Medicinal Plant Resources: Current Issues Romeo F. Quijano, M.D. Professor, U.P. College of Medicine Project Leader, National Integrated Research Program On Medicinal Plants Bureau Member, International Assessment on Agricultural Science and Technology for Development

OverviewIndigenous medicinal plant resources have always been crucial to the survival of humans. Even as industrialisation established the role of synthetic chemicals in health care, medicinal plants and medicinal plant derived substances continued to play crucial roles in health care delivery systems throughout the world.

BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT

Global biodiversity rankings: 2nd (fishes), 5th (plants, trees, and mammals), and 8th (reptiles) 8,120 species of flowering plants 3,500 species of indigenous trees 33 species of gymnosperms 640 species of mosses 2,400 species and sub-species of fish 3,000 species of plants which are endemic to the PhilippinesWhile the rest of the whole world discovers 1 species per Taxa (family) per year, the Philippines discovers 5 or 6 specie per taxa per year

OverviewThere are more than a hundred plant-derived chemical substances that account for about 25% of prescription drugs in industrialised countries. Here, in the Philippines, we have around 1,500 medicinal plants actively being utilised by traditional healers.About 80% of the population rely mainly on medicinal plants, usually in crude form.

April 2005CEC-Phils*

One of the most diverse in the world but also among the most endangered.

2001: 49 mammal, 86 bird, and 320 plant species face extinction.

Philippines regarded as "Center of Marine Biodiversity" in the world

One of the longest discontinuous coastline worldwide Around 2,500 fish species 24 major fishing bays and gulfs, half of these have annual yield levels of 50 metric tons

Rich coral reefs, with 488 out of 800 known species worldwide 971 species of benthic algae 2nd most diverse seagrass in the world with 16 species

The irony of bountiful Seas

Declining catch Declining maximum sustainable yields Degraded coral reefs Decreasing mangrove areas Pollution

Seriously ThreatenedUnfortunately, medicinal plant resources are seriously being threatened. About 60,000 hectares of rainforests worldwide are being destroyed each day. Philippines, Of the original 30 million hectares of forests before colonisation, only 800,000 hectares of virgin forest is left.

DEFORESTATIONForest cover reduced from 70% in 1909 to only18.3% in 1999. Ideal = 54%

1900s: 21 million hectares (70% of total land area)1988: 6 million hectares1999: 800,000 hectares (18% of total land area)Still shrinking at an average rate of 2% per year

Seriously ThreatenedOut of the more than 400,000 species of plants estimated to be existing worldwide, about 60,000 species are believed to be seriously threatened with extinction. About 15% of the worlds species is estimated to become extinct by 2020. Todays extraction of resources and production activities to indulge and maintain our unsustainable consumerist and socially insensitive lifestyles are sucking dry the lifeblood of future generations.

Land Degradation

- 1984: 8.25 million has.- 2004: 13.5 million has. Soil erosion Recurrent drought degrades parts of food producing regions Pollution from farm chemicals and pesticides Pollution from mine tailings Pollution from industrial chemicals

Bioprospecting, Biopiracya growing number of transnational companies have devised innovative means to establish ties with indigenous communities in many developing countries to facilitate the acquisition of these peoples indigenous knowledge. it is imperative that national governments and the international community ensure that indigenous peoples rights are protected and equitable sharing of benefits guaranteed.

Bioprospecting, Biopiracy Government bodies are often the collaborators, as in the case of the National Institute of Health of the U.S. and the National Museum of the Philippines, collecting and appropriating unto themselves the medicinal plants and knowledge of indigenous peoples with the obvious intention of passing them on to profit-making private sector.

What is BIOPIRACY?-the theft, misappropriation of, or unfair free-riding on, genetic resources and/or traditional knowledge through the patent system;-the unauthorised and uncompensated collection for commercial ends of genetic resources and/or traditional knowledge.

Biopiracy-National Cancer Institute of the U.S. has taken and screened 30,000 plant samples from all over the world (hundreds came from the Philippines) for anti-cancer activity. It is not known how many substances were passed on to U.S. pharmaceutical companies for commercialization -The US government and corporations, under the guise of research and development cooperation, gains monopoly control of indigenous medicinal plant resources from developing countries.

THREATS OF BIOPIRACY-Privatization of life-corporate ownership of life forms and traditional knowledge. Privatization leads to monopolistic control of natural resources upon which peoples survival depends. -Patents on life forms-threaten community access to most critical elements of human survival: food and health care.

CASES Neem several extracts were patented by 2 US companies, W R Grace and Native Plant Institute, and by the Japanese Terumo Corporation.

