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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Novel Plant Bioresources: Applications in Food, Medicine and Cosmetics serves as the definitive source of information on under-utilized plant species, and fills a key niche in our understanding of the relationship of human beings with under-utilized plants. By covering applications in food, medicine and cosmetics, the book has a broad appeal.
In a climate of growing awareness about the perils of biodiversity loss, the world is witnessing an unprecedented interest in novel plants, which are increasingly prized for their potential use in aromas, dyes, foods, medicines and cosmetics. This book highlights these plants and their uses. After an introductory section which sets the scene with an overview of the historical and legislative importance of under-utilized plants, the main four parts of the book are dedicated to the diverse potential application of novel plant bioresources in Food, Medicine, Ethnoveterinary Medicine and Cosmetics.
Examples and contributors are drawn from Africa, Europe, the USA and Asia. The economic, social, and cultural aspects of under-utilized plant species are addressed, and the book provides a much needed boost to the on-going effort to focus attention on under-utilized plant species and conservation initiatives. By focusing on novel plants and the agenda for sustainable utilization, Novel Plant Bioresources highlights key issues relevant to under-utilized plant genetic resources, and brings together international scholars on this important topic.
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
List of contributors
Foreword
Part One: Novel Plant Bioresources: Applications in Medicine, Cosmetics, etc.
Chapter 1: Plant Diversity in Addressing Food, Nutrition and Medicinal Needs
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture
1.3 Plant genetic diversity for nutrition
1.4 Plant diversity for medicines
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 2: World Health Organization Perspective for Traditional Medicine
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Policies on traditional medicine
2.3 Tools and guidelines
2.4 Implementation of the regional strategy on traditional medicine
2.5 The way forward
2.6 Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: Cultivation of Novel Medicinal Plant Products and Associated Challenges
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Basic principles of novel crop cultivation
3.3 Case study 1:
Pelargonium sidoides
3.4 Case study 2:
Sutherlandia frutescens
3.5 Case study 3:
Euphorbia resinifera
3.6 Conclusion
References
Further reading
Chapter 4: Enabling Technologies to Facilitate Natural Product-Based Drug Discovery from African Biodiversity
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Enabling-technology platforms
4.3 Natural product diversification and drug metabolite generation platform
4.4 Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Assessing Biodiversity: A Molecular Approach Using DNA Sequencing
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Taxonomy and evolution
5.3 Assessing diversity
5.4 DNA sequencing and barcoding
5.5 Plant genomics
5.6 Analysis of marker data
References
Chapter 6: Conservation of Endangered Wild Harvested Medicinal Plants: Use of DNA Barcoding
6.1 Wild harvested medicinal plants: background and challenges
6.2 DNA barcoding general
6.3 DNA barcoding and species delimitation
6.4 DNA barcodes for plants
6.5 Examples of DNA barcoding of cryptic and prepared plant material
6.6 Plant DNA authentication, verification and certification
6.7 Future opportunities and challenges
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 7: Market Entry, Standards and Certification
7.1 Sustainable utilization of indigenous plant products
7.2 Market entry
7.3 Certification
7.4 Developing indigenous plant-based enterprises as viable businesses with developing country communities
Acknowledgements
References
Further reading
Chapter 8: European Union Market Access Categories and Regulatory Requirements for Novel Natural Products
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Raw materials
8.3 Finished products
8.4 Summary
Reference
Further reading
Chapter 9: Nutrition, Health and Food Security: Evidence and Priority Actions
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Well-being and nutrition
9.3 Traditional food cultures
9.4 Nutrition in pregnancy and infancy
9.5 Health and nutrition education is central for development
9.6 Research and development
9.7 Role of agricultural growth on reducing poverty, hunger and malnutrition
9.8 Concluding remarks
References
Part Two: Medicine (Plants as Medicine: Humans and Animal Health)
Chapter 10: Anticancer Potential of African Plants: The Experience of the United States National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health1
10.1 Introduction
10.2 The United States National Cancer Institute programme
10.3 The International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups programme
10.4 Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 11: Biodiversity as a Source of Potent and Selective Inhibitors of Chikungunya Virus Replication
11.1 The epidemiology of chikungunya virus
11.2 The PHYTOCHIK programme for the discovery of natural compounds active against chikungunya virus
11.3 Euphorbiaceae, abundant source of anti-chikungunya virus compounds
11.4 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 12: Using African Plant Biodiversity to Combat Microbial Infections
12.1 Introduction and problem statement
12.2 Commercial use of African medicinal plants in the herbal medicine industry
12.3 Why is there such a difference in product development for antimicrobials versus other medicinal applications?
12.4 Methods used in developing useful products
12.5 Results of random screening of large number of species
12.6 Our approach to random screening
12.7 Activity of compounds isolated against
Staphylococcus aureus
12.8 Discovering antifungal compounds from natural products
12.9 Review papers focusing on antimicrobial activity of plants from Africa
12.10 Promising new approaches
12.11 The potential of using African medicinal plants as extracts
12.12 Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 13: Plant Medicines Used in the Treatment of Malaria
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Approach used in the review
13.3 Plant species commonly used to treat malaria in Uganda
13.4 Conclusions and recommendations
References
Chapter 14: Multiple Anti-Infective Properties of Selected Plant Species from Zimbabwe
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Preparation of plant extracts
14.4 Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 15: Development of Phytodrugs from Indigenous Plants: The Mali Experience
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Development of new phytodrugs
15.3 Discussion
15.4 Conclusion
References
Chapter 16: Healing Aloes from the Mascarenes Islands
16.1 Introduction
16.2 The Asphodelaceae
16.3 Prospects and research avenues
References
Chapter 17: Pharmacological Activities of Some of the Neglected and Underutilized Tropical Plants in Malaysia
17.1 Introduction
17.2 Muntingia calabura
17.3 Dicranopteris linearis
17.4 Bauhinia purpurea
17.5 Melastoma malabathricum
17.6 Conclusion
References
Chapter 18: Multiple Applications of Endophytic Colletotrichum Species Occurring in Medicinal Plants
18.1 Introduction
18.2 Diversity of endophytic
Colletotrichum
sp. in medicinal plants
18.3 Biomedical applications
18.4 Agriculture applications
18.5 Industrial applications
18.6 Perspectives
18.7 Conclusion
References
Chapter 19: African Plants with Potential for Development into Ethnoveterinary Products
