Ethnobotany
Natural Relationship of Man and Plants
- A Revival in 14 Articles
Superstitious beliefs and ethnobotany are closely associated. On closer examination such beliefs have greatly enhanced the relationship of man and the unseen that shapes his life, drawing from it a rich collection of folklore, songs and prayers. Indirectly such relationship has helped in the preservation of his environment.
1. Growing Applications of Ethnobotany2. Herbals as First-Aid and Home Remedy3. Ethnobotany and Economic Botany4. Ethnobotanical Researches at UST Graduate School5. Plant Introduction and Wild Food Plants6. Viewpoints on Pharmacology7. Plants and Ethnic Beliefs and Superstition8. Ethnobotany and Gene Piracy9. Age of Natural Medicine10. Ethnobotany of Seaweeds11. Thirteen (13) practical researches on ethnobotany you can tryat home and in your community12. Ethnobotany and Nata de Coco as leather substitute13. Self-Administered test on Ethnobotany.Can you identify these indigenous plants?14. Outlook of Ethnobotany
1. Growing Applications of Ethnobotany
In rural areas, there are wild and cultivated plants used as home remedies against common ailments, a time-honored ethnic practice associated with customs, beliefs and tradition. This is the field of ethnobotany – the study of the natural relationship of man and plants through evolutionary time.Dr Romualdo M Del Rosario (left) foremost Filipino ethnobotanist poses with author
Whole forest and ecosystems are natural gene banks. But with the fast shrinking wildlife, a technology in gene banking has been developed. Today genes can be banked and patented. This was pioneered by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the International Center for Wheat and Maiz Research (CIMMYT).
On the viewpoint of pharmacology, ethnobotany has paved the discovery of potent drugs and medicine, validating ethnic practices while leading into the formulation of new drugs. The trend today is that more and more people are going for natural medicine and food. There is a blossoming industry of herbal medicine and organically grown food. And people are willing to pay the price so long as they are assured of good health and a long and happy life. In many ways ethnobotany is helping pave the way toward this direction.
2. Herbals as First-Aid and Home Remedy
There is always oregano (Coleus amboinicus) at home, ready to ease cough and sore throat. I imagine myself wearing a handkerchief wrapped around my forehead, advising my family and neighbors not to take cough drops or antibiotics for simple colds.I tell them to pick a young leaf of Oregano, chew it with fruit juice or soft drink. Or blanch it, extract the juice, and add sugar and warm water. It is practical and there are no side effects. And what a feeling! No wonder the plant’s name comes from the Greek words, Ore/Oros which means mountain, and ganos joy. “Joy on a mountain.”
Pliny the Elder used oregano to ease bad digestion. To Italians, it is the secret of their cooking and pizza, just as the Mexicans added it to chili con carne. Dinuguan tastes best with this aromatic herb.
On the other hand, I found out that Oregano is an insect repellant. Notice that mosquitoes, flies, fleas and roaches are kept away by its aromatic scent. It can be prepared as a natural pesticide, by simply crushing a few leaves in water, and applying the solution on the plants to control common garden pest. Oregano has essential oil and thymol, which is a strong antiseptic and disinfectant.
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Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for many aspects of life, such as plants as medicines, foods, and clothing. Internet
I have observed many rural homes surrounded by other useful plants such as soro-soro, a species of Euphorbia, used to control ringworm. It is also an excellent meat tenderizer and vegetable. The leaves are chopped and stuffed in lechon and relyeno. Lagundi is good for fever and flu, alovera (Aloe vera) for burns, pandakaki (Tabernamontana pandacaqui) for minor cuts. Tanglad is a condiment for kuhol. Young leaves of native bayabas (Psidium guajava) are good for skin infection and allergy. Ilang-ilang (Cananga odorata) and sampaguita (Jasminium sambac) are natural air fresheners in the surroundings. A home garden is very useful indeed as it provides fresh vegetables and herbals as home remedies.
3. Ethnobotany and Economic Botany
The uses of plants have expanded and more and more species are placed under cultivation for their uses. When they become commodities of commerce, the place of these plants are no longer under ethnobotany but Economic Botany. As ethnic communities gave in to larger, invading cultures, the original man-plant has changed into one that is economic in nature. The practice of kaingin and overpopulation also contribute to the decline of an ethnic community. Ethnic members become integrated into the more progressive society which would offer them better chances of survival, and possibly better life. Because of this ethnobotany has become one of the sciences that records the inevitable and dynamic changes our world has been undergoing, more so during this age of accelerated industrialization and modernization.
It is a race time, before we lose the opportunity to record the shrinking ethnic communities, and the knowledge about the plants that shaped lives and culture through countless generations. Ethnobotanical studies at the UST Graduate School, point out that there is no longer a “pure ethnic community.” Immigration, marriages with lowlanders and exposure to the latter’s way of life through the influence of media and school, have contributed to the modification and subsequent loss of ethnic identity. Apparently such loss is irreversible because the cultural base which largely consists of ancestral lands are opened to development and other forms of exploitation.
4. Ethnobotanical Researches at UST Graduate School
Let me cite some studies in ethnobotany conducted at the UST Graduate School with Dr. Romulado M. Del Rosario as professor and thesis adviser. Dr. Del Rosario introduced me into this field, and with him I worked on the Ethnobotany of Maguey in the Ilocos Region, and the Ethnic Practices of Basi Wine Making in the Ilocos Region.
Old camphor trees at UST campus Manila
One of the pioneering works is Ethnobotany of the Itawes, a dissertation by Sister Mamerta Rocero SPC, which was published by the National Museum in 1982. Ethnozoology soon followed. Ethnozoology of the Itawes by Generosa Balubal. (MS Biology 1996) is a pioneer research in our country.
Wilfredo Vendivil (1994) worked on Ethnomedicinal Plants in Ilocos Norte along the borders of Cordillera and Cagayan. He reported 141 species of plants, 58 percent of which grow in the wild, while the 42 percent are cultivated, mainly on the backyard. The study reported 228 uses of these plants on 56 kinds of diseases and ailments, which include fever and flu, diarrhea, stomachache, boils, toothache, colic, dysmenorrhea, and rheumatism. The list also includes anemia, general weakness, numbness, gall bladder trouble, convulsion, paralysis, tuberculosis, intestinal worms, heart problem, poisonous bites, scabies, lumbago, beri-beri, and fungal and bacterial infections.