CASES JAMU- Indonesian herbal medicine -several extracts were patented by Shiseido, Japan, manufacturer of cosmetic products, including skin whiteners.

CASESPhilippine sea snail (Conus magus) A toxin called SNX-111 was isolated which is a pain killer reported to be more powerful than morphine was patented by Neurex, a US company.

CASESPhilippine Yew Tree (Taxus sumatrana) Extract from which taxol, an anticancer drug is derived, has been patented in the USA by the University of Philadelphia.

CASESSambong (Blumea balsamifera) Water and alcoholic extract patented by the Japanese company ITOEN. Research done by a Filipino scientist working under DOST was the basis for the patent.

CASESMomordica charantia (ampalaya) An extract from ampalaya, an antidiabetic medicinal plant was patented by Cromak Research, Inc. in New Jersey and has started raking in profits reaching to as high as $500.

CASES Erythromycin an antibiotic extract from a soil in the province of Iloilo. It was isolated by Filipino scientist Abelardo Aguilar who was then working with the Eli Lilly Co, which then patented the drug without providing any royalties.

Biopiracy stopped in MexicoAfter two years of intense local opposition from indigenous peoples' organizations in Chiapas, Mexico, the ICBG-Maya project aimed at the bioprospecting of Mayan medicinal plants and traditional knowledge has been "definitively cancelled" by the Project's Chiapas-based partner, ECOSUR. The $2.5 million dollar project, entitled "Drug Discovery and Biodiversity among the Maya in Mexico," was funded by the US government. The International Collaborative Biodiversity Group (ICBG), is a US government initiative involving the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundationn and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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Inappropriate reliance on western medicinesMost scientists and health professionals are pre-occupied with the question of chemical constituent or active ingredient of medicinal plants rather than evaluation of safety and efficacy of the medicinal plant as a whole. Many consumers are mesmerized by Western medicines and are misled by misleading promotions and advertisements.

Corporate Science The powerful elite continue to accumulate capital and ignore the growing depletion of the earths resources. Science and most scientists became their tool, creating the delusion that problems arising out of exploitation of natural resources can be fixed by new technologies.

Suppression of Natural Remedies- Official bodies suppress or does not give preference to utilization and research on natural remedies. - Big pharmaceutical corporations and the medical establishment are actively engaged in suppressing natural remedies.- The health system has been made dependent on profits (a.k.a. market efficiency) rather than service to the people.

Suppression of Natural Remedies- CODEX alimentarius: protects the interests of pharmaceutical and chemical industries and threatens consumer access to healthy, organic food and natural remedies.- UN incorrectly classifed Marijuana as a Schedule I drug (high abuse potential and has no currently accepted medical use) UN primer on Marijuana drafted by experts that have ties with Big Corporations.

Suppression of Natural Remedies- Phil FDA unreasonably delayed the registration of Lagundi and Sambong- Phil DOH, upon the lobbying of the Association of Big Pharma Companies, issued a circular to medical doctors that there is no scientific basis for the use of ampalaya as anti-diabetic.- Despite ostensibly supporting NIRPROMP, the government, on many occasions, has actually squeezed independent medicinal plant research almost to the point of extinction.

Corporate ControlCorporate control of scientific studies !

USFDA"The FDA 'protects' the big drug companies and are subsequently rewarded, and using the government's police powers they attack those who threaten the big drug companies. People think that the FDA is protecting them. It isn't. What the FDA is doing and what the public thinks it is doing are as different as night and day." -Dr. Herbert Ley - Former U.S. FDA Commissioner

Sustainable Use Sustainable use means that the rate of utilisation of resources should not compromise the utilisation of the same resources by the succeeding generations.

Structural causes of unsustainable use the underlying causes of rapid resource depletion and unsustainable use are basically rooted in social relations. depletion of the worlds natural resources directly correlates with the extent of social inequity. profligate consumption of a few rich against the backdrop of extreme deprivation of the poor majority.

Sustainable Use How then can our generation practice the concept of sustainable use?

KNOW WHAT WE HAVEOur national inventory of plant species is about 12,000 but it is not clear how many of these are considered medicinal. About 1,500 species of medicinal plants actually being used by traditional healers in various Regions of the country. About 30% of medicinal plant species used by indigenous people have not been identified and classified officially.

Active defence against the immediate threats to biodiversity All forms of destructive activities that seriously deplete medicinal plant and other natural resources must be stopped immediately such as: logging, mining, plantations, dams, land conversion, and similar developmental projects.Similarly, pesticides, industrial chemicals, wastes, ozone depleters, greenhouse gasses, vehicular and other emissions that pollute air, land and water must be eliminated or reduced.