19.1 Introduction
19.2 What is ethnoveterinary medicine?
19.3 Ethnoveterinary medicine in Africa
19.4 African plants as sources of commercial remedies
19.5 Examples of African medicinal plants used for ethnoveterinary purposes with scope for commercialization
19.6 Toxicity
19.7 Conclusions
References
Chapter 20: African Plant Biodiversity in Pest Management
20.1 Introduction
20.2 History of humans' use of plant biodiversity in pest management
20.3 Methods and approaches in pest management
20.4 Research on plant use in pest management
20.5 Biodiversity of African plants used in pest management
20.6 Benefits of the use of plants in crop pest management
20.7 Limits of the study
20.8 Conclusion
References
Appendices
Chapter 21: Commercialization of Ethnoveterinary Botanical Products
21.1 Introduction
21.2 Therapeutic areas for ethnoveterinary applications
21.3 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 22: Plants Used for Pest Management in Malawi
22.1 Introduction
22.2 Merits and demerits of pest management systems in Malawi
22.3 Plant species used in pest management
References
Part Three: Food (Spices, Fruit and Vegetables, etc.)
Chapter 23: Aromatic Plants: Use and Nutraceutical Properties
23.1 Introduction
23.2 Mediterranean aromatic plants
23.3 Concluding remarks
References
Chapter 24: ‘Let Your Food Be Your Medicine’: Exotic Fruits and Vegetables as Therapeutic Components for Obesity and Other Metabolic Syndromes
24.1 Introduction
24.2 Obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndromes
24.3 Medicinal food plants against metabolic diseases
24.4 Conclusion
References
Chapter 25: Strategic Repositioning African Indigenous Vegetables and Fruits with Nutrition, Economic and Climate Change Resilience Potential
25.1 Introduction
25.2 African indigenous vegetables and fruits
25.3 Strategic repositioning of indigenous vegetables and fruits in the horticulture
25.4 Concluding remarks
References
Chapter 26: Hepatoprotective, Antiulcerogenic, Cytotoxic and Antioxidant Activities of Musa acuminata Peel and Pulp
26.1 Introduction
26.2 Hepatoprotective activity
26.3 Antiulcerogenic activity
26.4 Cytotoxic activity
26.5 Antioxidant activity
26.6 Conclusion
References
Chapter 27: Plant Bioresources and their Nutrigenomic Implications on Health
27.1 Introduction
27.2 Plant bioresources for health uses: beyond traditional uses
27.3 Bioactivity of plant bioresources: nutrigenomic implications
27.4 Potential implications of the rising trend in the use of plant bioresources for remedies
27.5 Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 28: Safety of Botanical Ingredients in Personal Healthcare: Focus on Africa
28.1 Introduction
28.2 Safety in healthcare via food consumption
28.3 Medicinal plants in healthcare
References
Part Four: Cosmetics (Including Dyes, Aromas)
Chapter 29: Aromatic and Medicinal Plants in North Africa: Opportunities, Constraints and Prospects
29.1 Introduction
29.2 Aromatic and medicinal plants in North Africa: a snapshot on the countries of the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia)
29.3 Aromatic and medicinal plants in North Africa: overview and prospects
29.4 Aromatic and medicinal plants in Morocco: opportunities, constraints and prospects
29.5 Development of the aromatic and medicinal plants sector in Morocco: the strategy adopted
29.6 Research conducted in the field of aromatic and medicinal plants: achievements and prospects
29.7 Medicinal and aromatic plants in Algeria
29.8 Medicinal and aromatic plants in Tunisia
29.9 Molecular techniques as tools for conservation and valorization of aromatic and medicinal plants
29.10 Sector of aromatic and medicinal plants in North Africa: prospects
References
Chapter 30: Development of Natural Cosmeceuticals: Harnessing Asia's Biodiversity
30.1 Introduction
30.2 Mangosteen: a ‘fruity’ depigmenting agent
30.3
Ficus deltoidea
: the ‘golden’ treasure from nature
30.4
Labisia pumila
: Malaysia's queen of herbs
30.5
Andrographis paniculata
: a ‘bitter’ therapy for the skin
30.6
Centella asiatica
: herbs' jack of all trades
30.7 Future trends
References
Chapter 31: Unique Bioresources from Ethiopia for Food, Medicine and Cosmetics
31.1 Introduction
31.2
Boswellia
species (Burseraceae),
etan
(Amharic)
31.3
Catha edulis
(Celastraceae), khat
31.4
Coffea arabica
(Rubiaceae),
buna
(Amharic)
31.5
Commiphora myrrha
(Burseraceae),
kerbe
(Amharic)
31.6
Croton macrostachyus
(Euphorbiaceae),
bissana
(Amharic)
31.7
Echinops kebericho
(Asteraceae),
kebericho
(Amharic)
31.8
Ensete ventricosum
(Musaceae),
enset
(Amharic)
31.9
Eragrostis tef
(Poaceae),
tef
(Amharic)
31.10
Hagenia abyssinica
(Rosaceae),
koso
(Amharic)
31.11
Moringa stenopetala
(Moringaceae),
sheferaw
(Amharic)
31.12
Nigella sativa
(Ranunculaceae),
tequr azmud
(Amharic)
31.13
Phytolacca dodecandra
(Phytolaccaceae),
endod
(Amharic)
31.14
Sorghum bicolor
(Poaceae),
mashla
(Amharic)
31.15
Taverniera abyssinica
(Leguminosae),
dengetegna
(Amharic)
31.16
Civettictis civetta
: source of civet
zebad
(Amharic)
31.17 Conclusion
References
Chapter 32: Aromatic Plants from Reunion Island (France)
32.1 Introduction
32.2 Aromatic plant production: economic data
32.3 Extraction techniques used in Reunion Island
32.4 Analysis of essential oils and plant headspace in the Chemistry Laboratory of Natural Substances and Food Sciences
32.5 Identification of volatile compounds at the Chemistry Laboratory of Natural Substances and Food Sciences
32.6 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 33: Anti-Parasitic Activity of Essential Oils and their Active Constituents against Plasmodium, Trypanosoma and Leishmania
33.1 Introduction
33.2 Essential oils
33.3 Compounds isolated from essential oils
33.4 Discussion and conclusion
References
Chapter 34: Metabolomic Analysis of a Commercially Important Aromatic Plant from the Indian Ocean: Vanilla planifolia
34.1 Introduction
34.2 Vanilla description
34.3 Vanilla metabolomics
34.4 Other future prospects
34.5 Conclusions
References
Chapter 35: Natural Dyes for Photonics Applications
35.1 Introduction
35.2 Nonlinear optical properties of natural dyes: χ
(3)
and optical limiting applications
35.3 Linear optical properties of natural dyes: Grätzel dye solar cells
35.4 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 36: The Host Innate Immune Response to Propionibacterium acnes and the Potential of Natural Products as Cosmeceutical Agents
36.1 The skin and its function
36.2 The impact of skin disorders with focus on acne
36.3
Propionibacterium acnes
: is it the culprit?