Vendivil reported that the local residents believe there is no plant growing in their area that does not have any importance. This implies that there is a wealth of knowledge these people have on plants, and their belief in the curative power of plants - which brings to mind that healing and faith go hand on hand.
Lolita O. Uy (1994) worked on the Ethnobotany of the Ilongots in Nueva Viscaya. She described 141 species of plants belonging to 136 genera and 108 families, of which 42 species are for food, 9 for construction, 10 for animal feeds. The rest are used for cleaning, making toys, preservative, masticatory, soap and shampoo, ripening agent, perfume, fish poison, insect repellant and ornamental purposes. The tribe’s local economy is centered in the forest and there are 9,000 hectares of virgin forest they claim as their ancestral land. Like other ethnic tribes, they feel threatened by lowlander intruding into their territory.
Reny Casanan (1997) conducted a similar study with the Gaddangs of Isabela. Among the 167 plant species she studied, 88 are food to the natives, 47 as medicine, 18 for construction, handicraft, furniture and the like, and 56 for various uses from toys to perfumes, rituals and ceremonies. The Gaddangs are now a heterogeneous group through inter-marriage and cultural integration with the nearby population centers.
Alma Poblete (1999) worked on Ethnobotany of Bamboo among the Aetas in Orion, Bataan. There are four important species of bamboo for their edible shoot, and two species as an occasional source of drinking water (water is stored in the internodes). The leaves of Bambusa blumeana is used in curing kidney disorder, while Schizostachyum lumampao is used to bring a patient from relapse, and as cure of fever and malaria. It is this species that the Aetas use in cooking rice and other food. Three species are used in making flute, toys and different kinds of basket that they sell on the lowland. Bamboo is indispensable to the Aetas. Aside from the uses mentioned they depend on bamboo for transport, weapon, fish trap and even riprapping river banks. Because of this they have learned to propagate bamboo, intercropping it with bananas, thus indicating a departure from fundamental ethnobotany.
Meet Maria Dulce Pototoy-Bunquin who worked on Wild Food Plant Resources of the Batak Tribe in Palawan and lived with these natives during her study to learn their culture and dialect. There are 24 uncultivated plant species belonging to 15 families utilized by the Bataks as food, the most important is Arecaceae or the Palm Family. But the use of wild food plants has become infrequent in the presence of cultivated crops in the settlement. The utilization of wild plants and their method of kaingin farming are part of their indigenous culture. The Bataks are no longer a homogeneous ethnic group, although they are still very much dependent on the forest for their subsistence.
5. Plant Introduction and Wild Food Plants
Let me turn back the hands of time. Many of the plants that give us food today, from cereals to fruits and vegetables, fibers we make into clothes, and hundreds of products, are not indigenous. These include the popular coffee, cacao and tea. Drugs and medicine, derived from plants, were once growing in the wild. The primordial turning point of human society is in the discovery and subsequent development of useful plants by our primitive ancestors. As communities grew, demand increased and many of these plants became important items of agriculture and commerce.
Remember Mutiny on the Bounty? A shipload of breadfruit or rimas (Artocarpus communis) seedlings was being transported to England’s prison-islands in the Pacific when the mission was foiled by the uprising. Breadfruit could be a cheap and ready source of staple for the convicts.
Similarly, many plants were actually introduced into the places they are growing today. Grapes, apricot, grapes, oranges and the like, were introduced into the United States continent from the Middle East and Europe, Mexico and South America by the colonizers and pioneers. Before the Europeans found the Orient, many plants of Asian and Pacific origin were already growing throughout the region, an indication that they were introduced by earlier cultures.
6. Viewpoints on Pharmacology
Only about 20 percent of the population in developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Pacific Ocean benefit from modern drugs. People in these areas generally use traditional and natural remedies in curing ailments. Even in the next millennium, it is believed that plants will remain as the main source of materials in the manufacture of drugs and medicine.
Rhodora Escalada-Gonzales worked on the anti-inflammatory properties of three common weeds - parol-parolan (Cardiospermum halicacabum), vanatnid (Indigofera tinctoria) and tahebteb (Vitex trifolia). She found out that these plants are a potential dual inhibitor of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase based on their strong anti-inflammatory activity. The significance of this finding is that it confirms the reported effectiveness extracts by herbolarios. Having identified the active principles, the essential chemical moieties can lead into the manufacture of a new drug.
7. Plants and Ethnic Beliefs and Superstition
Superstitious beliefs and ethnobotany are closely associated. I still remember many of these beliefs learned from old folks, the curious boy that I was, surrounded by fields and woodlands. While passing through a thicket where no path is visible you should utter repeatedly, bari-bari, an apology for trespassing into a place guarded by the unseen.
The following superstitious beliefs were selected from Ethnobotany of the Itawes, a doctoral research of Sister Mamerta Rocero, SPC. These beliefs are not only confined among the Itawes of Cagayan Valley but are shared by other cultures as well. These are translations from the Itawes dialect.
1. A conceiving mother should never pick fruits from a tree otherwise the tree will die.
2. A papaya plant in front of a house brings bad luck.
3. A pregnant mother who eats twin bananas might give birth to twins.
4. A tree surrounded by fireflies during the night brings good luck.
5. Plant coconuts during starry nights so they will yield abundant fruits.
6. Plant coconuts during moonlight nights so they will produce big nuts.
7. Hang empty bottles on the trellises of upo (white squash) so that it will bear more fruits.
8. Eating from stocks intended for seeds will bring poor harvest.
9. Burying a little sugar with the seeds of ampalaya (bitter gourd) will prevent the fruits from becoming bitter.
10. Anyone dreaming of something tragic, such as death in the family should, upon waking up, strike the trunk of any tree with a bolo so that the dream will not become a reality.
3. Ethnobotany and Economic Botany
The uses of plants have expanded and more and more species are placed under cultivation for their uses. When they become commodities of commerce, the place of these plants are no longer under ethnobotany but Economic Botany. As ethnic communities gave in to larger, invading cultures, the original man-plant has changed into one that is economic in nature. The practice of kaingin and overpopulation also contribute to the decline of an ethnic community. Ethnic members become integrated into the more progressive society which would offer them better chances of survival, and possibly better life. Because of this ethnobotany has become one of the sciences that records the inevitable and dynamic changes our world has been undergoing, more so during this age of accelerated industrialization and modernization.
