Bioprospection

Assessment of antifungal activity of himalayan foliose lichens

by Priti Pandey

In vitro antifungal activity of the acetone, methanol and chloroform extracts of four lichen species viz, Bulbothirx... more In vitro antifungal activity of the acetone, methanol and chloroform extracts of four lichen species viz, Bulbothirx setschwanensis, Everniastrum nepalense, Heterodermia diademata, Parmelaria thomsonii were investigated against seven plant pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, Alternaria alternata, Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, F. roseum and Penicillium citrinum) with reference to commercially available synthetic antifungal drug Ketoconazole (positive control). Lichen secondary metabolites were extracted using Soxhlet extractor and were further recovered through gentle evaporation of solvents in rotatory evaporator. Antifungal activity was analysed employing BauerKirby disc diffusion assay. Acetone and methanol extracts of lichenized fungi were found more effective against tested plant pathogenic fungi. Principal component analysis concluded that though, Ketoconazole was effective against four of the tested plant pathogenic fungi, acetone and methanol extracts of lichens were comparatively more effective against some broad spectrum plant pathogenic fungi (Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, F. roseum).

Composition and biological activity of the essential oil from leaves of Plinia cerrocampanensis, a new source of [alpha]-bisabolol

by Anayansi Valderrama

Biopiracy and Bioprospecting in Latin America: The Case of Maca in Peru

by Amanda J. Landon, RPA

Published in Nebraska Anthropologist, 2007

Bioprospecting is a popular venture in Latin America due to the region's high concentration of the world's... more Bioprospecting is a popular venture in Latin America due to the region's high concentration of the world's biodiversity. This activity has an impact on the native peoples living in areas with potentially profitable plants. They can lose access to traditional plants and extraction processes when companies patent indigenous cultivars and knowledge. In many cases, they cannot patent their cultivars and knowledge before others due to cultural and monetary restrictions. In this paper, I examine the legal and cultural context surrounding the battle over Lepidium meyenii (maca) in Peru. PureWorld, Inc., a United States pharmaceutical company, patented the extracts derived from the plant. It sells these extracts to treat sexual dysfunction in humans and other animals. The pharmaceutical company also patented the extraction technique. The indigenous peoples of Peru had already known about the extracts, the uses for the plant, and the extraction technique for thousands of years. They are suing to overturn the patents on maca, not to claim patents on the plants for themselves but to return the plant to their cultural domain. They have found a way to solve their problem with biopiracy without sacrificing their cultural values.