, Aug. 3 -- Researchers have discovered that two highly poisonous flowering plants-wolfsbane and larkspur-could help pave the way for new medicines to treat pain, malaria and cancer, while also offering safer ways to control agricultural pests.

The study, led by scientists from Michigan State University (MSU) and the Czech Academy of Sciences, identified a method to reproduce part of the plants' complex chemical process in the laboratory. The findings were published in the journal Molecular Plant.

Although both plants can cause nerve damage and paralysis even in very small amounts, they also produce natural compounds with promising medicinal properties.

"These plants have been used in different forms of medicine throughout the world fo...