[MPWG] Fw: NWFP-Digest-L No. 8/08

[Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov]

The latest issue of FAO NWFP-Digest-L is available at:
www.fao.org/forestry/site/12980/en

Below I've pasted some of the entries pertaining to North American native 
medicinals (or
NTFPs).  There are lots of other interesting articles - I encourage you to
check it out.

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 110
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>


11.       Ginseng found highly effective for weight loss and diabetes 
control
Source:  Natural News.com, USA, 1 December 2008
 
Ginseng has long been one of the foundations of healing in Chinese 
medicine, and is probably the world?s best known herb. The botanical name 
panax means ?all curing? in Greek. This 5000 year old healer has 
traditionally been used as a restorative tonic to increase energy, 
stamina, and well being. Western scientists have confirmed the efficacy of 
ginseng for many of the traditional uses. Now researchers are adding to 
the traditional list, documenting ginseng as highly effective in weight 
loss and diabetes control.
            Phytotherapy Research Journal reports an investigation of the 
molecular basis of ginsenoside Rg3, a red ginseng constituent, focusing on 
its ability to inhibit differentiation in the cells that store energy as 
fat. The data showed that ginsenoside Rg3 effectively inhibited this 
differentiation making the cells less able to complete the fat storage 
process.
            Phytotherapy Research Journal also reports an evaluation of 
the anti-obesity effect of wild ginseng in obese leptin-deficient mice. 
Wild ginseng was administered orally to the mice at 100mg/kg and 200m/kg 
for 4 weeks. The mice showed a loss of body weight and a decrease in blood 
glucose levels when compared to the control mice. A follow up study by the 
same research team reported results suggesting that the anti-obesity 
effect of identified saponins from ginseng may result from inhibiting 
energy gain, normalizing hypothalamic neuropeptides and serum biochemcials 
related to the control of weight gain.
            A study reported in Phytomedicine was performed to clarify 
whether the crude saponins from stems and leaves of panax quinquefolium 
inhibited lipase activity in vitro and prevented obesity induced in mice. 
For the in vivo experiments, female mice were fed a fattening diet with or 
without saponins for 8 weeks. The researchers found that the crude 
saponins inhibited pancreatic lipase activity. Furthermore, crude saponins 
inhibited the elevations of plasma triacylglycerol in rats administered 
the oral lipid emulsion tolerance test. With long-term administration of 
crude saponins, fat tissue weight was decreased in those fed the fattening 
diet as compared to the controls.
            In a randomized clinical study reported in the Journal of the 
American College of Nutrition, researchers sought to provide evidence of 
efficacy and safety in the use of ginseng for diabetes. Their research 
generated a mounting body of evidence to support the claim that American 
Ginseng is useful in improving diabetes control, reducing associated risk 
factors such as hyperlipidemia and hypertension, and ameliorating insulin 
resistance. American ginseng acts in the digestive tract to increase 
insulin secretion.
            The Journal of Ethnopharmacology reports a study acknowledging 
ginseng?s long history as an herbal remedy for diabetes. Researchers 
investigated the effect and mechanism of Korean red ginseng on stimulation 
of insulin release in rats. They found that the extract of Korean red 
ginseng significantly evoked a stimulation of insulin release compared to 
the controls. Experiments at different glucose concentrations showed that 
ginseng significantly stimulated on its own, in a glucose-independent 
manner.
            As reported in the Journal of Evidence Based Complementary and 
Alternative Medicine, initiating studies have shown that American ginseng 
increases insulin production and reduces cell death in pancreatic 
beta-cells. Studies have also revealed American ginseng?s ability to 
decrease blood glucose in type II diabetes patients as well as in diabetes 
induced animals. These data suggest that the effects of ginseng in 
improving hyperglycemia may alter mitochondrial function as well as 
apoptosis cascades to ensure cell viability in pancreatic islet cells.
For full story, please see: http://www.naturalnews.com/024975.html

34.       New foundation to promote sustainable collection of wild plants 
From: Roland Melisch, TRAFFIC International, melisch at wwf.de, 9 October 
2008
 