It is a race time, before we lose the opportunity to record the shrinking ethnic communities, and the knowledge about the plants that shaped lives and culture through countless generations. Ethnobotanical studies at the UST Graduate School, point out that there is no longer a “pure ethnic community.” Immigration, marriages with lowlanders and exposure to the latter’s way of life through the influence of media and school, have contributed to the modification and subsequent loss of ethnic identity. Apparently such loss is irreversible because the cultural base which largely consists of ancestral lands are opened to development and other forms of exploitation.
4. Ethnobotanical Researches at UST Graduate School
Let me cite some studies in ethnobotany conducted at the UST Graduate School with Dr. Romulado M. Del Rosario as professor and thesis adviser. Dr. Del Rosario introduced me into this field, and with him I worked on the Ethnobotany of Maguey in the Ilocos Region, and the Ethnic Practices of Basi Wine Making in the Ilocos Region.
Old camphor trees at UST campus Manila
One of the pioneering works is Ethnobotany of the Itawes, a dissertation by Sister Mamerta Rocero SPC, which was published by the National Museum in 1982. Ethnozoology soon followed. Ethnozoology of the Itawes by Generosa Balubal. (MS Biology 1996) is a pioneer research in our country.
Wilfredo Vendivil (1994) worked on Ethnomedicinal Plants in Ilocos Norte along the borders of Cordillera and Cagayan. He reported 141 species of plants, 58 percent of which grow in the wild, while the 42 percent are cultivated, mainly on the backyard. The study reported 228 uses of these plants on 56 kinds of diseases and ailments, which include fever and flu, diarrhea, stomachache, boils, toothache, colic, dysmenorrhea, and rheumatism. The list also includes anemia, general weakness, numbness, gall bladder trouble, convulsion, paralysis, tuberculosis, intestinal worms, heart problem, poisonous bites, scabies, lumbago, beri-beri, and fungal and bacterial infections.
Vendivil reported that the local residents believe there is no plant growing in their area that does not have any importance. This implies that there is a wealth of knowledge these people have on plants, and their belief in the curative power of plants - which brings to mind that healing and faith go hand on hand.
Lolita O. Uy (1994) worked on the Ethnobotany of the Ilongots in Nueva Viscaya. She described 141 species of plants belonging to 136 genera and 108 families, of which 42 species are for food, 9 for construction, 10 for animal feeds. The rest are used for cleaning, making toys, preservative, masticatory, soap and shampoo, ripening agent, perfume, fish poison, insect repellant and ornamental purposes. The tribe’s local economy is centered in the forest and there are 9,000 hectares of virgin forest they claim as their ancestral land. Like other ethnic tribes, they feel threatened by lowlander intruding into their territory.
Reny Casanan (1997) conducted a similar study with the Gaddangs of Isabela. Among the 167 plant species she studied, 88 are food to the natives, 47 as medicine, 18 for construction, handicraft, furniture and the like, and 56 for various uses from toys to perfumes, rituals and ceremonies. The Gaddangs are now a heterogeneous group through inter-marriage and cultural integration with the nearby population centers.
Alma Poblete (1999) worked on Ethnobotany of Bamboo among the Aetas in Orion, Bataan. There are four important species of bamboo for their edible shoot, and two species as an occasional source of drinking water (water is stored in the internodes). The leaves of Bambusa blumeana is used in curing kidney disorder, while Schizostachyum lumampao is used to bring a patient from relapse, and as cure of fever and malaria. It is this species that the Aetas use in cooking rice and other food. Three species are used in making flute, toys and different kinds of basket that they sell on the lowland. Bamboo is indispensable to the Aetas. Aside from the uses mentioned they depend on bamboo for transport, weapon, fish trap and even riprapping river banks. Because of this they have learned to propagate bamboo, intercropping it with bananas, thus indicating a departure from fundamental ethnobotany.
Meet Maria Dulce Pototoy-Bunquin who worked on Wild Food Plant Resources of the Batak Tribe in Palawan and lived with these natives during her study to learn their culture and dialect. There are 24 uncultivated plant species belonging to 15 families utilized by the Bataks as food, the most important is Arecaceae or the Palm Family. But the use of wild food plants has become infrequent in the presence of cultivated crops in the settlement. The utilization of wild plants and their method of kaingin farming are part of their indigenous culture. The Bataks are no longer a homogeneous ethnic group, although they are still very much dependent on the forest for their subsistence.
5. Plant Introduction and Wild Food Plants
Let me turn back the hands of time. Many of the plants that give us food today, from cereals to fruits and vegetables, fibers we make into clothes, and hundreds of products, are not indigenous. These include the popular coffee, cacao and tea. Drugs and medicine, derived from plants, were once growing in the wild. The primordial turning point of human society is in the discovery and subsequent development of useful plants by our primitive ancestors. As communities grew, demand increased and many of these plants became important items of agriculture and commerce.
Remember Mutiny on the Bounty? A shipload of breadfruit or rimas (Artocarpus communis) seedlings was being transported to England’s prison-islands in the Pacific when the mission was foiled by the uprising. Breadfruit could be a cheap and ready source of staple for the convicts.
Similarly, many plants were actually introduced into the places they are growing today. Grapes, apricot, grapes, oranges and the like, were introduced into the United States continent from the Middle East and Europe, Mexico and South America by the colonizers and pioneers. Before the Europeans found the Orient, many plants of Asian and Pacific origin were already growing throughout the region, an indication that they were introduced by earlier cultures.
6. Viewpoints on Pharmacology
Only about 20 percent of the population in developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Pacific Ocean benefit from modern drugs. People in these areas generally use traditional and natural remedies in curing ailments. Even in the next millennium, it is believed that plants will remain as the main source of materials in the manufacture of drugs and medicine.
