The Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea muscipula), native to the East Coast of the US, contains well over a dozen multi-functional immune supporting compounds!
If you think about it—how many plants can eat a fly without harming its own tissue?—it starts to make sense that this could be an interesting place to look for pharmacologically active plant chemicals.
One of the key promising plant compounds for humans is plumbagin, which stimulates the immune system, induces apoptosis and reduces inflammation—for the Venus Flytrap it is a protective agent against predators and parasites.
Also present are droserone, which exhibits strong antimicrobial activity, and gallic acid, which inhibits proliferation of cancer cells and promotes apoptosis.
Phenolic acids present in Venus Fly Trap act as anti-inflammatories, apoptotic agents and angiogenesis inhibitors, and flavonoids are present that act as antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, apoptotic agents and angiogenesis inhibitors.
Venus Fly Traps are fun for kids, but whether they yield a pharmaceutical agent useful in the treatment of cancer still needs more investigation.
In the meantime, we can appreciate the novelty of its carnivorous nature and gruesome imagery of how it uses insects as both prey and pollinators. We can also enjoy being spooked by stories about flesh eating plants, such as The Day of the Triffids, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, From Hell it Came, or hilariously, The Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women.
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*This post is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any disease. Always seek medical advice directly through consultation with a health professional.