Attempts made at that time to cultivate jaborandi in England, Belgium and Germany did not meet with success. In 1875 the alkaloid pilocarpine was discovered in jaborandi leaves, and in the following year it was introduced into ophthalmology as miotic agent. Later it was discovered that this alkaloid has the property of reducing intra-ocular pressure, and thus became recognized as a powerful medicine against glaucoma. Several of the medicinal applications of jaborandi have fallen into disuse, owing to the advance of synthetic chemical products. Nonetheless, jaborandi continues to play an important role in contemporary ophthalmology.
Pilocarpine remains an important element in pharmacology and physiology.
These are but a few examples of the commercial potential of the products of the tropical forests of the Amazon region and they constitute only a small sample of the investment opportunities currently opening up for national and foreign businessmen and investors in the area of natural forest products.