IE 116 1st Edition Lecture 20Outline of Last Lecture Medicinal botany 1I. Who discovers Medicinal Botany?a. Ethnobotanyb. Pharmacognosyc. Homeopathyd. Allopathye. Medicinal use exampleII. Early use of plantsa. Pharmacopoeiab. Ancient Greece and Persiac. 16 and 17 Century European medicine Outline of Current Lecture Medicinal Botany 2I. 4 techniques of medical discovery from plantsII. Bioprospecting VS BiopiracyIII. IssuesCurrent LectureI. 4 techniquesa. Whole plant extract was used TRADITIONALLY for the same reason it is now.- Whole plant or extract was used for same purpose it is now.- Isolated active ingredient.- Chemical is modified to alter potency and or negative effects.- EX: Foxglove: Used as a part of folk remedy for congestive heart failure.o Fluid and swelling of heart, excruciating pain.o Drill holes and drain fluido William Withering (1741-1799) Tested each ingredient in folk remedy and found that foxglove had digoxin and digitoxinmeant to treat heart issues.- EX: Asprin: Bark of white willow as a pain reliever.o 1821-1829 – Salicin was isolated and reduces aches and onwardso 1838 – derived salicylic acido 1897 – acetylsalicylic acid by FELIX HOFFMANb. Whole plant was used HISTORICALLY for a different reason than it is now- EX: Cinchona -> Quinineo Malaria is a disease through misquitos in Europe, America, and tropical places. Kills 1,000,000 annually, leading cause of death for kids under 5 yr old.o Cyclic fevers every 24, 28, 72 hours, chills, etc. Spanish Jesuits in Peru named Cinchona tree, and used originally to stop shivering and fever reducing. Actually stopped malaria for a while (until it morphed)- Antipyretic (Anti-fever)- Antimalarial- Analgesic (painkilling)- Anti-inflammatory- BITTER TASTEo Mixed quinine with sugar etc, thus Gin and Tonic. Canada Dry is almost all quinine.- EX: Madagascar Periwinkle –> Vinblastine and Vincristineo Ornamental flower now found everywhere.o ORIGINALLY used to treat diabeteso WWII troops tried to use for diabetes in 1950s. Researchers found (ELI LILLY) that there was no evidence for an effect on diabetes. Also found that extracts reduced white blood cell count without significant side effects.- VINBLASTINE AND VINCRISTINE- Cancer fighting treatments: leukemia or other cancers- Survival rate for children with cancer jumped form 20% to 80%.o Become controversial because Eli Lilly earns A LOT of money for this,but no money is sent back to Madagascar to protect the plant or for the place they found it. Known now as “pirated” knowledge.c. Toxic or poisonous plant is examined for medicines.- Sweet Clover -> Coumadino 1920s: cattle disease in Wisconsin. o Intense hemmoraging after small surgical procedures.o Found, they were eating moldy sweet clover, and blood wouldn’t clot. Identified compound as dicumarol(anticoagulant) Coumadin WAS commercialized as a rat poison.o 1950s: Coumadin used to prevent clotting in humans.d. Brute Force Techniques- Screen thousands or tens of thousands of plants for activity.o 1955 set up cancer chemotherapy screening to find plants that have cancer-fighting compounds.o 1960s: Bark of pacific Yew tree had Paclitaxel that induces cell death,and can help fight cancer.  Unfortunately, requires A LOT of bark for 1 dose. 1 tree = 1 dose.  CONTROVERSIALo Taxol can be found in fungus that lives on Yew tree in high amounts as a byproduct.II. Bioprospecting VS Biopiracya. Bioprospecting- Trusted in a culture, obtain information that may be very secret.o ETHICAL DILEMMA Unwritten guideline of returning money.- Official definition: searching for new plants or bioactive molecules. Either randomly (taxol) or local knowledge (quinine).b. Biopiracy: commercial use of “traditional knowledge” or genetic resources without compensation to the indigenous peoples that "discovered” the plant/medicinal properties of a plant.- In 1993, 1.2 million used for access to 10,000 plant samples. Merck could c. International cooperative biodiversity groups (ICBG) – funds programs that conserve biodiversity, etc.ICBG EX: The Suriname Project- Protect communities and knowledge- Extraction and screening.III. Issuesa. compensation for countries/societies that identified or developed plant- By international law: obtaining a patent on a n- OWNERSHIP OF BIODIVERSITYo National governments – but what about knowledge of use? ADVANTAGE: Can defends property rights (for national gain) DISADVANTAGE: Can defend property rights (locals that knew it and grew it lose out)o Local Governmentso Humankind – should have right in totalIssue 2: Restrictions on indigenous useEX: NEEM: The oil from the neem tree is used as a medicine and pesticide. Couldn’t patent plant itself, but they patented the oil.Because it wasn’t “written” anywhere, they said they didn’t owe anything to India.Luckily, in 2005, India gained rights. Places are now digitizing so they can