[MPWG] NWFP-Digest-L 4/05
Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov
Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov
Wed Apr 6 09:34:13 CDT 2005
Finally, in April '05, Non-Wood Forest Products Digest provides native news
on new state harvest regulations for ginseng, as well as several
interesting country reports. Although not a medicinal plant, an article
discussing wild-harvest versus cultivation of bamboo (under, 37. Other
publications of interest) encapsulates several important issues that are
relevant to medicinals.
I'm caught up on NWFP now! I hope you'll excuse the multiple postings, but
I was concerned the files might be too large if I put them all together.
Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
Botanist - Division of Scientific Authority
Chair - Plant Conservation Alliance - Medicinal Plant Working Group
US Fish & Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 750
Arlington, VA 22203
703-358-1708 x1753
FAX: 703-358-2276
Working for the conservation and sustainable use of our green natural
resources.
<www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal>
NWFP-Digest-L
No. 4/05
Welcome to FAO’s NWFP-Digest-L, a free e-mail journal that covers all
aspects of non-wood forest products. A special thank you to all those who
have shared information.
Back issues of the Digest may be found on FAO's NWFP home page:
www.fao.org/forestry/site/12980/en
==============================================================
IN THIS ISSUE:
PRODUCTS
1. Agarwood: patent for cultivated agarwood
2. Bamboo: Pandas risk starvation as bamboo flowers
3. Bamboo business is booming in Rajahmundry, India
4. Bamboo and bamboo shoots
5. Bushmeat: Tackling the illegal meat trade
6. Ginseng flourishes in Wisconsin (USA)
7. Ginseng: Legislation aims to regulate ginseng
harvest
8. Gum arabic: Uganda to export gum arabic
9. Lac: New programme to raise lac production
10. Medicinal plants: World Going Herbal in HIV/Aids
Fight
11. Sandalwood: Indian court directs sandalwood oil
units to close
12. Willow and its uses
NEWS
13. Non-wood News
14. Earthcorps International: Free training course
15. International Youth Camp on traditional knowledge
starts on Kamchatka
16. PhD & Postdoctoral Fellowships - Sustainable
Development
COUNTRY INFORMATION
17. Azerbaijan: France to donate 10,000 euros for new
forests
18. Brazil seeks public views on biodiversity research
rules
19. Cameroon: Atlas to ease forest management
20. Cuba bets on bee honey exports
21. Fiji: Honey attracts farmers to course
22. India: Bill for tribals’ right to forest produce
23. India: Rich biodiversity confirms Chattisgarh as
India's herbal capital
24. Malaysia: Sustainable forest projects eligible for
EC-UNDP grants
25. Nepal: Medicinal plants’ contribution on revenue
significant
26. Nepal: certification of NWFPs
27. Rwanda: bamboo woodlands
28. Uganda: Forests contribute $190m to livelihood
EVENTS
29. The Global Women's Forum
30. Biodiversity Assessment and Monitoring Course
31. The Yew Chronicles--Microtubule-Stabilizing
Therapeutic Agents
32. The 2005 International Symposium on Society and
Resource Management (ISSRM2005)
33. A Future Beneath the Trees
34. The Smithsonian Environmental Leadership Course
35. NTFP Fair and Forum 2005
LITERATURE REVIEW AND WEB SITES
36. Worrying decline in nature's 'services'
37. Other publications of interest
38. Web sites and e-zines
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
39. Center for International Forest Research (CIFOR) (2
positions)
MISCELLANEOUS
40. Ancient bamboo slips sheds light on building of
Great Wall
41. Canopies: Top-level study of rainforests' secrets
42. More could be done to protect native plant species
43. Poland: Amber smuggling
BACK TO TOP
PRODUCTS
1. Agarwood: patent for cultivated agarwood
Source: United States Patent 6,848,211
The invention provides agarwood from cultivated trees, and methods of
generating agarwood in cultivated trees.
Agarwood is a highly prized incense that is extremely rare. It
has at least a 3000-year history in the Middle East, China and Japan. There
are also references to agarwood in the literature of India and France, and
even in the Old Testament of the Bible.
Agarwood remains today the world's most expensive incense. The
value of agarwood shipped out of Singapore alone each year has been
estimated to exceed $1.2 billion.
