would not have developed such specific attributes that allow extracts to be beneficial to human health.

    Robert N. Young has written a detailed report on the past, current, and future of biodiversities effects on the modern pharmaceutical industry.
Rover N. Young "Importance of Biodiversity to the Modern Pharmaceutical Industry"
Here is a brief explanation from boundless.com on human health and biodiversity.