'What they found was that the potion, made from the nuts of the atun
tree, works a lot like an antibiotic, killing various types of
bacteria. And in a report in the British Medical Journal this month,
they explain how a 300-year-old text by a Dutch naturalist named
Rumphius could help scientists in their search for new and better
drugs.
"It was lost traditional knowledge," Buenz said.
Buenz, 29, traveled to Samoa to collect the nuts and consult with shamans. "And we tested it and it worked."'