Preventive action against new technologies Genetically Modified OrganismsDisrupts gene ecologyviral vectors may give rise to new diseasesSpread of antibiotic resistanceIncreased allergiesSpread of new toxic substancesOther hazardsNanotechnology

National policies and legislation to protect indigenous medicinal plant resources To ensure that health and environmental concerns take precedence over commercial interests in the utilisation of medicinal plant resources.Unfortunately, national governments have surrendered their sovereign rights over indigenous medicinal plant and other resources upon entry into the GATT-WTO.

Capacity Building for Appropriate Research and Development Towards Rational Use of Herbal MedicineObjective is primarily to answer the essential health needs of the Filipino people.The current situation is dictated by the US prescription of globalisation and liberalisation, orienting the research and development agenda towards privatisation, intellectual property rights, and liberalised entry of foreign entities, aggravating monopoly control and exploitation.

Develop a truly Filipino Pharmaceutical IndustryWe need to develop a people based, self-reliant and relevant program on medicinal plant research, development and utilization.We need to arouse, organize and mobilize different sectors towards a truly Filipino pharmaceutical industry.

Recognition and respect of community and indigenous peoples rights. Communities and indigenous peoples, from time immemorial, have been the custodians of medicinal plant resources and knowledge.The National Cancer Institute of the U.S. had admitted that the success rate in finding new medicines could have been doubled had the indigenous knowledge been the basis for screening.

Equitable sharing of benefitsThere can be no equitable sharing of benefits within the framework of exploitation by profit-driven monopolists. Research and development motivated solely by profit and driven by monopoly rights is not sustainable.

General remarks -Current drug research and development has generally failed to protect health and has become largely irrelevant in generating new drugs with genuine health benefits. -The current global system for drug R&D does not serve the needs of the majority of the people. Millions of people, including children, suffer and die, especially in developing countries, because lifesaving medicines are not available and accessible. - Drug research and development in general, can only serve the people if science is not corrupted by corporate agenda and pecuniary interest.

General Remarks

-Political, economic, and cultural factors are major drivers in medicinal plant research, development and utilization.-Power relations largely determine the agenda in medicinal plant research, development and utilization.-Governments have largely failed in adequately protecting peoples health from undesirable corporate practices.

General remarks

Most scientists are in the employ or under the influence of TNCs or TNC influenced institutions.Most scientific journals controlled or influenced by Big Corporations.UN bodies and government agencies dealing with drugs are highly influenced by big business or entities with vested interests.

Causes of Exploitative and Unsustainable Use of Medicinal Plant ResourcesThe uncontrolled growth and insatiable appetite of transnationals to accumulate capital and maximise profits, Global exploitation and plunder by rich countries against underdeveloped countries,State terrorism and bullying by the sole superpower, U.S.A.The subservience of the elite leadership of most poor countries to the dictates of the rich countries,The lavish and wasteful lifestyle of the elite,

Causesthe ignorance and apathy of most citizens, the lack of empowerment of communites and opportunist and corrupt politicians, professionals, scientists and technocrats with no social conscience:

- all of these are among the basic causes of unsustainable use that must be confronted collectively and resolutely if we truly desire fundamental and long-term changes that would allow us to use our resources sustainably.

What needs to be done? Uphold the right to health ! Enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition. (WHO constitution)

Conclusions/Recommendations Issues related to medicinal plant research and development must be approached from a wholistic and egalitarian perspective, taking into account the existing social order.

To be truly useful, medicinal plant research and development must be anchored more on a truly independent and pro-people institutions and systems rather than relying mainly on corporate support and advances in methodology and technology.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?-Stop corruptive and exploitative corporate practices -Demand corporate accountability-Stop government from implementing liberalization, deregulation and privatization policies

What needs to be done?-Restore independence and integrity among medical doctors, scientists, regulators and related personnel.-Develop an alternative drug development program, based on the principle of egalitarianism and not on profits.-Struggle for social transformation so that health will be in the hands of the people.

RESIST !Corporate Science S erving C orporate I nterest E ngaged in N on-essential C ommercial E xploits

UPHOLD !SCIENCE FOR THE PEOPLE

S ervingC ommunity I nterestE ngaged inN oteworthyC reativeE ndeavors

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOMED readI gnoranceS ubservienceE litismA pathyS elfishnessE scapism

What needs to be done?A wareness raisingN etworking among groupsT echnical capacity building I nformation exchange/monitoringD eepening of understandingO rganizing concerned peopleT ransformative actionE mpowerment of people

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