36.4 Acne vulgaris (acne)
36.5 The activation of innate and adaptive immune system
36.6 The host immune response to infection by
Propionibacterium acnes
36.7 Conventional treatments available for acne vulgaris
36.8 Potential of natural products to treat acne vulgaris
36.9 The importance of the emergence of plant life on Earth
36.10 A proposed stepwise approach from plant extract to cosmeceutical product
References
Chapter 37: New Natural Aromatic Products: Search, Evaluation and the Development Issues
37.1 Introduction
37.2 The family of natural aromatic extracts
37.3 The search and screening process
37.4 Sources of potential plant opportunity identification
37.5 The characteristics and classification of natural aromatic materials
37.6 Evaluating the characteristic strengths and weaknesses of natural aromatic materials
37.7 The development issues
37.8 Conclusion
References
Further reading
Index
End User License Agreement
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Guide
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Figure 1.1
Figure 1.2
Figure 1.3
Figure 2.1
Figure 2.2
Figure 2.3
Figure 2.4
Figure 2.5
Figure 2.6
Figure 2.7
Figure 2.8
Figure 2.9
Figure 3.1
Figure 3.2
Figure 3.3
Figure 3.4
Figure 3.5
Figure 4.1
Figure 4.2
Figure 4.3
Figure 4.4
Figure 4.5
Figure 4.6
Figure 4.7
Figure 4.8
Figure 4.9
Figure 5.1
Figure 5.2
Figure 5.3
Figure 5.4
Figure 5.5
Figure 5.6
Figure 5.7
Figure 5.8
Figure 8.1
Figure 8.2.
Figure 8.3
Figure 10.1
Figure 10.2
Figure 10.3
Figure 10.4
Figure 11.1
Figure 11.2
Figure 11.3
Figure 11.4
Figure 11.5
Figure 11.6
Figure 11.7
Figure 11.8
Figure 11.9
Figure 11.10
Figure 12.1
Figure 12.2
Figure 12.3
Figure 12.4
Figure 14.1
Figure 14.2
Figure 14.3
Figure 14.4
Figure 14.5
Figure 14.6
Figure 14.7
Figure 14.8
Figure 15.1
Figure 15.2
Figure 15.3
Figure 15.4
Figure 15.5
Figure 15.6
Figure 15.7
Figure 15.8
Figure 15.9
Figure 15.10
Figure 15.11
Figure 15.12
Figure 15.13
Figure 15.14
Figure 15.15
Figure 15.16
Figure 15.17
Figure 15.18
Figure 16.1
Figure 16.2
Figure 16.3
Figure 16.4
Figure 16.5
Figure 16.6
Figure 16.7
Figure 16.8
Figure 18.1
Figure 18.2
Figure 18.3
Figure 26.1
Figure 26.2
Figure 26.3
Figure 26.4
Figure 26.5
Figure 26.6
Figure 26.7
Figure 26.8
Figure 26.9
Figure 28.1
Figure 29.1
Figure 29.2
Figure 29.3
Figure 30.1
Figure 30.2
Figure 30.3
Figure 30.4
Figure 31.1
Figure 31.2
Figure 31.3
Figure 31.4
Figure 31.5
Figure 31.6
Figure 31.7
Figure 31.8
Figure 31.9
Figure 31.10
Figure 31.11
Figure 31.12
Figure 31.13
Figure 32.1
Figure 32.2
Figure 32.3
Figure 32.4
Figure 32.5
Figure 32.6
Figure 32.7
Figure 32.8
Figure 32.9
Figure 32.10
Figure 32.11
Figure 32.12
Figure 33.1
Figure 33.2
Figure 33.3
Figure 34.1
Figure 34.2
Figure 34.3
Figure 34.4
Figure 34.5
Figure 34.6
Figure 34.7
Figure 34.8
Figure 35.1
Figure 35.2
Figure 35.3
Figure 35.4
Figure 35.5
Figure 35.6
Figure 35.7
Figure 35.8
Figure 35.9
Figure 35.10
Figure 35.11
Figure 35.12
Figure 35.13
Figure 35.14
Figure 35.15
Figure 35.16
Figure 36.1
Figure 36.2
Figure 36.3
Figure 36.4
Figure 36.5
Figure 36.6
Figure 36.7
Figure 36.8
Figure 36.9
Figure 36.10
Figure 36.11
Figure 36.12
Figure 37.1
Figure 37.2
Figure 37.3
Figure 37.4
Figure 37.5
List of Tables
Table 1.1
Table 1.2
Table 3.1
Table 3.2
Table 3.3
Table 4.1
Table 7.1
Table 7.2
Table 7.3
Table 7.4
Table 8.1
Table 8.2
Table 10.1
Table 10.2
Table 11.1
Table 11.2
Table 12.1
Table 12.2
Table 12.3
Table 13.1
Table 14.1
Table 14.2
Table 14.3
Table 14.4
Table 14.5
Table 17.1
Table 18.1
Table 18.2
Table 19.1
Table 22.1
Table 22.2
Table 23.1
Table 24.1
Table 24.2
Table 25.1
Table 26.1
Table 26.2
Table 26.3
Table 26.4
Table 26.5
Table 26.6
Table 26.7
Table 26.8
Table 26.9
Table 26.10
Table 26.11
Table 26.12
Table 27.1
Table 27.2
Table 27.3
Table 28.1
Table 29.1
Table 33.1
Table 35.1
Table 35.2
Table 35.3
Table 35.4
Table 35.5
Table 36.1
Table 36.2
Table 36.3
Table 37.1
Table 37.2
Table 37.3
Table 37.4
Table 37.5
Novel Plant Bioresources
Applications in Food, Medicine and Cosmetics
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
Center for Phytotherapy Research (CEPHYR), Mauritius
This edition first published 2014 © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Novel plant bioresources : applications in food, medicine and cosmetics / [edited by] Ameenah Gurib-Fakim.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-118-46061-0 (cloth)
1. Plant diversity. 2. Germplasm resources conservation—Economic aspects. 3. Germplasm resources, Plant—Economic aspects. 4. Plant biotechnology. I. Gurib-Fakim, Ameenah, editor of compilation.
