12^th Global Ethnomedicine and Ethnopharmacology Conference August 08-09, 2018 Osaka, Japan

Biography:

Patrick has extensive experience with teaching and R&D in (sub)tropical agriculture and ethnobotany in the (sub)tropics. As a ‘general tropical agronomist’, he started his career as a research fellow with IITA in Ibadan (plant protection, 1979). He then moved on as associate expert to FAO, and was stationed in northern Senegal (plant protection x vegetable production; 1980 – 1982). Subsequently, he integrated Ghent University (GU), first as a research assistant in forestry, then in tropical agronomy. In 1989, he obtained his GU PhD in tropical agronomy (field: ecophysiology). He became full professor at GU in 1992, and at Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, in 2012. He has (co-)managed > 50 R&D projects in the tropics, financed by EC (INCO-DEV), Flemish interuniversity cooperation, Belgian development aid, IDB, IICA,… concentrating on (medicinal) plant domestication, sustainable development and (medicinal) plants value chains. He has extensive hands-on, policy development experience in > 30 African countries, most of Latin America, > 10 Asian countries, and collaborates/d with academic, research and development partners all over the world. At UG, he is chair of the Centre for Sustainable Development, and of the Ghent University Association Africa Platform. He is member of several professional societies (Economic Botany,…), vice-chair of the International Foundation for Science, chair of the European Forum for Agricultural Research for Development (www.efard.eu), and executive committee member of the Global Forum for Agricultural Research (www.gfar.net). He is expert committee member for the CITES (plants) and Carthagena protocols (Belgium), and also advises on CBD/ABS-related matters.

Abstract:

Worldwide people have been, are still and will continue to use medicinal plants to cure all types of human (and animal) diseases. Numerous plants have compounds of interest to the pharmaceutical industry. Following ethnobotanical information (and/but also based on canvas sampling of plants), formal research has been able to confirm the activity spectrum of numerous plant-derived medicinal compounds, that were subsequently developed into herbal remedies and/or allopathic medicine. However, overexploitation/overharvesting from the wild, driven by 'promising' markets and prospects of (quick/easy) benefits may alter and even annihilate the often precarious natural resource basis. Through a number of telling examples from the field (with an emphasis on perennials from the tropics) and based on our own research findings, we will try to address/define strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) to developing herbal and plant-based medicinal markets

Biography:

Juan García is a student of Tropical Medicine PhD and has completed his MSc in Rural Development from Javeriana Pontifical University. He is a professor of the program of Veterinary Medicine and Husbandry in the University of Amazonia and he is director of the researchers' international network in Creole cattle. Between his publications highlights the book "Saberes" about ancestral and ethnoveterinary knowledge in a region of Amazonas basin.     
 

Abstract:

In a region of Amazonas basin in Colombia, an ethnoveterinary research was carried out to know how peasant farmers treat and control bovine affections with plants available in their farms. 19 farms were randomly selected between those located in the Santo Domingo District of Florencia municipality (n= 200 farms approx.). Data collection was achieved through direct observation, participatory observation, surveys, semi-structured and in-depth interviews. The development of the study found 27 ethnomedicinal plants to supply health requirements of the herds. It was found too that the specie with the highest number of reports was Carica papaya, reported in 42% of the farms, followed by Cordia alliodora (identified as antidiarrheal, antipyretic and antidote against snakes bite), reported in 31.5% of the farms. C. papaya was noted for its associations with anti-inflammatory properties, especially in mastitis, antipyretic, immunostimulant and milk ejector. Specific therapeutic aspects of the resources were not described at this stage of the research. In general terms, when peasants detect symptoms, they supply the products as green fodder extracts or infusions. they also perform some spraying and plastering of these to the animals. The research concluded that the conservation of therapeutic agroforestry knowledge is connected with oral peasant family tradition and the creation of knowledge networks between friends and neighbors. Additionally, it is recommended the development of experimental assays, in which the pharmacological properties of the different species identified, can be revealed in methodological schemes.

Biography:

The plants and animals, from the very beginning of their existence, are being studied by two distinct standpoints viz., (i) philosophical and (ii) utilitarian. The plants especially from the latter standpoint were/are studied as a source of medicine.  The science of medicine is based on ‘cause and effects’, apart from certain other theories and philosophies. One such ancient philosophy is ‘the doctrine of signatures’. However, it has been criticized since its beginning. The present communication is the result of analysis of the knowledge of our ancients and author’s own observations. It is aimed at inviting attention of intellectuals to revive fallacy (myth) or truism (reality) of the said doctrine.

