Maine Trees Might Just Help Make Medicine Cheaper

We all know that Maine is the state of lobster and trees. They are literally everywhere we look. Which is one of the things that makes our state so stunning. But did you know that trees can possibly do more then just look pretty?

Yea. They could someday make medicine more affordable, according to News Center Maine. That is what researchers at the University of Maine are currently trying to do and honestly, it’s pretty darn cool.   

How do Make Medicine From Maine Wood  

The idea is that instead of just chopping down all the trees for furniture or firewood, the geniuses are taking those same wood chips and sawdust, the leftovers, and creating something amazing from it. It’s call (s)-3-hydroxy-y-butrolactone, or HBL for short.   

HBL is the foundation that can be used to make all sorts of pharmaceutical drugs. Think of it almost like Legos or Lincoln Logs, but for medicine.

By using this wood, a natural resource here, they are hoping to create a cheaper and more sustainable way to cook up ingredients that normally will cost us a ton more to make. This means, less waste and lower costs for medicines, as per the article. And their the medicines we all rely on.   

Read More: Never Heard of Forest Bathing in Maine? Here's the Scoop 

If you don’t understand the science behind it, just trust that the scientists have sorted out a way to take Maine timber and turn it into building blocks for cheaper medicine somehow. It’s almost like magic.

So next time you are walking in a Maine forest, look at a tree and think to yourself, this tree could give me cheaper Lipitor.