rently developing potential antiviral drags 

 from shamans' remedies; several major 

 drag houses appear to be following suit. 

 Plotkin himself is now vice-president for 

 plant conservation at a Washington-based 

 environmental organization, Conservation 

 International. 



His third goal — to discover important 

 new botanical remedies — is unfortunately 

 likely to remain elusive. Although he is 

 certain that there is "no shortage of 'won- 

 der drags' waiting to be found in the rain 

 forests," there is httle evidence from any 

 quarter to vaUdate this hypothesis. 



Columbus and other early explorers 

 also sought drags in the Americas. My 

 own research shows that a few dozen did 

 appear in European markets between 1492 

 and 1632, but only four drags of enduring 

 value — cinchona (the source of quinine, 

 used for malaria), ipecac (used to make 

 people vomit certain poisons), curare 

 (used to relax patients undergoing 

 surgery), and coca (the source of cocaine, 

 the prototype of the local anesthetics used 

 today in dentistry and surgery) — have 

 come from plants that are indigenous to 

 the Americas, and then only after 1632; 

 curare was put to clinical use only in 1942. 



Plotkin cites the more recent examples 

 of the anticancer alkaloids derived from 

 the pink periwinkle, and of taxol, found in 

 the Pacific yew. As he describes it, how- 

 ever, the discovery of the effect of the an- 

 ticancer alkaloids on malignant white cells 

 was the result of a purely serendipitous 

 laboratory observation. Moreover, even if 

 the periwinkle had been employed in some 

 folk healing traditions, its active principles 

 had to be highly concentrated in order to 

 treat cancer. And although taxol does help 

 in the management of some cancers, its 

 usefulness has proved to be limited (al- 

 though more promising analogues are 

 under development). 



We would be unrealistic if we expected 



American Museum of Natural History 



France 



Cruising through Provence 



June 23 - July 3, 1994 



The Rhone River wends 

 its way through Provence, 

 one of France's most pic- 

 turesque regions. Lov- 

 ingly captured on canvas 

 by Van Gogh, Gauguin, 

 Cezanne and others, it is a 

 beguiling region that 

 blends history, culture 

 and natural beauty to per- 

 fection. 



A team of Museum ex- 

 perts accompany us as we cruise up the Rhone aboard the 5-star m.s. 

 Cezanne from Martigue to Viviers. We will discover the splendor of 

 ancient Rome as exemplified by the ruins in Aries, Viviers, Nimes and 

 St. Remy's environs. Cities and towns rife with medieval remnants, such 

 St. Gilles, Aigues-Mortes, Avignon, Les Baux-de-Provence and Aix-en- 



Provence, add to the his- 

 toric atmosphere of our itin- 

 erary. Not to be forgotten, 

 we will also enjoy the sub- 

 lime beauty of the country- 

 side, including the magnifi- 

 cent Luberon range and the 

 isolated marshes and sand 

 dunes of the Camargue. Join 

 us for this special jour- 

 ney through southern 

 France. 



American 

 Museum of 

 Natural 

 History 



Discovery Cruises 



Central Park West at 79th St. 



New York, NY 10024-5192 



Toll-free (800) 462-8687 or 



(212) 769-5700 in NYS 





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63 