QK46.5.D58N68 2014
333.95'3416—dc23
2013046825
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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List of contributors
Abderrahman Aafi,
Forest Research Center, High Commission for Water, Forests and Combat Desertification, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco
Azila Abdul-Aziz,
Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Fatimah Corazon Abdullah,
Natural Products Discovery Laboratory, Institute of Bio-IT Selangor, Universiti Selangor, Malaysia
Mohamed Aberchane,
Forest Research Center, High Commission for Water, Forests and Combat Desertification, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco
M.O. Abukutsa-Onyango,
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya, Department of Horticulture, Nairobi, Kenya
E.G. Achigan-Dako,
Laboratory of Plant Science, Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences (FSA), University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Republic of Benin
Gauravi Agarkar,
Department of Biotechnology, Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, Amravati (MS), India
T. Balan,
Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Joanne Bero,
Pharmacognosy Research Group, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Bruxelles, Belgium
John A. Beutler,
Molecular Targets Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, Frederick, MD, USA
Anne Bialecki,
Laboratoire de Chimie des Substances Naturelles et des Sciences des Aliments, Faculté des Sciences et Technologies, Université de la Réunion, La Réunion, France
Thomas Brendler,
Plantaphile Ltd, Collingswood (USA), Eastbourne (UK) and Berlin (Germany)
Bruno Canard,
Laboratoire d'Architecture et de Fonction des Macromolécules Biologiques (AFMB-AMU-UMR7257), Marseille, France
Kelly Chibale,
Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
Nyaradzo T.L. Chigorimbo-Murefu,
Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
Theresa Chimponda,
Biomolecular Interactions Analyses Group, Department of Biochemistry, University of Zimbabwe, Mt. Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
Elaine Chirisa,
Biomolecular Interactions Analyses Group, Department of Biochemistry, University of Zimbabwe, Mt. Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
Tariro Chitemerere,
Biomolecular Interactions Analyses Group, Department of Biochemistry, University of Zimbabwe, Mt. Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
Gordon M. Cragg,
Natural Products Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program, NCI-Frederick, Frederick, MD, USA
E. Dagne,
African Laboratory for Natural Products (ALNAP), Department of Chemistry, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Hugo de Boer,
Systematic Biology, Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden;
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Faculty of Science, Leiden, The Netherlands; Faculty of Science, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
M.E. Dulloo,
Bioversity International, Rome, Italy
J.N. Eloff,
Phytomedicine Programme, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa
C.A. Fatimah,
Institute of Bio-It Selangor, Universiti Selangor, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia,
Faculty of Sciences & Biotechnology, Universiti Selangor, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Ulrich Feiter,
Parceval Ltd, Cape Town, South Africa
T.H. Fernandes,
Lúrio University, Nampula, Mozambique
L.J. Ferrão,
Lúrio University, Nampula, Mozambique
Mohamed Ghanmi,
Forest Research Center, High Commission for Water, Forests and Combat Desertification, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco
Joyce Govinden-Soulange,
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius
Barbara Gravendeel,
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, National Herbarium Nederland – Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
Françoise Guéritte,
Centre de Recherche de Gif, Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles (ICSN), CNRS, LabEx LERMIT, Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
Lucia Guidi,
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Jean-Claude Guillemot,
Laboratoire d'Architecture et de Fonction des Macromolécules Biologiques (AFMB-AMU-UMR7257), Marseille, France
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim,
Center for Phytotherapy Research (CEPHYR), Ebene, Mauritius
Mariani Abdul Hamid,
Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
Rosnani Hasham,
Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
C.A. Houdegbe,
Laboratory of Plant Science, Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences (FSA), University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Republic of Benin
D. Hunter,
Bioversity International, Rome, Italy,
School of Agriculture and Wine Sciences (SAWS), Charles Sturt University, Orange, New South Wales, Australia
Murray Hunter,
School of Business Innovation & Technoentrepreneurship, University Malaysia Perlis, Malaysia
Abdul Latif Ibrahim,
Natural Products Discovery Laboratory, Institute of Bio-IT Selangor, Faculty of Sciences & Biotechnology, Universiti Selangor, Malaysia
Mustapha Umar Imam,
Laboratory of Molecular Biomedicine, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Maznah Ismail,
Laboratory of Molecular Biomedicine, Institute of Bioscience, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Maurice Iwu,
Bioresource Development & Conservation Programme, Nigeria, Head Office, Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
Yasmina Jaufeerally-Fakim,
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius
John F. Kamanula,
Chemistry Department, Mzuzu University, Luwinga, Mzuzu, Malawi
F.H. Kamisan,
Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Ossy M.J. Kasilo,
World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
David R. Katerere,
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Arcadia Campus, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa
Abderrahim Khia,
Laboratory of Biotechnology, Environment and Quality, Faculty of Sciences, University Ibn Tofail, Kénitra, Morocco
Salomé Kpoviessi,
Pharmacognosy Research Group, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Bruxelles, Belgium,
Laboratory of Physic and Synthesis Organic Chemistry (LaCOPS), University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Faculty of Sciences and Technics (FAST), Cotonou, Benin,
Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and Essential Oils (LAPHE), University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Faculty of Health Sciences (FSS), Faculty of Sciences and Technics (FAST), Cotonou, Benin
Namrita Lall,
University of Pretoria, Department of Plant Science, Lynwood, Pretoria, South Africa
Marco Landi,
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Mohammed Lamorde,
Infectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
D. Leaman,
Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada
Pieter Leyssen,
Rega Institute for Medical Research (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
Marc Litaudon,
Centre de Recherche de Gif, Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles (ICSN), CNRS, LabEx LERMIT, Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
M. Maaza,
UNESCO–UNISA Africa Chair in Nanosciences/Nanotechnology, College of Graduate Studies, University of South Africa (UNISA), Muckleneuk Ridge, Pretoria, South Africa,