Barcelona, Spain ?An important agreement was signed today between the four 
founding institutions of the International Standard for Sustainable Wild 
Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP) to endorse global 
implementation of the standard through the FairWild Foundation. 
            ISSC-MAP is a standard that promotes appropriate management of 
wild plant populations used in medicines and cosmetics to ensure they are 
not over-exploited. Under the new agreement, the FairWild Foundation will 
help develop an industry labelling system so products harvested using the 
sustainable ISSC-MAP criteria can be readily recognised and certified. Use 
of the standard will be promoted throughout the herbal products industry. 
            ISSC-MAP was developed by a partnership including the German 
Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), the IUCN SSC Medicinal Plant 
Specialist Group (MPSG), WWF-Germany, and TRAFFIC, plus industry 
associations, companies, certifiers and community-based NGOs. The 
announcement was made at the World Conservation Congress, currently 
underway in Barcelona. 
            ?This new agreement marks a significant step forward in the 
sustainable use of wild plants important to human health and well being. 
Industry adoption of the standard will ensure sustainable use and 
equitable sharing of the world?s wild plant resources, reinforcing the 
healthy environments, healthy people theme running throughout the World 
Conservation Congress,? said IUCN Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre 
signing the agreement on behalf of IUCN.
            ?A successful wild plant collection standard is essential to 
ensure sustainable use of medicinal plants not only for purposes of nature 
conservation but also in a social and economic context. Germany, as one of 
the major medicinal plant importers worldwide has a special responsibility 
of acting upon such principles,? said Professor Beate Jessel, President of 
the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.
            More than 400,000 tonnes of medicinal and aromatic plants are 
traded annually, with around 80% of the species harvested from the wild. 
Almost 3,000 species are traded, many of them over-exploited and in danger 
of extinction through over-collection and habitat loss. Implementation of 
the standard will stop more plants being over-exploited and becoming 
threatened with extinction under IUCN?s Red List criteria. 
            ?Worldwide, people depend on medicinal plants and profit from 
the unique therapeutic effects of medicine from nature?s pharmacy,? said 
Guillermo Castilleja, Executive Director of Conservation, WWF. ?This new 
agreement is a significant step forward in ensuring the long-term 
sustainability and supply of these invaluable natural products.? 
            ?Over-harvesting of wild plants is a serious, yet often 
neglected issue. 
            This timely agreement is a milestone on the road to seeing 
sustainability become the norm throughout the herbal products industry.? 
said Steven Broad, Executive Director of TRAFFIC. 
For more information, please contact: 
Richard Thomas
TRAFFIC International
Email: richard.thomas at traffic.org
Tel: +44 752 6646 216. 
 
LITERATURE REVIEW AND WEB SITES
 
41.       NTFP Curriculum Workbook Available Online
From: Eric Jones, Institute for Culture and Ecology, USA, 
etjones at ifcae.org
 
At long last the Nontimber Forest Product Curriculum Workbook written by 
Dr. Kathryn Lynch is available through the Institute for Culture and 
Ecology website. 
            Despite enthusiastic interest from two publishers it got hung 
up in their marketing departments because it is so big and expensive to 
produce that they were concerned they might lose money. 
            We decided to offer it directly through our website as an 
electronic download and let people make a donation after deciding what it 
is worth to them.  This approach also has the advantage of letting us view 
the curriculum as a work in progress and update and expand it into the 
future. 
            The workbook was funded the National Commission on Science for 
Sustainable Forestry and has been extensively peer-reviewed.  Hyperlinks 
in the document were just updated. We welcome feedback from users. 
            Lastly, "NTFP" is such a big and diverse concept that this 
curriculum is still just scratches the surface, even for the U.S., our 
geographic focus.  Is there a need and a path forward to create an 
international repository for curriculum materials?   It seems there would 
need to be a website where lesson plans, syllabi, handouts, could be 
shared.  Royal Roads has the online bibliographic database but would that 
work?  Could it accommodate any language?  Who would edit and maintain?
Nontimber Forest Products Curriculum Workbook Website: 
www.ifcae.org/projects/ncssf2
For more information, please contact:
Eric T Jones, Ph.D.
Environmental Anthropologist
Institute for Culture and Ecology (501c3)
Post Office Box 6688
Portland, Oregon 97228-6688.  USA
Telephone:  541-683-1846
E-Mail:  etjones at ifcae.org
www.ifcae.org 
 


44.       Other publications of interest
 
Non Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme. 2008. From Seeds to Beads. 
Tales, Tips and Tools for Building a Community-Based NTFP Enterprise. 
Yasmin Arquiza (ed). Quezon City, the Philippines, NTFP-EP. 
>From the Blue Mountains of India to the islands of Indonesia, the 
experiences of local communities that depend on non-timber resources from 
forests for their livelihood come alive. Part manual and part storybook, 
this publication aims to share insights as well as lessons learned by the 
partners of the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme that are 
engaged in NTFP enterprise development. 
            This compilation of stories from NTFP-EP partners reflects 
their journey in pursuing strategies for building and maintaining 
sustainable livelihood enterprises. Furthermore, the most helpful and 
commonly used tools by NTFP-EP partners are presented. These practical 
methods aim to enable local partners to systematically and professionally 
design and implement NTFP development strategies using available 
resources. 
            It is hoped that more forest-based communities across Asia 
will find the inspiration in this publication to embark on innovative 
enterprises using the resources sustainably within their locality. 
To obtain a copy, email publications at ntfp.org. 
 

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