The present attempt particularly sheds light on history and development of this doctrine, contributions of pioneers, types of signature, background of planetary influence, comparison of signatures from ethnomedicine to modern medicine, echo of doctrine of signatures on common plant names in various human societies, various views of proponents and opponents of the doctrine, etc. It is concluded that the drug sources based on the doctrine alongwith verification on scientific lines (i.e. nature to laboratory to clinics) is a better way to human welfare.

Abstract:

Prof.D.A.Patil obtained his Ph.D. in 1983. Dr.B.A.Ambedkar Marathwada University (M.S.), India . He published 313 research papers in international reputed journals. He is well-known plant taxonomist and ethnobotanist. He is fellow of Linnean Botanical Society (London) and many other scientific associations and societies. He authored 14 books to date and guided 15 students for Ph.D. degree. He is member of  editorial boards of 10 scientific journals. He is awarded 11 awards in his area of research.

Biography:

Sabtain Adil  is a recent researcher at PhD at the age of 32 years from Islamia College University. He has published more than 3 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as a lecturer in Botany at Govt PG Jahanzeb college Saidu Sharif Swat Pakistan

Abstract:

Swat region of province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan being the hub of medicinal and aromatic plants possess a rich history, culture and ethnic societies with regard to the use and knowledge of medicinal plants. A large quantity of research work has been conducted on the ethno-medicinal importance of terrestrial plant species but unfortunately, the importance of aquatic flora always remained underestimated. The present research analysis was made to explore the Ethnobotanical studies and medicinal utilization of aquatic plant species for the 1^st time ever in the botanical history of the area. A total of 34 aquatic plant species related to 24 genera and 18 families were collected and identified. The medicinal importance documented, using semi-structured questionnaire and informal interviews during regular field tours. A total of 80 males and aged females local plant experts provided the information. The highest number of plant species i.e. 4 species belong to family Polygonaceae.  The frequently used medicinal part is leaf, whose smoke is used as Mosquitoes/Flies repellent mostly, other use categories include edible food or vegetables, fodder and fuel material. The data was quantitatively analyzed using various indices like frequency citation (FC), relative frequency of citation (RFC), use report (UR) and use value (UV).

Biography:

Adnan Bashir is the Administrative Officer of Pakistan Academy of Sciences Islamabad. He has completed his MS from National University of Sciences and Technology. He is currently working with International Organizations like National Academy of Sciences, USA and Chinese Academy of Sciences and many others for the promotion of health in Pakistan. His two papers are under review in the internally renowned Impact factor journals.

Abstract:

The Traditional Medicine has been around for nearly millennia. People have been benefiting from the indigenous plants and still 80 percent of the population in Asia and Africa use traditional remedies to treat various illnesses. There are different forms of traditional medicines include Chinese Traditional Medicines, Tibb e Nabwi, Ayurveda, Unani, Korean traditional medicine and Kampo. This research aims to review the connection between the Natural/Traditional medicines and the modern synthetic pharmaceutical products and explore different methodologies that are being used in the modern pharmaceutical industries in extracting products from indigenous plants and fusing them with the modern synthetic medicines. However, the fact cannot be denied that there are incomparable advantages of synthesizing medicines using the traditional medicines due to their unique biological activities and diverse chemical structures. So, instead of peddling pseudotherapies under the guise of traditional medicine or Ayurveda, researchers should take the hard route and make ancient knowledge actually useful.

Biography:

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim earnt a BSc Chemistry (University of Surrey, UK) and PhD (University of Exeter, UK). She spent her entire academic career studying the medicinal and aromatic plants of Mauritius and also of the Indian Ocean creating the first ever database and has published extensively in this area. Author of 28 books and research papers, she translated her academic research work into an enterprise CIDP Research and Innovation, specialising in the production of innovative ingredients for the food, cosmetic and pharma sectors as well as validating traditional knowledge for novel innovative products. She has participated in several international conferences and lectured across the world.

Abstract:

The African continent has an estimated over 216 M ha of closed forest area and houses 40-45.000 higher plant species with huge untapped potential. Africa contributes 25% of the global pool of plant genetic resources currently being traded. While over 5.000 plants are used medicinally, few have been described and studied. This gross under-utilisation is further challenged with massive loss of biodiversity averaging 1% as opposed to a global 0.6%.