For full details of the patent, please see:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6848211.WKU.&OS=PN/6848211&RS=PN/6848211
BACK TO TOP
2. Bamboo: Pandas risk starvation as bamboo flowers
Source: The Age (Australia), 30 March 2005
Hundreds of giant pandas in western China could die from starvation because
the bamboo plants they eat have begun to flower and die back.
Wardens in the north-western province of Gansu are to monitor
the 102 pandas in the Baishuijiang State nature reserve for signs of hunger
after the arrow bamboo in the region began a potentially devastating
flowering and dying-back phase. This occurs once every 60 years.
With bamboo die-back seen to some degree in all the regions
where the endangered animals live, conservationists warned that China's
entire wild panda population, estimated to be 1590, could be at risk. They
appealed to people not to drive off starving pandas if they entered
villages looking for food.
Pandas are compelled to eat half their own body weight in
bamboo each day to survive. But they refuse to eat it when it flowers. The
bamboo blooms produce seeds before dying off but it takes 10 years for a
new crop to mature.
The reserve's director said old and unhealthy animals in the
reserve would be the first to be moved to areas that still have edible
bamboo.
For the full story, please see:
www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/03/29/1111862388189.html?oneclick=true
Related story:
Hungry giant pandas to get new food source:
www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/28/content_428640.htm
BACK TO TOP
3. Bamboo business is booming in Rajahmundry, India
Source: Business Standard, India, 1 April 2005
Earnings from the bamboo plantation project in the Rajahmundry region are
filling up the coffers of the Andhra Pradesh Forest Development Corporation
(APFDC). Spread in an area of 11 723 ha, the project covers the forests of
Maredumalle, Jelugumalle, Eluru, Palvancha and Kothagudem in the East
Godavari, West Godavari and Khammam districts in Andhra Pradesh.
APFDC is planning to expand the plantation to another 8 000 ha
in the next fiscal year. The demand for bamboo is increasing steadily, and
according to a study, it would increase by 60 percent during the next 10 to
15 years
The bamboo project has proved to be highly cost-effective with
the cost benefit ratio being between 1.3 and 1.4. Though bamboo plantations
are being harvested with a felling cycle of three years, efforts are being
made to bring the felling cycle to two years.
Old bamboo plantations raised with traditional methods are
being replaced with modern methods of intensive site preparation based on
scientific methods for increasing the bamboo yield. The raising of
plantations under intensive management has been taking place since 1999.
One traditional bamboo tree gives six to seven culms (bamboo
shootings) per year while the bamboo raised with intensive site preparation
gives 35 to 40 culms per year.
There are two harvesting periods in a year. Where intensive
management takes place, the survival rate is 99 percent, whereas in the
traditional plantation the survival rate is 50 percent.
The cost of production/ha in the traditional bamboo plantation
is Rs 10 800, while in the intensive site management it is Rs 35 800 per
hectare.
The revenue/ha in the traditional bamboo plantation is Rs 58
000, while the revenue on the upgraded bamboo under the intensive site
management is Rs 2.10 lakh per hectare.
For full story, please see:
www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu2&leftindx=2&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=184692
BACK TO TOP
4. Bamboo and bamboo shoots
Source: Chia Joo Suan in Malaysia Star, Malaysia, 23 March 2005
Bamboo shoots have increased in popularity as an ingredient in Asian
cuisine in recent years. It is crunchy and has a unique taste.
Fresh bamboo shoots are the young shoots of the bamboo plant
just emerging from the ground. Each new shoot is attached to the parent
rhizome at the screw neck. After harvesting, the outer leaves covering the
shoots are peeled away and any fibrous tissue at the base trimmed. There is
tremendous heat generated at the apex and the shoots are often kept in cool
places to prevent overheating and deterioration.
The health supportive nutrients in bamboo shoot are protein,
minerals and fibres. It is low in fat and sugar and has no cholesterol. The
shoot has a good profile of minerals consisting mainly of zinc, potassium,
manganese and copper plus lower amounts of phosphorous, iron and selenium.
Similar to cassava root, raw bamboo shoots contain cyanogenic
glycosides, which are cyanide-producing compounds. Do not eat the raw
shoots. Eating raw bamboo shoot can lead to hydrogen cyanide toxicity. The
shoots are safe to eat provided they are prepared properly.
Bamboos are actually giant grasses belonging to the grass
family (Graminae). There are over 1 000 species of bamboo, of which only
about 50 are edible, growing in different parts of the world, most
abundantly in China, India and Japan. The survival of the pandas in China
depends on the availability of certain species of bamboo which is their
staple diet.