Rhodora Escalada-Gonzales worked on the anti-inflammatory properties of three common weeds - parol-parolan (Cardiospermum halicacabum), vanatnid (Indigofera tinctoria) and tahebteb (Vitex trifolia). She found out that these plants are a potential dual inhibitor of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase based on their strong anti-inflammatory activity. The significance of this finding is that it confirms the reported effectiveness extracts by herbolarios. Having identified the active principles, the essential chemical moieties can lead into the manufacture of a new drug.
7. Plants and Ethnic Beliefs and Superstition
Superstitious beliefs and ethnobotany are closely associated. I still remember many of these beliefs learned from old folks, the curious boy that I was, surrounded by fields and woodlands. While passing through a thicket where no path is visible you should utter repeatedly, bari-bari, an apology for trespassing into a place guarded by the unseen.
The following superstitious beliefs were selected from Ethnobotany of the Itawes, a doctoral research of Sister Mamerta Rocero, SPC. These beliefs are not only confined among the Itawes of Cagayan Valley but are shared by other cultures as well. These are translations from the Itawes dialect.
1. A conceiving mother should never pick fruits from a tree otherwise the tree will die.
2. A papaya plant in front of a house brings bad luck.
3. A pregnant mother who eats twin bananas might give birth to twins.
4. A tree surrounded by fireflies during the night brings good luck.
5. Plant coconuts during starry nights so they will yield abundant fruits.
6. Plant coconuts during moonlight nights so they will produce big nuts.
7. Hang empty bottles on the trellises of upo (white squash) so that it will bear more fruits.
8. Eating from stocks intended for seeds will bring poor harvest.
9. Burying a little sugar with the seeds of ampalaya (bitter gourd) will prevent the fruits from becoming bitter.
10. Anyone dreaming of something tragic, such as death in the family should, upon waking up, strike the trunk of any tree with a bolo so that the dream will not become a reality.
11. If a Fortune plant received as a gift bears flower, it is a sign of good luck; if it dies it is an omen of bad luck.12. The balete (Ficus benjamina) is the home of bad spirits which cause those who go near the tree to become sick.
White lady haunts balete tree on Balete Drive QC, a popular ghost story
13. A woman on her menstrual period should not visit a garden or orchard otherwise the plants will become sick and ultimately die.
14. Avoid laughing while planting kamote (sweet potato) otherwise the roots will become liplike.
15. One who has incomplete teeth (bungal) should keep his mouth closed when planting corn, otherwise the plant will bear empty or poorly filled cobs.
16. Stoop when planting coconuts so they will not grow very tall.
17. When planting a tree seedling, avoid looking up so that the plant will not grow very tall.
18. Place the first fruits harvested from a plant in a large container and pretend to carry them as if they were very heavy so that the plant will be heavy with fruits.
19. A spiny cactus inside the house drives the witch away.
20. Someone will die if the fire tree blooms.
21. Talking while preparing gabi (taro) for cooking will make the it itchy when eaten.
22. Eating chicken cooked with squash will cause leprosy.
23. A person who eats any ripe fruit that is partly eaten by a bird will become talkative.
24. Bringing salt under a sour-fruit-bearing tree will cause the fruits to fall.
25. When planting sitao (long bean), place a comb on your hair to induce the production of abundant long fruits.
One of the common beliefs among rural folk is maan-anungan, a case when a person suddenly becomes indisposed, characterized by cold sweating and general weakness, often accompanied with stomach cramp, because “a spirit might have chanced upon person.” This is attributed to somebody who has been dead, or a living person who has the power to mangan-annung. Relief is sought by brushing or lightly whipping on his or her body with branches or leaves of malunggay (horse radish tree), atis (sweetsop), guyabano (soursop), or dayap (sour orange). Or let him or her be touched by the suspected mangan-annung, or wiped him with any clothing of the suspected dead person.
Then there is the belief that garlic cloves hung above the door will ward off the mananangal, a vampire who hovers around dwellings and attacks unwary victims. Then there are stories of the duwende (dwarfs) who bring either luck or misfortune, depending on the world they belong to. Next time you answer the call of nature under a tree, say, bari-bari, and don’t forget to spit on the spot after your relief.
Reny Casanan, in a similar study, relates these beliefs which are found among the Gaddangs of Isabela. The first items to carry with when moving into a new house are rice, a bundle of fuel, salt, sugar and coffee so that family will not run out of basic needs. Another belief is that, if harvest has been good, offer atang which consists of rice, viand, wined and palaspas (palm) as an offering, so that next year’s harvest will be as bountiful.
8. Ethnobotany and Gene Piracy
Sound the alarm. The pirates are coming! These pirates are armed with the latest tools of genetic engineering, and shielded by patent laws in their country Across the world, prospectors are sampling the local flora and fauna, and the genes of ethnic peoples, in search of new miracle drugs. An ethnical battle rages as prospectors scour the globe to find - and profit from - organisms that could cure the world’s worst diseases. According to Time, some ecologists are sounding dark warnings of a coming “gene war” between industrialized and emerging nations.
The idea is not really new. It started with IRRI when it put up a Gene Bank which houses today some 100,000 cultivars and varieties of rice. IRRI’s counterpart, CIMMYT in Mexico has a similar gene bank for wheat and corn. With genetic engineering today, genes banking and patenting have become mighty political and economic weapons of highly developed nations and giant trans-national corporations.
I had the opportunity to review and comment on a proposed bill to patent plants in the Philippines, under the title Plant Patent. The Senate of the Philippines remained firm to this date not to allow the passage of this bill. It believes that it is not only a matter that involves moral turpitude, but that the new law will adversely affect small farmers - millions of them, say in planting a patent-covered variety without paying the corresponding obligation to the patent holder.
This is the reported modus operandi of gene pirates. Foreign scientists disguised as tourists or volunteer workers, steal indigenous plants and animals - even human genes - develop useful products out of them which they then patent in their own country. According to Isidro Shia, a pharmacologist at UP, scientists posing as anthropologists have been gathering tissue samples from ethnic communities in the country known for their immunity to cancer and diabetes. The late Senator Juan Flavier called this exploitation a form of piracy and is rampantly committed in many parts of the world. Drug companies and agribusiness firms have been tapping genetic resources without even paying anything to countries where these genes are found.