In spite of these challenges, Africa traditional knowledge has helped to contribute to the world’s leading commercial medicinal plants, albeit on the low side (83 out of the 1100). Among them are the following: Madagascan Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum procrumbens), Rauwolfia (Rauwolfia vomitoria) amongst others which have been explored for their medicinal value. On the cosmetic side, Shea butter (Vitteleria paradoxa) as well as the oil of the Baobab (Adansonia digitata), Rooibos extract (Aspalathus linearis) Honey bush (Cyclopia sp.) are fast becoming the hallmark of the continent. With so much potential and diversity, why is African ‘absent’ on the international scene. It is becoming increasingly clear that the potential for the business is enormous. Research works are increasingly pointing to this huge untapped potential. This presentation will present some of the recent results from the standpoint of standardized herbal extracts; novel essential oils from the local flora, as well as new leads for for the pharma and cosmetic industries.

Biography:

Yanqiu Liu has completed her PhD at the age of 28 years from Shenyang Pharmaceutical University and postdoctoral studies from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She is the associate director of laboratory, Institute of Integrative Medicine, Dalian Medical University. She has published more than 30 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of repute.

Abstract:

Deficient in osteoblastogenesis from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) may cause a decrease in bone mass, resulting in osteoporosis. Regulation of BMSC survival and differentiation becomes essential for developing targeting drugs. Here, we evaluated the potential influence on osteoblastogenesis by combing wedelolactone with oleonuzhenide, two chemical components from Er-Zhi-Wan, a traditional Chinese formulae, which has been proved to be effective in treating osteoporosis. Wedelolactone at 2 μg/ml and oleonuezhenide at 10 μg/ml enhanced osteoblast differentiation and bone mineralization level. The enhanced effect was more potent when BMSC was treated with wedelolactone plus oleonuezhenide. Similarly, the expression of osteoblastogenesis-related marker genes including osteorix, osteocalcin and runx2 increased. At the molecular level, oleonuezhenide did not affect GSK-3β phosphorylaton induced by wedelolactone, but elevated Casein kinase 2-alpha (CK2α) expression, resulting in β-catenin and runx2 nuclear translocation. Addition of Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), a CK2α inhibitor, blocked oleonuezhenide-induced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and correspondingly suppressed β-catenin nuclear accumulation induced by oleonuezhenide or combined with wedelolactone. Additionally, high dose (10 μg/ml) of wedelolactone-induced cytotoxity in BMSC was relieved by addition of 10 μg/ml oleonuezhenide, and these BMSC protected by oleonuezhenide maintained osteblastic activity. Oleonuezhenide increased Wnt 5a and CK2α expression. Wedelolactone-reduced extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation was reversed by oleonuezhenide. However, addition of DMAT decreased ERK phosphorylation induced by oleonuezhenide. Together, these data demonstrated that oleonuezhenide enhanced wedelolactone’s action on osteoblast differentiation and activity through Wnt/CK2α/β-catenin pathway and prevented wedelolactone-induced cytotoxity through Wnt5a/ CK2α/ERK pathway.

Biography:

Melissa Zermit Namchu is a doctoral candidate at the National University of Singapore and the University of Edinburgh, a joint degree programme. She comes from a multi-disciplinary background, with tranings in Political Science (BA, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata), Social Work (MA, TISS, Mumbai) and Planning and Development (M.Phil, IIT-Bombay). She has been working on the Lepcha community for many years and is very keen about ethnographic methods. Her M.Phil thesis was based on the relation between the Lepcha community and organic farming in Sikkim.

Abstract:

This paper deals with the complexity of caregiving and health-seeking behaviour among the indigenous Lepcha people. Indigenous societies are viewed as a homogenous entity but the case of the Lepchas has been very different as historical factors have divided the community along territorial and religious lines. This division in the community has led to complexity in health-seeking behaviour which provides me with a platform to understand how the model of dominative medical system functions in a Lepcha society. Hence, the study will be seen against a background of medical pluralism and a time when the Lepchas are dealing with political mayhems which are steered by the demand for an ethnic homeland by the immigrant Nepalis, that they are super-imposing on the Lepcha land, and has today, left the Lepchas to an insignificant minority. My aim is not to undertake a polarised study- whether traditional medicine works or not, but to understand the empirical reality of the complex health-seeking behaviour. To comprehend how traditional medicine survives and how the title of the ‘great-ethnobotanical practitioners’ is upheld by the community. One of the key aims of this study is to understand the role and knowledge of medicine men and how they position themselves in a medically pluralistic society. Known to possess rich ethnobotanical knowledge of the flora and fauna found in the eastern Himalayan belt, the Lepchas have in the recent years been termed as a 'Vanishing tribe'. Now reduced to the status of a minority in terms of population, the number of local medicine men too have been steadily declining. However, the 'Vanishing' status has alarmed many leaders- political as well as social elites, who today are taking steps to promote and revive the age-old practice. Steps are also being taken to bridge the differences that are existent within the community spread over two different states of West Bengal and Sikkim in North East India- to establish a pan Lepcha identity. Nevertheless, the penetration of developmental activities in towns and villages have posed many new challenges in keeping up with traditional practices- especially in the health sector.