Bamboo shoot grows rapidly and is a popular food among young
people in many cultures. Flavours may vary with species.
The big leaves of the Indocalamus species are used for making
roof coverings and bamboo hats. They are also used to wrap Zongzi, a
pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice, usually made and eaten
during the Chinese Dragon-Boat Festival.
Scientists at Chonnam National University, South Korea, found
that adding powdered bamboo leaves in making kimchi could maintain the
sourness and extend the storage period of the preserved vegetable.
In nature, stiff yet bendable bamboo plants are sway freely in
strong wind and, amazingly, the stem (culms) are found to have a
breaking-point comparable to that of steel. The stems are coated with a
protective screen of wax that contains silica, lignin and pentosans, which
contribute to their flexibility.
Bamboos are also used to make pulp and paper, furniture,
household items and building materials. Certain species such as the bambu
hitam (black bamboo) are ideal for making musical instruments. The
discovery of flavonoids in the leaves has given bamboo the potential of
being used for medicinal purposes.
For full story, please see:
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/3/23/features/10441848&sec=features
BACK TO TOP
5. Bushmeat: Tackling the illegal meat trade
Source: Scotsman, UK, 23 March 2005
Tighter controls should be placed on illegal meat imports to prevent
another foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, the Government’s spending watchdog
warned today. Some 12 000 tonnes of illegal meat and meat products are
imported to Britain each year.
(Embedded image moved to file: pic27446.gif) Two-thirds of meat
seized at airports is pork, but camel, frogs legs, snails and bushmeat such
as monkey and antelope is also regularly smuggled in.
The international trade in bushmeat is estimated to be worth
between $20 million (£10.6 million) and $200 million (£106 million).
Bushmeat supplies 50-85% of the protein requirement of tropical
forest-dwelling people in Africa, and three-quarters of Ghanaians regularly
eat it.
Customs was given £4 million in 2003/4 by the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with a further £3 million earmarked
for subsequent years, to tackle the illegal trade.
The National Audit Office has called for more resources to be
invested to match the effort made by Australia and New Zealand in keeping
out illegal meat.
More than 15 000 seizures of illegal meat and food products
were made by British Customs in its first year. The meat is most commonly
smuggled into the country in air passenger baggage. Earlier this month a
Nigerian woman was arrested at Heathrow airport after customs officials
found 16 stones of snails in her luggage.
Proposals for tighter controls to curb the trade include
on-the-spot fines
For full story, please see: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4298242
BACK TO TOP
6. Ginseng flourishes in Wisconsin, USA
Source: Jessica Lim Siao Jing, Wisconsin State Journal, 21 March 2005
Thriving in well-drained, shady and humus-rich soils, the American ginseng
has been prized for its medicinal value for thousands of years. In the 18th
century, Native Americans used the roots of the dark green plant to treat
coughs, headaches, rheumatism and fevers and the Chinese believe it has
aphrodisiac qualities.
Today, the American ginseng, or Panax quinquefolium, an
alternative to its invigorating Asian cousin, is believed to alleviate
stress, improve one's love life and enhance the immune system.
The benefits of ginseng can be boiled down to one word:
ginsenocides, the active ingredient in ginseng that gives you a natural
energy boost without turning you into a bundle of nerves. All true ginseng
roots contain ginsenocides, which vary dramatically depending on the type
of ginseng and the age of the root when harvested. The higher the amount of
ginsenocides, the more potent and expensive a root is.
And ginseng can be expensive, not just for its attributes but
because it is so difficult to grow. Ginseng's growing period lasts about
five years. The ginseng seeds have to be stratified - removed from its red,
pulp exterior, washed and buried in the sand for a year - before being
replanted for four years.
The average American ginseng costs about $20 for 4 ounces and
wild ginseng can cost more than $400 a pound. Seemingly bizarre, this does
not appear so absurd a price considering that the oriental variety is
internationally protected and close to extinction because of over-picking.
Viewed in similarly high esteem is the American wild ginseng.
Poaching of wild ginseng is such a problem in the United States that
growers have taken to security-tagging their roots using microchip
implants. A few poachers have received jail sentences for looting ginseng
fields.
The rolling hills of Wausau, along with its loamy soil, cold
winters and cool summers, are ideal for growing ginseng. That is why 95
percent of the nation's ginseng is cultivated in Wisconsin by approximately
1 200 growers.