Here are some examples of drugs manufactured from pirated plants. Taxol came from bark of a tree from a tropical rainforest, a cancer preventer. Jeevani is a drug from Kanis’ berries. It is a rich energy source, an anti-fatigue drug. “Old man’s cure” came from an African Pygeum tree. Sales of the bark reached $ 220 million a year. Sandeimmum/Neoral (Cyclosporin) another drug came from Kava plant, a Dioscorea species, which is a tranquilizer safer than Valium.
Actually we have just started for a long search because only one percent of the world’s flowering plants has been tested of their curative powers. But prospectors are all over like in a gold rush. Pirating is pocketing a gift God gave to all, and patenting is putting a tag on an act of God. There must be something to be done before these pirates loot our natural resources and heritage.
9. Age of Natural Medicine
According to Time, the sale of herbal and botanical supplements in the US in 1994 was $2 billion. It doubled in 1998, and by the following year it rose to $6 billion. There are 7.3 million Americans who swallow capsule made from Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea), a purple petalled daisy particularly during the cold and flu season. Some 7.5 million more take Prosac, an extract from a bright yellow flower called St. John’s wort. And there are 10.8 million people who are worried of fading memory so that they remind themselves to take regularly Gingko (Gingko biloba), a tree with fan-like leaves, and the only survivor of a large Family (Gingkokales). PHOTO
Millions of people are now taking in dose routinely, from various preparations of herbs, to stave off disease, brighten their moods, rev up their sex life or retain their youth. In the US alone the annual value of natural supplements amounts to more than $12 billion. This blossoming market is all over the world. People simply go for natural – natural food, pest- and fertilizer-free products, organically grown crops, native animals and fowls. Awareness is growing high against pesticide-treated fruits and vegetables, and high level of antibiotics in poultry and livestock products. People shy away from irradiated food, microwave-cooked food, and products of genetically engineered plants and animals (GMOs). And they are willing to pay the premium as long as they are certain the food and medicine they are taking are free from adulterants and other substances that are deleterious to health.
People today make more visits to non-traditional physicians, including faith healers, herbolarios, and naturopaths, who claim expertise in herbs and other natural therapies. In the Philippines, more and more people seek natural remedies, and a proof to this is the sudden emergence of apatot (Morinda citrifolia), a locally growing wild plant found to be the source of Morinda, a health drink among the Tahitians. The fruit is sold in the market and made into fruit juice. Recently, the Bureau of Food and Drug banned the taking of seeds of mahogany (Swietenia macroloba) as cure of rheumatism, arthritis and heart problem. Senator Juan Flavier warned the public that the seed contains cyanide which can cause damage to the brain, kidney and liver.
Because of this trend many pharmaceutical companies are changing their products and strategies. There has been a proliferation in the market of various health food and natural medicinal preparations, many of which are exaggerated. Laws and regulations on drugs are being reviewed. The sudden revival of thousand-year-old remedies focuses the importance of ethnobotany. It buoys the sagging faith of people in conventional medicine, and kindle and hope quaintness of healing using time- tested remedies, remedies instilled in the live and culture of our forebears. The perceived coldness and remoteness of sophisticated, computerized, and red-taped medicine, are driving people away to look for a humane, practical, community-oriented alternative - a kind of healing that touches the human spirit.
10. Ethnobotany of Seaweeds
Scientists point out to the importance of algae; they produce more oxygen than all land plants combined. And their use as food to augment limited food supply opens a new field of farming, including future space travel. Algae hold the key in cleaning up our wastes, a process called bioremediation.
Dr Abe V Rotor
Understanding the living world of minutiae. Summer Workshop
for kids conducted by the author. Lagro, QC.
Volvox a colonial alga; Spirulina Farm
Algae such as Nostoc, Spirolina, Anabaena Ocillatoria grow into communities; they form into mass rich in nutrients for plant growth (eg Nostoc), grow in association with plants (Anabaena in symbiosis with Azolla fern), or form composite communities.
Algae being the first photosynthetic organisms, did not only provide the food base of a prototype food chain, but increased the oxygen level of the air vital to animals under the principles of Oxygen-Carbon Dioxide Cycle, and Organic-Inorganic Cycle as well.
Algae of the protist group or the green algae, populate the lighted layer of the ocean comprising the phytoplankton, that feed the zooplankton (microscopic animals), which feed the small fish, the large fish in this order, onto our dining table. Since 70 percent of the earth's surface is water, more food and oxygen are produced than on land.
Algae are soil builders, agents of weathering of rocks, pioneers in converting wastelands, setting favorable conditions for the growth and development of plants and other organisms, leading to the formation of ecosystems.
Algae comprise the base of food pyramids in ponds, lakes and oceans. They are the link of the inorganic and the organic world, capturing the sun's energy through photosynthesis. From hereon, different organisms depend for their food on the main and by-products.
Algae in their macroscopic forms - the seaweeds - make the forests of the sea. They grow into enormous size and volume on coral reefs, these are the counterparts of the forests on land, particularly the rainforest.
Fossil of diatoms (PHOTO), a division of algae under Chrysophyta, called diatomaceous earth is mined for many uses particularly as filters and ingredients of toothpaste, cosmetics, pesticide, etc. It is important in the food web since many organisms need the element for their development. Diatoms have excellent patterns and designs that inspire artists and builders.
Algae form thick mats and layers on land, fertilizing the land in the process, and protecting it from destructive elements such as sudden changes in temperature, erosion, desiccation and the like, vital in keeping environmental balance.
11. Thirteen (13) practical researches on ethnobotany you can try at home and in your community
Dr Abe V Rotor
This article is reprinted in memory of the late Professor Eduardo de Leon of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Santo Tomas. These 13 researches were conducted during his administration as head of the Department of Botany, with the author as thesis adviser. This post is also dedicated to the thesis students who are now professionals in the fields of medicine, education, business, science and technology.
UST Pharmacy Garden
These researches explore the vast uses of plants as food and source of useful products for pharmacology and industry. They offer alternatives to natural healing as well as in tapping the hidden wealth of plants as antibiotics, elixir and many other uses.
These researches explore the vast uses of plants as food and source of useful products for pharmacology and industry. They offer alternatives to natural healing as well as in tapping the hidden wealth of plants as antibiotics, elixir and many other uses.
