How does the application of corals in traditional medicine systems inform modern pharmaceutical research?
It provides early clues by tracing historical leads into the laboratory for chemical analysis
The historical documentation regarding the use of corals in various traditional medicine systems offers invaluable starting points for modern pharmacology. When scientists investigate these documented traditional uses, they are essentially following historical leads into the laboratory environment. This allows researchers to focus their intensive chemical analysis on specific organisms or parts of organisms already known, through empirical observation across generations, to possess valuable biological properties. By linking a known traditional effect to an organism, researchers can then analyze its actual chemical composition to isolate and identify the active principle responsible for the reported effects.