For full story, please see:
www.madison.com/wsj/home/features/index.php?ntid=32106&ntpid=1
BACK TO TOP
7. Ginseng: Legislation aims to regulate ginseng harvest
Source: WBOY-TV - Clarksburg, WV, USA, 24 March 2005
Ginseng has been harvested in the wild in West Virginia for at least 200
years, according to the state Division of Forestry. But increasing amounts
of it are cultivated as an agricultural crop, and now the Legislature is
considering rules that will help distinguish wild from cultivated.
American ginseng grows in forests in all of West Virginia's 55
counties. Its root is valued in Asian markets as a medicine for increased
vitality and longevity and ginseng trade is protected by and international
agreement to prevent overharvest.
In 2002, the Division of Forestry documented a harvest of more
than 6 400 lbs of ginseng in West Virginia. The harvest was valued at more
than $2 million. Harvest varies with factors that include the economy,
according to research at West Virginia University. In the mid-1980s, when
unemployment was high, nearly 40 000 lbs were harvested one year.
But while the agency already regulates ginseng, that regulation
has not been tight enough, said Delegate Bob Beach, D-Monongalia. "People
contacted us with concerns that the bulk of ginseng brought to market is
cultivated when the sellers are saying it's wild," Beach said. "Wild
ginseng can bring $400 to $600/lb on the market -- cultivated ginseng is
much less than that."
Anyone dealing in ginseng must pay a small fee and obtain a
Forest Product Removal Permit. Roots may be dug from 15 August to 30
November, and harvested roots must be weighed and certified by the Division
of Forestry by 31 March. Uncertified roots after that date bring a fine for
illegal possession.
HB2663, which passed in the house earlier this month, makes one
change to the wild harvest, according to Beach: It delays the digging
season by two weeks, starting it 1 September, which will allow plants to
drop their seeds and to be dispersed again.
This is consistent with other WVU research indicating ginseng
berries ripen in West Virginia in the latter part of August and that
pushing the harvest date back will help preserve wild populations.
Mainly, though, the bill aims to regulate the cultivated
harvest. A farmer who wants to grow ginseng now will need to contact the
Division of Forestry. "The DOF will go in, inspect the plat and make sure
it's free of wild ginseng before they plant their seeds. The plat will be
laid out and then it's actually documented and filed with the DOF," Beach
said. "That in turn allows us to track how much is being planted as an
agricultural product."
The bill specifies all ginseng sold must be specified as
cultivated or wild. Violation of the new rules may result in a $100 to $500
misdemeanour fine.
For full story, please see:
www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=1831
BACK TO TOP
8. Gum arabic: Uganda to export gum arabic
Source: The Monitor (Kampala), Uganda, 30 March 2005
Once dismissed as a useless region, Karamoja is now poised to become a
focal point of corporate attention as investors start pouring in millions
of dollars to exploit Gum Arabic.
According to Ms Susan Muhwezi, the advisor to President Yoweri
Museveni on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Uganda could
start exporting the prized gum in December or January next year. This will
hopefully set off unprecedented infrastructural developments that could
potentially uplift Karamoja from grinding poverty to a somewhat modern
society.
Gum Arabic, which is derived from two acacia species; Acacia
senegal and Acacia seyal, is used in cosmetics (lotions and protective
creams), pharmaceuticals, foods, lithography, soft drinks (stabilises
emulsions), textiles and several other products and also constitutes a
global multi billion-dollar industry.
It grows exclusively in arid climatic conditions and is
currently produced by the so-called gum belt, stretching from Senegal to
Sudan. "Previously, it was thought that Uganda was far south below this
belt and could have these gum trees," said Anthony Nwachukwa, the Managing
Director of America's Atlantic Gum Corporation and lead consultant for the
project steered efforts to start commercial exploitation of the product.
Nwachukwa said that while in the US in 2002, President Museveni
met the country's association of soft drinks and convinced them that Uganda
had the prized gum trees upon which the association mobilised money to fund
a mission to determine the veracity of the claims. A team of scientists
went to Karamoja in 2003 and took samples, which were shipped for testing
in the US laboratories. "The samples passed the test and we concluded that
Uganda can produce Gum Arabic," he said.
The US is the largest market for Gum Arabic, for both
processing and consumption.