This research is based on palay-isdaan, an indigenous practice in low lying ricelands where rice and fish naturally grow together during the monsoon months. Thus, the researchers experimented on growing pechay (Brassica chinensis) in an aquarium medium, which can at the same time sustain the normal growth of tilapia (Tilapia nilotica). The result promises another aspect of urban green revolution where hobbyists can combine the growing of fish in home aquarium with the production of vegetables. The idea may be the answer to having fresh and safe food supply for the home and neighborhood, and in maintaining a balance aquarium with lesser cost.
2. Beware of Ganoderma food supplement
Africa MA, Abulencia HM, Bautista A and AM Bebanco
This shelf fungus comes as food supplement, mainly as pre-packed coffee and tea, and advertised in several names. White mice fed freely with the raw fungus died after a few days. Even those given with limited amounts showed adverse physiologic effects like loss in weight, thinning of hair, and progressive weakness. Many died after two or three weeks. The results indicate that the fungus has toxic effect. It will be recalled that among the most poisonous materials occurring in nature come from fungi, the classical example is the Amanita mushroom which when mistakenly eaten by humans can cause instant death. There is no known antidote of mushroom poisoning. At minimal dosage however, not exceeding 10 mg per 1 kg body weight, the test animals gained weight faster than those not given with Ganoderma. Thus the researchers recommend judicious use of the food supplement, as it may be deleterious to health contrary to the claims of its manufacturers and distributors.
3. Make your own Marker Ink from Mayana. Galang E, Cu MV, Constantino A and C Flores. Marker inks or colorants come in bright green, pink, blue and in different hues and shades. They are used to highlight keywords and sentences, terms or simply for arts and graphics. Commercial highlighters as these markers are commonly called, are imported from Japan, US, Germany and China. Local brands make use of imported colorants. Mayana (Coleus blumei) is a colorful annual plant, dominantly red, maroon, green pink, yellow in various patterns and combinations. The researchers extracted the pigment using volatile solvents. Comparing the different cultivars of mayana, they came up with two dominant colors. Flesh to brown color appeared to be the best among the colors tested. Drying time compared to the commercial brands is the same. The researchers recommend other possible plant colorants such as Carissa, duhat (Syzygium) and bright petalled plants like Hibiscus.
4. Is it true that Caulerpa seaweed eaters live healthier and longer lives?
Chua AG, Fancubit AL, Flores F and MR Liwag
3. Make your own Marker Ink from Mayana. Galang E, Cu MV, Constantino A and C Flores. Marker inks or colorants come in bright green, pink, blue and in different hues and shades. They are used to highlight keywords and sentences, terms or simply for arts and graphics. Commercial highlighters as these markers are commonly called, are imported from Japan, US, Germany and China. Local brands make use of imported colorants. Mayana (Coleus blumei) is a colorful annual plant, dominantly red, maroon, green pink, yellow in various patterns and combinations. The researchers extracted the pigment using volatile solvents. Comparing the different cultivars of mayana, they came up with two dominant colors. Flesh to brown color appeared to be the best among the colors tested. Drying time compared to the commercial brands is the same. The researchers recommend other possible plant colorants such as Carissa, duhat (Syzygium) and bright petalled plants like Hibiscus.
4. Is it true that Caulerpa seaweed eaters live healthier and longer lives?
Chua AG, Fancubit AL, Flores F and MR Liwag
Caulepa racemosa
Ilocanos in particular, who love to eat lato or ar-arusip are known to enjoy healthy and long lives. Is it a myth? The researchers found out that this green seaweed sold commercially in two species, C. lentelifera and C. racemosa, possess antibiotic properties. Raw extract has been found effective in destroying bacteria, such as Pseudococcus and Escherischia coli, common pathogens causing human ailments. Aside from this property, Caulerpa contains caulerpine that to many people has relaxing effect, but excessive intake of the vegetable may cause dizziness. It is the only known edible seaweed that causes this symptom. This active principle may be tapped for its tranquilizing effect.
If you happen to be walking along the beach those dry brown seaweeds washed ashore could bring in a lot of profit, not only as source of algin and alginic acid which are extracted for food conditioner and for industrial use. The researchers found out that by extracting the alginate substance by ordinary means, the extract is effective in delaying the spoilage of fruits such as mango, papaya and banana. The extract is diluted 5 to 10 percent with water before the ripe or ripening fruits are immersed, then allowed to dry. The alginate compound leaves a coating on the fruit that delays ripening from two to four days, at the same time protects it from microorganisms that cause rotting and spoilage.
6. Makabuhay and Neem tree extracts are effective in control cockroach (Periplaneta Americana) Tenorio RW, Nudo L, Roxas R and AC Uichanco
Neem tree
Makabuhay and Neem
Macabuhay (Tinospora rhumphii) is a liana that grows in the wild. Previous experiments proved that its extract is effective in controlling common rice insect pest and the golden kuhol. Could it be effective in controlling the tough and elusive cockroach? The same question was raised on Neem (Aziderachta asiatica), known as insecticide tree that was introduced into the country from India in the sixties. According to the researchers, extracts of both plants proved effective as direct spray on cockroach. Comparative effectiveness showed that the diluted extract of makabuhay gave a higher mortality that the pure extract, indicating the synergistic effect of water solvent, but only for makabuhay. Neem extract at low level dilution is more effective than that of makabuhay at the same level. While synthetic chemical sprays are more effective than these herbal extracts, the advantage of the latter is their being safe to humans and the environment and does not leave toxic residues.
7. Rat Poison from the Seed of Botong (Barringtona asiatica)
Perez R, Dela Cruz K, Rivera M and J Santos
If botong (Barringtona asiatica) is effective as fish poison, could it be effective as rat poison just as well? The researchers found it to be effective, but the problem to lure the rodents to eating the bait is a problem. This is because of the shy nature of rats and their oliphagous characteristic that is they eat a wide range of food under natural field condition. When starved rats may consume any available food and this may include poison baits. The advantage of using plant poison is its safe nature to humans and the environment. Presently used compounds include arsenicals, anticoagulants under the brand names Dethmor, Racumin, Dora, and the deadly “1081” a zinc phosphide compound which is now banned in the market.