I have approached this study from the perspective of medical anthropology- a subfield of anthropology- by using anthropological theories and methods to questions about health, illness and healing. Ethnomedicine- the study of traditional practices- that uses ethnography of health and healing behaviour in the Lepcha society forms a major component of this study.

Biography:

Hong Yang has completed her PhD in 2010 from Pharmacy department of National University of Singapore. She worked as an analytical chemist in a biotechnology company for two years before she joined Temasek Polytechnic as a lecturer. In her past five years working in Temasek Polytechnic, she has been awarded a researh grant from Ministry of Education to pursue her resesarch interest in utlizing advanced analytical instrument to evaluate the efficacy of ingredients present in food/herbal matrices.

Abstract:

In this work, we established a new methodology to simultaneously assess the relative reaction rates of multiple antioxidant compounds in one experimental set-up. This new methodology hypothesizes that the competition among antioxidant compounds towards limiting amount of free radical (in this article, DPPH) would reflect their relative reaction rates. In contrast with the conventional detection of DPPH decrease at 515 nm on a spectrophotometer, depletion of antioxidant compounds treated by a series of DPPH concentrations was monitored instead using liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight (LC-QTOF). A new parameter, namely relative antioxidant activity (RAA), has been proposed to rank these antioxidants according to their reaction rate constants. We have investigated the applicability of RAA using pre-mixed standard phenolic compounds, and also extended this application to two food products, i.e. red wine and green tea. It has been found that RAA correlates well with the reported k values. This new parameter, RAA, provides a new perspective in evaluating antioxidant compounds present in food and herbal matrices. It not only realistically reflects the antioxidant activity of compounds when co-existing with competitive constituents; and it could also quicken up the discovery process in the search for potent yet rare antioxidants from many herbs of food/medicinal origins. (Up to 250 words)

Biography:

Professor Daniel Motlhanka has completed his PhD in Pharmacognosy from King’s College, University of London in United Kingdom in 2005. He is currently the only Professor of Pharmacognosy in Botswana. He is the leading expert in ethnopharmacological and phytochemical studies including isolation and identification of compounds from indigenous useful plants of Botswana. Professor Motlhanka is Head of Department of Basic Sciences at the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources. He has published tremendously on Bioactivity profiles of medicinal and food plants of Botswana. Prof Motlhanka who is also a herbalist is an expert in plant based extracts used to treat many ailments. He has made presentations in international conferences in Atlanta (USA), South Carolina (USA), North Carolina(USA), Alabama(USA), Florida(USA), Manchester (UK), London(UK), Harrogate(UK), Kent(UK), Malaysia, India, Italy, Germany, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Mauritius, Kenya, Pretoria (RSA), Durban(RSA), Capetown(RSA), Zambia and many seminars in Waterloo (London),London Bridge( London), St Thomas (London), Kew Gardens (London) as well as a chain of local presentations in Botswana. Professor Motlhanka is member of many associations including the Society of Economic Botany. Prof Motlhanka is passionate about environmental conservation and cultivation of endangered plants germplasm. Prof Motlhanka is Botswana’s the chief lead investigator in natural product research for both neutraceutical and the pharmaceutical industry

Abstract:

In order to identify the value and neutraceutical potential of bioactive compounds with free radical scavenging activity, some underutilized edible fruits were studied for total phenolic content. There is plethora of evidence that increased consumption of fruits significantly reduces the incidence of chronic diseases (Prakash et al., 2012) such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other aging- related pathologies (Spillar, 2001; Velioglu et al., 1998). Polyphenols present in fruits have significant antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities with protective properties on biomolecules such as lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. In Botswana, wild fruits are widely consumed by rural communities and contribute to the socio-economic security. The main objective of the present study was to conduct phytochemical analysis and evaluate the free radical scavenging and total phenolic profiles of edible wild fruits from three plants of the genus Strychnos. Phytochemical screening revealed presence of alkaloids, phytosterols, phenols, terpenoids, reducing sugars, saponins and flavonoids. Free radical scavenging power estimated by the stable free radical DPPH ranged from 78.8% (S.cocculoides); 89.6% (S.madagascariensis); 95.4% (S.spinosa) acetone extracts measured at 50µg/ml. Total phenolic contents by the Folin-Ciocalteu method ranged from 678(S.madagascariens);968(S.cocculoides) and 1288mg/L GAE (S.spinosa).the results of these study validates the use of the wild fruits as health promoting agents and their potential as neutraceuticals.