Muhwezi and Nwachukwa did not say the exact extent of Uganda's
potential and what it could earn once export starts. However, they said
earnings by traditional producers could offer some estimation of the
fortune that could flow into Uganda and Karamoja in particular. Sudan, the
largest exporter, produces 25 000 tonnes annually, followed by Chad with 10
000, then Nigeria, whose production fluctuates between 3 000 to 5 000
tonnes. They believe that Uganda has the potential to produce 20 000
tonnes. With a tonne costing $4 000, Uganda could earn $80 million, easily
exceeding its lead export of coffee.
However, before serious production starts, Muhwezi said that
the company, Gum Arabic Uganda Ltd, which is undertaking the investment,
would have to purchase land for cultivation of trees, in addition to the
existing ones, erect storages, processing plants, and other requisite
structures. "The government will also have to extend roads, water,
electricity and other necessary services," she said.
The locals who had hitherto been using the trees for charcoal
and shelter construction will now start earning by picking the gum for
sale.
For full story, please see: http://allafrica.com/stories/200503290765.html
BACK TO TOP
9. Lac: New programme to raise lac production
Source: Financial Express - Bombay, India, 30 March 2005
The ministry of commerce has approved a three-year comprehensive programme
aimed at increasing the production of lac in Bengal by 150% from the
current value of around Rs 161 crore. The programme has been worked out
jointly by the state government’s panchayat and rural development
department and Shellac Export Promotion Council (SEPC).
Since the main obstacles to increasing productivity are
non-availability of improved broodlac (seed) and lack of training in
scientific cultivation procedures, the Indian Lac Research Institute
(ISRI), Ranchi and various NGOs have also been involved in the programme.
Apart from increasing productivity, generating higher income
for the downtrodden of the forest region engaged in lac cultivation is one
of the main objectives.
To reach the targeted export mark, all aspects of production
and marketing have been encompassed in the project, said the executive
director of SEPC, Dr D Roy. The project would stress the improvement of
broodlac through research. This would be followed by scientific
cultivation.
The status paper prepared for this purpose shows that
cultivation of lac still remains limited to only 4 lakh host trees, which
is barely 50% of the total number.
For full story, please see:
www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=86554
BACK TO TOP
10. Medicinal plants: World Going Herbal in HIV/Aids Fight
Source: The Times of Zambia (Ndola), 29 March 2005
In his book “Amazing Power of Healing Plants”, Dr Reinaldo Sosa Gomez
quotes the American professor and scientist Scott Elliot as having said
that Peruvian jungle dwellers discovered the value of the bark of the
'Cinchona' tree that contains an alkaloid called quinine used in treating
malaria. One day, the countess of Cinchon (from which the tree derives its
name) and viceroy of Peru (1628-1639) came down with a persistent fever and
was cured with the bark of the tree.
The use of this medicine was later propagated and the
reputation of quinine grew rapidly and sold at high price. Today, its use
around the world has been invaluable in the treatment of the world's number
one killer disease.
Dr Gomez also reminds the world of how the Chinese have been
using a medicinal plant called Ma-huang, containing a substance called
ephedrine, for thousands of years to combat coughs, asthma attacks and
bronchitis. Physicians today prescribe it to fight numerous pulmonary
infections just as the Chinese have been doing for 3 000 years.
Many expeditions are being made by scientists into South
American, African and Asian jungles in search of new medicinal plants.
Dr Gomez applauds the recent decision of various health
oriented institutions to give more relevance to natural medicine. The World
Health Organisation (WHO) has sponsored an active programme on promoting
the development of medicinal herbs and other natural medicines since 1977.
At the 13th World Health Congress a resolution was adopted urging
governments to take seriously the traditional medical systems and
treatments of their respective countries.
A number of countries especially in the West now practice
natural and homeopathic medicine to the same level as allopathic or
drug-based medicine.
In Zambia, PANOS Southern Africa recently held a one day
workshop in a series of many, for journalists to discuss the "Access to
Treatment: Alternative Treatment". The workshop sought among other things
to discuss and share ideas and experiences on issues related to HIV/AIDS so
as to help journalists keep abreast of new developments.
The programme included field visits to the two institutions that are
sourcing, using and researching on natural medicines in relation to
HIV/AIDS.
One of the institutions visited was the Zambia Institute of
Natural Medicine and Research (ZINARE), which was established in 2004.