7. Rat Poison from the Seed of Botong (Barringtona asiatica)
Perez R, Dela Cruz K, Rivera M and J Santos
If botong (Barringtona asiatica) is effective as fish poison, could it be effective as rat poison just as well? The researchers found it to be effective, but the problem to lure the rodents to eating the bait is a problem. This is because of the shy nature of rats and their oliphagous characteristic that is they eat a wide range of food under natural field condition. When starved rats may consume any available food and this may include poison baits. The advantage of using plant poison is its safe nature to humans and the environment. Presently used compounds include arsenicals, anticoagulants under the brand names Dethmor, Racumin, Dora, and the deadly “1081” a zinc phosphide compound which is now banned in the market.
This is the rational of the experiment: Is there a safer compound than synthetic pesticides to clean up fishponds in order to eliminate fish predators at seeding time? It is a known practice among fishpond owners to use Malathion, Endrin, and other chlorinated hydrocarbon, as well as phosphate compounds to eliminate fish such as tilapia, dalag, and Poecillia after harvesting a fishpond. These remaining fish pose danger as predator of bangus fries raised in the next season. The researchers found out that the extract of botong seeds (Barringtona asiatica) is an effective substitute. Like other plant extract, it is environment friendly and leaves non-toxic residue to the incoming fries and fingerlings.
Casas JM, Cadiz RI, Calvelo AM and MC Cremen. With the increasing resistance of bacteria to the group of Penncilium antibiotics, scientists are looking into more potent antibiotics. Modern antibiotics however, are expensive and are not readily available particularly in the countryside. But natural antibiotics abound in nature. One such source is the ordinary papaya, specifically the native or solo variety. The researchers claim that the papain in papaya has an antibiotic property and the most likely part where the active compound is concentrated is the seeds, which are thrown away for no use except as propagation material. The seed oil is potent against both gram negative and gram positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus. . This explains why papaya is a health food. Although the oil has also shown anti-fungal effects, the researchers recommend further studies in this aspect. They also recommend further studies in the preparation of the seed oil as antibiotic drop or ointment.
Clemente R, Landan RP Luquinario MI and P Padua
If there is a way to rid mosquitoes from attacking us without net or special paraphernalia, it is that advertised “Off” mosquito repellant. But the commercial products are synthetic compounds and reports claim that they are carcinogenic affecting not only the skin but internal organs as well since poison can be absorbed by the skin and into the blood stream and other tissue of the body. The researchers collected the volatile oil of the weeping willow which is also known as bottle brush for the formation and shape of the leaves. With ethyl alcohol as solvent, the preparation was tested against house mosquitoes (Culex pipens) in the same manner as the advertised commercial product is used. The results are positive.
11. How good are commercial organic fertilizers as claimed by their manufacturers? Olivenza CR, King A, Reyes CJ and A YoungThere are a number of organic fertilizers in the market manufactured from various raw materials. As such there is no standard set particularly for their nutrient content. They are advertised with various advantages which the researchers in this study say only by experimentation on at least one plant indicator can resolve – pechay (Brassica chinensis). The results of the experiment are varied and therefore support the theory that organic fertilizers in the market do not have standard effects on the growth and development patterns on the test plant. The researchers believe that fortification of organic fertilizers with chemical fertilizers improves the formula and helps solve nutrient deficiency.
12. Bunga de Jolo is a potential bactericide.
Villaluz MC, Enebrad K, Garcia R and V Guzman. Vetchia merillii, a palm relative of the bunga (Areca catechu) was found to have a unique potency against the bacterium, Bacillus proteus as well as others pathogens causing infection. Direct extract from the seed showed potent inhibition against the test organisms, a feat the control (Penicillium type) failed to show. This explains the usefulness of bunga de jolo as a substitute of Areca in the absence of the latter. Both produce nuts, which are used by older people for mastication with or without the betel leaf and the occasional lime that goes with the preparation.
13. Common moss as a practical source of antibiotics. Nabong W, Aquino M, Orlino C Ramos J and H Sumabit
The common moss often used in its dried form as substrate for orchids has a puzzling characteristic. It resists rotting and does not arbor the breeding of microorganisms that are pathogenic to the orchid. From this observation coupled by the fact that indigenous people use dried moss to cover wounds and skin diseases, led the researches to conduct an experiment on the antibiotic properties of mosses. The results are positive to bacteria causing skin infection, but the range of antibiosis has yet to be determined. The researchers recommend that further studies be conducted on methods of extraction, other than the use of ethanol, in isolating the active principle which is the key to the antibiotic property of mosses. ~
Graduate students study the uses of Banaba Tree (Lagerstroma speciosa), and Selaginella as antibiotics. ~
12. Ethnobotany and Nata de Coco as leather substitute
Nata de coco shoes, surgical thread, and wallet, too.
Bacterial cellulose as substitute of leather and plastic is the brainchild of Filipino scientist, Dr Anselmo S Cabigan former Director for Research, National Food Authority, and professor in biological science at St Paul University QC. Nata de coco shoes is first of its kind in the world, one for the Book of Guinness Record.
Nata is a culture of Leuconostoc mesenteroides, a bacterium that forms a mass of gelatinous material from a medium of sugar and acetic acid. When thick enough, this layer is harvested for dessert or fruit salad mix. This time it is made into laminate, a leather-like material.
At St. Paul University QC, Dr. Anselmo S. Cabigan and his thesis advisee, the late Miss Amparo Arambulo, developed shoes made from nata laminate. The laminate is actually compressed nata de coco, dried and layered like plywood, then subjected to standard tanning procedure. It is cut and made into shoes. The nata "leather" is produced by gradual pressure and drying until a leather-like consistency is attained. This undergoes curing and tanning, and dyeing like leather. Which is then made as uppers of shoes and slippers, cut into belt, surgical thread, and even fabric substitute. Nata laminate is stronger than leather, according to results of a test conducted by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). It also gives a good finish like real leather.
Nata laminate is also a healthy and environment-friendly packaging material. It easily decomposes without leaving any trace of harmful residue - unlike plastic, which in the first place is synthetic and non-biodegradable. Nata offers a solution to plastic materials accumulating in garbage, and scattered all around.
The author is shown with the late Amparo Arambulo who conducted a thesis in BS Biology, Nata de Coco as Substitute of Leather. Note nata de coco leather sheets at the foreground.
