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Article: Why rhinos recommend Viagra. (the use of the body parts of already threatened animals as folk medicines increases their endangerment)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- May 30, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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FOR all the hype, you might think that Viagra is the first drug designed to help men achieve and sustain an erection. In fact there are many rival products. Traditional Chinese medicine, especially, claims numerous treatments for invigorating the organ in question. Yu Han, a Chinese-medicine specialist based in London, notes that most such medicines are parts of plants-lotus stems, for example. Since plants have also yielded many drugs recognised as effective by western medicine (see main article), it is likely that some of these herbal cures would withstand scientific scrutiny. But the distinction between medicine and magic is often a fine one, and when "cures" are based ...