Nanosciences African Network (NANOAFNET), iThemba LABS–National Research Foundation, Somerset West, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Mohamad Fawzi Mahomoodally,
Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius
Lucy Lynn Maliwichi,
University of Venda, Thohoyando, Republic of South Africa
Cecilia Maliwichi-Nyirenda,
Indigenous Knowledge Centre, Blantyre, Malawi
S.S. Mamat,
Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Rumbidzai Mangoyi,
Biomolecular Interactions Analyses Group, Department of Biochemistry, University of Zimbabwe, Mt. Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
L.J. McGaw,
Phytomedicine Programme, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa
Grace Mugumbate,
Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
Stanley Mukanganyama,
Biomolecular Interactions Analyses Group, Department of Biochemistry, University of Zimbabwe, Mt. Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
S. N'Danikou,
Laboratory of Plant Science, Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences (FSA), University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Republic of Benin; Bioversity International, West and Central Africa Office, Cotonou, Benin
David J. Newman,
Natural Products Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program, NCI-Frederick, Frederick, MD, USA
Jean-Baptiste Nikiema,
World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
Norhayati Mohammad Noor,
Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
Marco Nuno de Canha,
University of Pretoria, Department of Plant Science, Lynwood, Pretoria, South Africa
Antonia Nyamukuru,
Sustainable Use of Plant Diversity (SUPD), Kampala, Uganda
Christopher Okunji,
US Pharmacopeial Convention, Rockville, MD, USA
Joseph Otieno,
Department of Medical Botany, Plant Breeding and Agronomy, Institute of Traditional Medicine, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Tony L. Palama,
Unité Mixte de Recherche – Peuplement Végétaux et Bioagresseurs en Milieu Tropical, Université de La Réunion, Saint-Denis, La Réunion, France
L. Denzil Phillips,
Denzil Phillips International Ltd, Richmond (UK) and Sinsheim (Germany)
Joëlle Quetin-Leclercq,
Pharmacognosy Research Group, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Bruxelles, Belgium
Lida Rahimi,
Natural Products Discovery Laboratory, Institute of Bio-IT Selangor, Universiti Selangor, Malaysia
Mahendra Rai,
Department of Biotechnology, Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, Amravati (MS), India
Philippe Rasoanaivo,
Institut Malgache de Recherches Appliquées (IMRA), Avarabohitra Itaosy, Antananarivo, Madagascar
Dnyaneshwar Rathod,
Department of Biotechnology, Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, Amravati (MS), India
R. Rodzi,
Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Rokia Sanogo,
Faculté de Pharmacie, Université des Sciences, des Techniques et des Technologies de Bamako, Mali,
Département de Médecine Traditionnelle, Institut National de Recherche en Santé Publique, Bamako, Mali
Mohamad Roji Sarmidi,
Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
Badr Satrani,
Forest Research Center, High Commission for Water, Forests and Combat Desertification, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco
Smeetha Singh,
University of Pretoria, Department of Plant Science, Lynwood, Pretoria, South Africa
Jacqueline Smadja,
Laboratoire de Chimie des Substances Naturelles et des Sciences des Aliments (LCSNSA), Faculté des Sciences et Technologies, Université de La Réunion, La Réunion, France
C.N.A. Sossa-Vihotogbé,
Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi (FSA/UAC, Benin), Cotonou, Benin
John R.S. Tabuti,
Makerere University, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (MUCAES), Kampala, Uganda
D.A. Tchokponhoue,
Laboratory of Plant Science, Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences (FSA), University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Republic of Benin
Tinde van Andel,
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, National Herbarium Nederland – Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
Sarina Veldman,
Systematic Biology, Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
R. Vihotogbé,
Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi (FSA/UAC, Benin), Cotonou, Benin
Susan A. Wren,
International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Nairobi, Kenya
Harisun Yaakob,
Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
F. Yahya,
Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Salah Eddine Bakkali Yakhlef,
Forest Research Center, High Commission for Water, Forests and Combat Desertification, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco
Zainul Amiruddin Zakaria,
Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia, Natural Products Discovery Laboratory, Institute of Bio-IT Selangor, Universiti Selangor, Malaysia
Foreword
Biodiversity is the basis of life. At the dawn of a new millennium, one of the most pressing challenges of our time is the continuing, and at times irreversible, loss of biodiversity on our planet.
Global efforts to reduce biodiversity loss began in earnest with the establishment of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1993 at the Rio Earth Summit. Today, the CBD counts 193 parties (or governments) as members, representing a dramatic step forward in the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. To maintain focus, the United Nations has decreed the period 2011–2020 as the Decade on Biodiversity.
Nowhere is the need for conservation and sustainable utilization of biodiversity greater than in sub-Saharan Africa, whose biodiversity wealth is uniquely important from a global conservation viewpoint. The African continent is home to between 40 000 and 60 000 plant species, of which at least 35 000 are found nowhere else. Africa's biodiversity wealth is not uniformly distributed. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and South Africa have each been classified as ‘megadiverse’ countries, the world's 17 most biologically diverse countries that together account for nearly 70% of global species diversity. South Africa's Cape Floristic Region (CFR) represents less than 0.5% of the area of the African continent but is home to nearly 20% of its flora, containing nearly 3% of the world's plant species.
Despite its enormous natural wealth, sub-Saharan Africa faces daunting conservation challenges. Its flora and fauna are under unrelenting assault from a variety of threats: agricultural expansion, habitat loss and degradation, overexploitation, illegal hunting and trade, invasive alien species, rapid population growth, urbanization and climate change to name just a few. As argued in Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa's Development, biodiversity loss in Africa has a significant impact on economic growth and social development. For Africa's rural citizens, it has the effect of removing key sources of food, fuel and medicines, as well as adversely affecting tourism and pharmaceuticals – from a reduction in the availability of medicinal plants. New knowledge, about conservation and whole plant utilization, is needed, not just to strengthen the conservation effort, but to harness Africa's unique patrimony of natural resources to foster economic development, reduce poverty and protect the environment.