The author is shown with the late Amparo Arambulo who conducted a thesis in BS Biology, Nata de Coco as Substitute of Leather. Note nata de coco leather sheets at the foreground.
In another thesis research, nata was made into surgical thread. Again, since nata is a natural product, it is soluble and absorbed in our system without any harmful effect to health. Thus, it is a good substitute for expensive commercial surgical threads.
"You can have nata shoes and eat them, too." I said jokingly to my friend. "You can have nata for writing and reading," my friend Dr Cabigan added to my joke. Nata is used to make drums, speakers, wallets. The list continues with other possible uses: belt, diploma sheepskin, parchment paper, thread and rope."
It's true - nata is a versatile material that can save animals, especially those in the endangered list. And save the world from being buried by a mountain of plastic wastes.
The technology of nata growing in culture medium is ancient and universal in process. It is a microbial process, a kind of farming with a bacterium Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and a complex of other microorganisms, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Acetobacter aceti. It is Nature's microbiological chemistry which man has learned to produce useful materials, vinegar, herbal tea, and of course, nata as food. The innocula grow on a wide range of substrates. If it is pineapple, the product is nata de piña. It is possible that other countries have nata products from their indigenous fruits and nuts. Biologically, the process is nature's way of disposing organic residues by converting them into more stable forms preparatory to their final degradation, ultimately returning to their elemental forms ready for the next cycle.
The encapsulated bacterium is the main agent in the process, leaving its gelatin or cellulose shell to form layers and thick mass which is the nata. This is made into mats and when finally cured becomes laminate, firm and soft (even after a few years), cool to the feet, and other tests for leather. There are yet many other tests were not done or completed.
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This work is ahead by more than ten years of one of Time magazine's featured of inventions in 50 Best Inventions of 2010 (November 22, 2010, page 53, Invention No. 15 BioCouture).
13. Self-Administered test on Ethnobotany
Can you identify these indigenous plants?
Dr Abe V Rotor
(1)
(2)
(10)
(22)
(27)
(30)
Answers
1. Chayote - Sechium edule
2. Papait (cultured) - Mollugo oppositifolia
3. Bagbagkong - Telosma procumbens
4. Saluyot - Corchorus olitorius
5. Alugbati - Basella alba
6. Dampalit (wild) - Sesuvium portulacastrum
7. Kamias - Averrhoa bilimbi
8. Kuchay - Allium ramosum
9. Pandan Mabango - Pandanus amaryllifolius
10. Papait (wild) - Mollugo oppositifolia
11. Siling Labuyo - Capsicum annuum
12. Karimbuaya - Euphorbia neriifolia
13. Talinum - Talinum tiangulare
14. Tanglad - Cymbopogon citratus
15. Ar-arusip - Caulerpa racemosa
16. Pokpoklo - Codium edule
17. Squash Flower (male) - Cucurbita maxima
18. Dampalit (cultured) - Sesuvium portulacastrum
19. Pako' (edible fern) - Diplazium esculentum
20. Himbaba-o (alokong Ilk) - Allaeanthus luzonicus
21. Ulasiman (ngalog Ilk) - Portulaca oleracea
22. Wax gourd (tangkoy Ilk) - Benincasa hispida
23. Tainga ng daga mushroom - Auricularia
24. Kutchay flower - Allium tuberosum
25. Sinkamas - Pachyrhisus erosus
26. Native ampalaya (Momordica charantia) and upo (Lagenaria leucantha)
12. Karimbuaya - Euphorbia neriifolia
13. Talinum - Talinum tiangulare
14. Tanglad - Cymbopogon citratus
15. Ar-arusip - Caulerpa racemosa
16. Pokpoklo - Codium edule
17. Squash Flower (male) - Cucurbita maxima
18. Dampalit (cultured) - Sesuvium portulacastrum
19. Pako' (edible fern) - Diplazium esculentum
20. Himbaba-o (alokong Ilk) - Allaeanthus luzonicus
21. Ulasiman (ngalog Ilk) - Portulaca oleracea
22. Wax gourd (tangkoy Ilk) - Benincasa hispida
23. Tainga ng daga mushroom - Auricularia
24. Kutchay flower - Allium tuberosum
25. Sinkamas - Pachyrhisus erosus
26. Native ampalaya (Momordica charantia) and upo (Lagenaria leucantha)
27. Malunggay - Moringa oleifera
28. Red ginger - Alpinia purpurata,
29. Bignay - Antidesma bunius
30. Achuete - Bixa orellana
28. Red ginger - Alpinia purpurata,
29. Bignay - Antidesma bunius
30. Achuete - Bixa orellana
14. Outlook of Ethnobotany
These viewpoints present a Janus’ vantage point from where we stand today. Ethnobotany is besieged by advancing culture, seen on the screen of a computer, serving the needs of modern medicine, and globalization in terms of commerce and intercultural exchanges. On the other hand, ethnobotany offers us an opportunity to turn back to an unspoiled landscape where we study, even under extreme pressure of time and change, the drama which has been taking place many, many years ago, an enduring natural man-plant relationship vital to our success as a species, to be what we are today, our lifestyle and society. In our approach to the subject we may undermine the wealth of indigenous knowledge about the subject, which we must admit, we know so little about.
We should take time out and beat a path out there, bidding the unseen with whispers of bari-bari, as we seek and enter the Shang-rila of health and plenty, a place, a natural order of things, where our ancestors must have lived a full life.
These viewpoints present a Janus’ vantage point from where we stand today. Ethnobotany is besieged by advancing culture, seen on the screen of a computer, serving the needs of modern medicine, and globalization in terms of commerce and intercultural exchanges. On the other hand, ethnobotany offers us an opportunity to turn back to an unspoiled landscape where we study, even under extreme pressure of time and change, the drama which has been taking place many, many years ago, an enduring natural man-plant relationship vital to our success as a species, to be what we are today, our lifestyle and society. In our approach to the subject we may undermine the wealth of indigenous knowledge about the subject, which we must admit, we know so little about.
We should take time out and beat a path out there, bidding the unseen with whispers of bari-bari, as we seek and enter the Shang-rila of health and plenty, a place, a natural order of things, where our ancestors must have lived a full life.
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