According to a report, researchers at an Australian pharmaceutical firm have discovered a promising anti-cancer substance found in a Borneo shrub, while a chemical found in latex produced by a tree appears to be effective against the replication of HIV.
In the bark of another species of tree, the researchers discovered a previously unknown substance which in laboratory tests appeared to kill the human malaria parasite, it added.
In all, it said, 422 new plant species had been discovered in Borneo - shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei - in the last 25 years and many others were believed to be there which could have medicinal applications.
But "all these promising discoveries could eventually be lost if the disappearing rainforests of the heart of Borneo are not adequately protected," the WWF said.
Borneo's forest cover has shrunk to 50 percent of its territory today from 75 percent in the mid-1980s, the report said.