Seen in this context, this volume, Novel Plant Bioresources: Applications in Food, Medicine and Cosmetics edited by Professor Ameenah Gurib-Fakim of Mauritius, is a major new contribution for promoting sustainable utilization and management of novel plant genetic resources in Africa and beyond. It advances our understanding of the increasingly crucial role that plants play in the economic, cultural, medical and social spheres of our lives. The volume's focus on underutilized plant species is welcome, and marks a first-of-its type effort to marshal, in one publication, novel uses of plants for food, cosmetics and medicines.
The volume includes contributions from a diverse range of scholars – a majority hailing from the African continent – who offer fresh, new insights on novel plants and a wide range of important, related topics, including conservation, discovery of new drugs, new molecular approaches, market standards, nutrition and commercial applications of medicinal plants, among others.
Sustainable utilization and management of plant genetic resources is a topic of contemporary significance. By marshalling the latest evidence and cutting-edge knowledge, this volume should find broad appeal among activists, business leaders, scientists, farmers, policymakers and all those who are committed to reducing biodiversity loss on our planet.
Ismail SerageldinDirectorBibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt
Part OneNovel Plant Bioresources: Applications in Medicine, Cosmetics, etc.
Chapter 1Plant Diversity in Addressing Food, Nutrition and Medicinal Needs
M.E. Dulloo1, D. Hunter1,2 and D. Leaman3
1Bioversity International, Rome, Italy
2School of Agriculture and Wine Sciences (SAWS), Charles Sturt University, Orange, New South Wales, Australia
3Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada
1.1 Introduction
The world presently still faces tremendous challenges in securing adequate food that is healthy, safe and of high nutritional quality for all, and doing so in an environmentally sustainable manner (Pinstrup-Andersen, 2009; Godfray et al., 2010). With the growing demand of an expected 9 billion people by 2050, it remains unclear how our current global food system will cope (Foley et al., 2011; Tilman et al., 2011). Compounded with climate change, ecosystems and biodiversity under stress, ongoing loss of species and genetic diversity, increasing urbanization, social conflict and extreme poverty, there has never been a more urgent time for collective action to address food, nutrition security and health globally (Hunter and Fanzo, 2013). Currently, 868 million people suffer from hunger in spite of the target of Millennium Development Goal No. 1 to halve hunger by 2015, while micronutrient deficiencies, known as hidden hunger, undermine the growth and development, health and productivity of over 2 billion people (Micronutrient Initiative, 2009). At the same time, over 1 billion people, worldwide, are overweight (WHO, 2012), and as many as 80% of the world's people depend on traditional medicine (which involves the use of plants extracts or their active principles) for their primary health care needs (WHO et al., 1993).
As we shall see in this chapter, plant diversity has a critical role to play in addressing the food and nutrition security and medicinal needs of people of this world. The Plant List (2010) reports that there are just over 1 million recorded scientific plant names at the species ranks, of which about 30% have accepted species names, 45% are synonyms and 25% are still unresolved. This reflects the estimations of the number of plant species that exist in the world as being between 250 000 and 400 000 (Govaerts, 2001; Bramwell, 2002). These numbers are most likely to change as new plants are being discovered and as taxonomists resolve the nomenclatures of recorded plant species. The plant diversity is not evenly distributed across the world and tends to be concentrated in specific diversity-rich areas. It is generally known that most diversity of species occurs within the warm regions of the tropics and less diversity exists in temperate and boreal regions of the world (Dulloo, 2013). Barthlott et al. (2005) has identified five centres that reach a species richness of more than 5000 plant species per 10 000 square kilometres (Costa Rica-Chocó, Atlantic Brazil, Tropical Eastern Andes, Northern Borneo, New Guinea). Most of the global centres are located in mountainous regions within the humid tropics, where suitable climatic conditions and high levels of geodiversity (i.e. the diversity of abiotic conditions) coincide (Barthlott et al., 2005). Myers et al. (2000) noted that as many as 44% of all species of vascular plants and 35% of all species in four vertebrate groups are confined to 25 hotspots comprising only 1.4% of the land surface of the Earth, mostly located in tropical areas. Among crops plants, the Russian breeder Nicolai Vavilov identified eight centres of origin of cultivated plants including South Mexican and Central America, Southern America, Mediterranean centre, Middle East, Ethiopia, Central Asia, India and China (Vavilov, 1931).
As the primary producers of our planet, capturing sunlight energy that fuels life on Earth in the process of photosynthesis, plants are the most fundamental and essential resources for humankind. Besides this fundamental function, plant species provide us with sources of foods, medicines, clothes, ornamentals, building materials and other uses. Plants are also an intricate part of all our ecosystems and provide all the essential ecosystem services, including the provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services. Besides the obvious provisioning of food in ensuring that people are food and nutritionally secured, many plants contribute directly to our agriculture by providing valuable traits and genes that are used by modern-day breeders for crop improvement, in particular those plants which are closely related to crop plants, the so-called crop wild relatives (CWRs). In addition, all human societies use plants as medicines. Many plant species protect and enrich our soil: nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules of leguminous plants fertilize the soil. They form an essential link in the biogeochemical cycles, including water, nitrogen and other nutrient cycles. Plants provide direct support for other life forms. For example, trees are habitats for many organisms, including providing nesting sites for birds and a harbour for many other animals. Mangroves protect our coasts and provide a breeding ground for many marine organisms. There is also an inextricable link between plants and culture (Posey, 1999). Many plant species play important cultural roles in the development of human cultures throughout the world. Indigenous, traditional and local communities have a deep knowledge about plants and their uses as medicines, in traditional customs and rituals and have sustainably used and conserved a vast diversity of plants. The use of biologically active materials from the natural environment as medicines to maintain and restore health is an important human adaptation, as fundamental a feature of human culture as is use of fire, tools and speech (Alland, 1966; Johns, 1990). Having evolved over millennia, the knowledge, cultural traditions and medicinal resources of many human societies may be rapidly disappearing with the loss of cultural and biological diversity (Principe, 1991; Schultes, 1991).
