Connected 2015 Level 3: ‘The Science of Rongoā’

Māori use kawakawa as rongoā (traditional medicine). But when scientists tested the kawakawa leaves they said there was no scientific evidence to support the plant’s medicinal properties. Chris Ryan took a closer look at the scientists’ investigations and noticed that they had not used traditional methods to prepare the kawakawa. He wondered if this might have affected their results. So Chris decided to carry out his own investigation.