ZINARE facilitates scientific approach in the utilization of herbal
medicine and promotes the production of affordable drugs especially for
HIV/AIDS patients and undertakes advocacy activities aimed at plant
protection and promoting the use of affordable indigenous herbal medicine
from Zambia and Africa as a whole.
ZINARE’s executive director, Dr Lawrence Chanza said that
herbal medicines were being used more in Zambia now with the advent of
HIV/AIDS. It works closely with the ministry of Health in their research.
Professor Sitali Manjolo, multi-sectoral researcher HIV/AIDS with ZINARE,
said there was need to exercise care in herbal medicine for HIV/AIDS
research, not all plants were poison free. He said the efficacy of a herb
would also depend on the type of soil or climate in a particular area as
plants extracted material from the soil.
Dr Noah Zimba, a botanist and consultant researcher said
HIV/AIDS was a crisis problem arising from negligence and wondered why
Zambia was still going chemical when the rest of the world was going
herbal. He said that it is the only country that has not integrated herbal
medicines into its programme. Yet, with the numerous improvements in the
health of people using herbal medicines, it is possible to conquer the
impact of HIV/AIDS, Dr Zimba added.
Zambia has the best trees with high selenium content and has a
diversity of over 6,000 plants with high nutritional qualities.
The use of natural remedies as an alternative to modern
medicine in the prevention and treatment of diseases is an area that needs
to be taken seriously. Health experts say, "Modern medicine has made great
strides. But some of the greatest strides have been found to relate back to
rather simple things: 'What you eat, what you drink, what you think, and
what you do." The solution to the HIV/AIDS pandemic is here.
For full story, please see: http://allafrica.com/stories/200503290681.html
BACK TO TOP
11. Sandalwood: Indian court directs sandalwood oil units to close
Source: Business Standard – India, 1 April 2005
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the state
government to close down all sandalwood oil factories in the state and
conduct a survey of sandalwood trees in state forests. The forest
department later informed the high court that all 33 sandalwood oil
factories in the state have been closed down and assured to undertake
survey of sandalwood trees.
A division bench, while hearing a public interest litigation
(PIL) filed by Nature Conservation Society alleging illicit felling of
sandalwood trees and inaction of the authorities, directed the forest
department to conduct survey of all sandalwood trees in the state. At the
same time the court deplored the casual attitude adopted by the forest
department towards sandalwood trees, which have been classified as reserve
trees and command a high commercial value.
The forest department claimed that it had not granted license
to a single sandalwood unit as claimed by the petitioner society, however,
permission was granted to some units for extraction of oil from sandalwood.
The forest department further claimed that these units were
granted license by the directorate of industries and not by them. The high
court also made it clear that grant of any such license was contrary to the
orders of the Supreme Court.
According to the petitioner, sandalwood is used for manufacture
of sandalwood oil which is obtained from the heartwood by process of
condensation. For that the sandalwood is cut into pieces and then crushed
in a disintegrator and converted into powder, which is put in a container
and high pressure steam in passed through it. After condensation mixture of
oil and water is obtained.
For full story, please see:
www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu2&leftindx=2&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=184972
BACK TO TOP
12. Willow and its uses
Source: Express Newsline, Mohali, India; 16 March 2005
The beneficial plant, Willow (Salix sp.) is grown in European countries. It
has many species which are used for different purposes.
The willow wood is used to make cricket bats. But it also has
many medicinal and nutritional properties:
· Willow contains salicin and tannin and can be used as
an anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic, antiseptic and
astringent.
· The bark of black willow is used to cure rheumatism
and arthritis. Rheumatism sufferers benefit greatly from a willow wash
when the ‘tea' is applied externally adjacent to the affected joints.
· Salicin is an aspirin type chemical and the ‘tea' can
be used for headaches, fevers and, some even say, hay-fever.
· Even the tea contains antiseptic qualities and is an
excellent mouthwash.
· It can also be applied to external wounds.
The wood of willow plant is also used for basket weaving since it is light
and flexible (especially after being soaked in water).
For full story, please see:
www.expressnewsline.com/special/fullstory0305-insight-Uses+of+willow+plant-status-11-newsID-2224.html
BACK TO TOP
NEWS
13. Non-wood News
From: FAO’s NWFP Programme
The latest issue of Non-wood News is now available on-line from our NWFP
home page at www.fao.org/forestry/site/23947/en. Hard copies have already
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pic27446.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 43 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/mpwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20050406/40bdf339/attachment.gif>
More information about the MPWG
mailing list