In spite of this great diversity of plants on Earth and the fundamental role they play, the story of crops and humanity has shown an increasing reliance on a small proportion of plant species used by humans (Murphy, 2007). The beginnings of exploitation of plant diversity for food and nutrition are as old as humankind, and early hunter–gatherers in pre-agricultural times would have exploited their local environment for readily available fruits, berries, seeds, flowers, shoots, storage organs and fleshy roots to complement meat obtained from hunting.
Furthermore, the evolution of crop plants that began about 10 000 years ago resulted in an even greater reliance by humans on much-reduced plant diversity than was previously utilized for food supply. While the number of plant species used for food by pre-agricultural human societies is estimated at around 7000 (Wilson, 1992), another 70 000 are known to have edible parts (Kunkel, 1984). An estimated 50 000–70 000 plant species are used medicinally around the world (Schippmann et al., 2002, 2006), of which relatively few are produced in cultivation (Mulliken and Inskipp, 2006). Prescott-Allen and Prescott-Allen (1990) calculated that the world's food comes just from 103 plant species based on calories, protein and fat supply; 30 crops provide 95% of the world food energy needs (FAO, 1998). However, only four crop species (maize, wheat, rice and sugar) supply almost 60% of the calories and proteins in the human diet (Palacios, 1998). Today, in population terms, 4 billion people rely on rice, maize or wheat as their staple food, while a further 1 billion people rely on roots and tubers (Millstone and Lang, 2008), and as these authors point out there are thousands of plant species with neglected potential utility for humans and which represent one of the most poorly underutilized and underappreciated food resources we have.
The great majority (70–90%) of the market demand for medicinal and aromatic plants is supplied through wild collection (Lange, 1998; Bhattacharya et al., 2008), providing many rural communities with important sources of income. While some wild-sourced plants appear to be produced in a sustainable manner, others, particularly high-demand species in international trade, evidently are not sustainably sourced (Sheldon et al., 1996; Oldfield and Jenkins, 2012). Moreover, medicinal plant species are likely to be threatened by loss of habitat, climate change and other factors contributing to the extinction of plants and other species worldwide (Vié et al., 2009).
1.1.1 Threatened plants and crop varieties
There have been many studies and assessments undertaken at national, regional and global levels to show that plant diversity is globally threatened. Historically, our knowledge of the threatened plants stems from the pioneering work of Sir Peter Scott (then chairman of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission) who initiated the compilation of a list of threatened plants which led to the publication of the IUCN Plant Red Data Book in 1978 (Lucas and Synge, 1978). This book provided the conservation status of 250 species (mainly European plants) of the 25 000 plant species estimated to be threatened at this time. This work encouraged other countries to develop their own lists of threatened plants and Plant Red Data Books (Gabrielyan, 1988; Strahm, 1989; Fu and Chin, 1992; Golding, 2002). The 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants was the first-ever published list of threatened vascular plants, including ferns and fern allies, gymnosperms and flowering plants, and listed 12.5% of the world's vascular flora (estimated at 270 000 at this time) as being threatened at the global scale, recognizing though that this assessment was based on incomplete data sets and the quality of data, which varied considerably depending upon regions and taxonomic groups (Walter and Gillett, 1998). The work did not take into account genetic erosion within the populations of species, which is important for plant genetic resources and wild relatives of cultivated plants.
IUCN (2001) has developed a uniform way of estimating the degree of threat to taxa. Taxa are listed in the IUCN Red List under categories that indicate the varying degrees of their probability of extinction. There are nine clearly defined IUCN categories under which every species (or lower taxonomic unit) in the world can be classified (Figure 1.1). Taxa are then classified to these categories, by assessment using five quantitative criteria and sub-criteria that take into account the population sizes, distribution range and degree of threats (IUCN, 2001). Such criteria, however, cannot be applied to cultivated plants, which require a different paradigm. Padulosi and Dulloo (2012) proposed a novel approach for monitoring cultivated plants that is based on assessing current trends and possible decline of its cultivation over time. The ultimate objective of monitoring cultivated species is to secure their effective use by people so as to meet sustainably their livelihood needs. This approach would allow us to ‘raise the red flag’ when such a decline goes below that level (compared with past use-trends) under which its benefits (nutritional, income generation, etc.) are no longer spread over the community. Thus, a four-cell framework has been proposed for assessing cultivated plants, mostly at varietal levels, based on the number of households and areas of cultivation (Padulosi and Dulloo, 2012) (Figure 1.2). Several countries have attempted to produce a red list of cultivated plants, including Romania (Antofie, 2011), Germany (Hammer and Khoshbakht, 2005; Meyer and Vögel, 2006) and Nepal (Joshi et al., 2004).
Figure 1.1The IUCN Red List categories
Figure 1.2 Five-cell framework for assessing threatened cultivated plants. Source: Padulosi and Dulloo (2012)
This global concern about loss of plant diversity led botanists convened at the XVIth International Botanical Congress in St Louis Missouri, USA, in August 1999 to call for plant conservation as a global priority in biodiversity conservation. This in turn led to the development of The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which was first adopted at the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in April 2002 and was subsequently revised at the tenth Conference of Parties in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan. The GSPC established 16 outcome-oriented targets to halt the loss of plant diversity and provided a framework which facilitated harmony between existing initiatives aimed at plant conservation. It stimulated many countries to make progress to achieve the GSPC targets, including undertaking preliminary assessment of conservation status of their known species and lists of their threatened species. Recently, an ad hoc international expert group of ethnobotanists meeting at Missouri Botanic Garden (1–2 May 2013) called for a development global programme on the conservation of useful plants and associated knowledge for the successful implementation of the GSPC objectives and targets by 2020 (Peter Wyse-Jackson, 2 May 2013, personal communication).
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) identified five major direct drivers of biodiversity loss and ecosystem service changes. These are habitat change, climate change, invasive alien species, overexploitation and pollution. A study on the patterns of threats to the flora of an entire continent (South America) showed that population accessibility, expansion of agriculture and grazing pressure are also key drivers of immediate extinction risk of plant diversity (Ramirez-Villegas et al., 2012).
