Even anaesthetics used to deaden nerve cells and put patients to sleep for surgery come from rainforest flora . Instead, their compositions are studied and medications are made based on that information. Sometimes, scientists have been able to manufacture these chemicals. This helps makes drugs more affordable for everyone who needs them. They are used to assist disease researchers and to test food for harmful toxins .
Many people believe rainforests also hold the secrets for safer pesticides .
Two species of potatoes, for example, now have leaves that produce a sticky material that traps and kills insects thanks to knowledge gained from the study of rainforest plants. This natural ability to kill pests could reduce the need for using the more harmful man-made pesticides used on many other foods. This page was researched and written by Jim Cornish, Gander, Newfoundland, Canada as part of a set of on-line activities on tropical rainforest.