With regard to plant biodiversity important for agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) second State of the World Report on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA; FAO, 2010) provided a review of the change in state of PGRFA since the first report was published in 1998 (FAO, 1998). By PGRFA we mean cultivated crops and their varieties as well as their wild relatives and wild food plants (i.e. wild harvested plants). PGRFA has an enormous contribution to make in ensuring food security, livelihood and resilience of the production system and in coping with climate change.
The FAO's recent publication on Save and Grow (FAO, 2011) informs us that 50% of food production growth actually comes from PGRFA, and consequently plays an important role in improving crop production. With the challenge of the need to increasing food production by 50–70% in order to meet the demand for food by 9.1 billion people by 2050 (Tomlinson, 2013), the FAO proposed a new paradigm of sustainable crop production intensification (SCPI) for producing more from the same land while conserving resources, reducing negative impacts on the environment and enhancing natural capital and flow of ecosystem services (FAO, 2011). To achieve this paradigm the FAO SCPI strategy quotes, ‘Farmers will need a genetically diverse portfolio of improved crop varieties that are suited to a range of agro-ecosystem and farming practices and resilient to climate change’ (FAO, 2011). In other words, the paradigm can only be realized if the production system is diversified. Jarvis et al. (2007) previously showed that the broader the diversity employed on farm, the more resilient will be the production system. In particular, local landraces, which are considered to be the reservoirs of adaptive variation in crops (Sthapit and Padulosi, 2012), will be key in sustaining on-farm production as well as providing raw materials for future plant breeding. Crop diversity also helps to reduce genetic vulnerability, whereby diversity within a field or within a production system helps to ensure stability in overall food production and thus reduces the risks to agricultural production. A more diverse cropping system helps to buffer against the spread of pests and diseases and the vagaries of weather, likely to occur in uniform monoculture cultivation. A bioversity project in Kitui, east of Kenya, showed that farmers who grew a wider range of crops on the farm coped better with drought conditions. While maize crops failed during April 2009, farmers who grew local drought-resistant crops such as ngelenge (a local type of lima bean, Phaseolus lunatus L.), cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) and mbumbu (hyacinth bean, Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet) and some forms of sorghum successfully gathered a good harvest (Bioversity International, 2009). In the global context, the phenomenon of genetic vulnerability represents a major risk with regard to the capacity of our agricultural systems to ensure sustainable food security, as well as the livelihoods of farmers.
With regard to medicinal plants, The World Bank has called on health officials, economists and other planner/decision-makers the world over to include the contribution of medicinal plants to national health and local economies in national resource accounting (Srivastava et al., 1996; Lambert et al., 1997). The contribution of medicinal plants to health and livelihoods is recognized directly and indirectly in international and regulatory policy frameworks focusing on the relationship between biodiversity conservation and human social, cultural, health, and economic security and development (see Box 1.1).
Box 1.1. Relevant Targets on Agricultural Biodiversity
Millennium Development Goal
Target 7.B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss.
Global Strategy on Plant Conservation (2011–2020)
Target 6: At least 75% of production lands in each sector managed sustainably, consistent with the conservation of plant diversity.
Target 7: At least 75% of known threatened plant species conserved in situ.
Target 8: At least 75% of threatened plant species in ex situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and at least 20 % available for recovery and restoration programmes.
Target 9: 70% of the genetic diversity of crops including their wild relatives and other socio-economically valuable plant species conserved, while respecting, preserving and maintaining associated indigenous and local knowledge.
Target 11: No species of wild flora endangered by international trade.
Target 12: All wild-harvested plant-based products sourced sustainably.
Target 13: Indigenous and local knowledge, innovations and practices associated with plant resources, maintained or increased, as appropriate, to support customary use, sustainable livelihoods, local food security and health care.
Source:https://www.cbd.int/gspc
United Nations Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 (Aichi biodiversity targets)
Target 2: By 2020, at the latest, biodiversity values have been integrated into national and local development and poverty reduction strategies and planning processes and are being incorporated into national accounting, as appropriate, and reporting systems.
Target 4: By 2020, at the latest, governments, businesses and stakeholders at all levels have taken steps to achieve or have implemented plans for sustainable production and consumption and have kept the impacts of use of natural resources well within safe ecological limits.
Target 7: By 2020, areas under agriculture, aquaculture and forestry are managed sustainably, ensuring conservation of biodiversity
Target 12: By 2020, the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained.
Target 13: By 2020, the genetic diversity of cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and of wild relatives, including other socio-economically as well as culturally valuable species, is maintained and strategies have been developed and implemented for minimizing genetic erosion and safeguarding their genetic diversity.
Target 18: By 2020, the traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and their customary use of biological resources, are respected, subject to national legislation and relevant international obligations, and fully integrated and reflected in the implementation of the convention with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities, at all relevant levels.
Source:www.cbd.int/sp/targets
World Health Organization
The Alma-Ata Declaration (1978) urged countries and their governments to include traditional medicine in their primary health systems, and to recognize traditional medicine practitioners as health workers, particularly for primary health care at the community level.
International Consultation on Conservation of Medicinal Plants (Chiang Mai, Thailand), convened by WHO, IUCN and WWF in 1988, resulting in the ‘Chiang Mai Declaration’ calling for action to ‘Save the Plants that Save Lives’ (WHO et al., 1993).
World Health Assembly resolution on medicinal plants (WHO, 1988), referring to the Chiang Mai Declaration, placed medicinal plants, their rational and sustainable use, and their conservation firmly in the arena of public health policy and concern.
WHO traditional medicine strategy (WHO, 2002a), included components to protect indigenous traditional medical knowledge aiming to promote their recording and documentation, and to protect medicinal plants aiming to promote their sustainable use and cultivation.
World Health Assembly resolution on traditional medicine (WHO, 2003a) requested the WHO to collaborate with other organizations of the UN system and nongovernmental organizations in various areas related to traditional medicine, including research, protection of traditional medical knowledge and conservation of medicinal plants resources.
Guidelines on good agricultural and collection practices (GACP) for medicinal plants (WHO, 2003b) provide general technical guidance on quality assurance and control of herbal medicines, including obtaining herbal materials of good quality for the sustainable production of herbal medicines.
