Mon, 09 Oct 2006 06:26:05 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/ PostNuke Powered Site en-us http://medplant.icimod.org/images/logo.gif http://medplant.icimod.org/ atuladhar@icimod.org http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=83 INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS, to be held at LOTUS PANG SUAN KAEW HOTEL, CHIANG MAI, THAILAND during January 15-18, 2007. The international workshop on Medicinal and Aromatic plants will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 15th to 18th January 2007. For details please click on the link above. Mon, 09 Oct 2006 06:26:05 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=82 Dear all, My name is Desmond McCarthy (Project Assistant) from the Medicinal Plants Conservation Project (MPCP-Egypt) and we have just launched our new website detailing all our work both locally in South Sinai and Nationally. I would be grateful if you could view our website and give me some feedback. If you have a website in keeping with our themes and goals then please contact me so that we may establish a link together. Our URL is http://www.mpcpegypt.com Thankyou Des Mon, 09 Oct 2006 06:15:09 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=81 The International Symposium on Chamomile Research, Development and Production, will be held in Presov, Slovak Republic, from June 07 to 10, 2006. Mon, 05 Jun 2006 03:07:04 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=80 Herbotechnik A Project Concept to integrate with the WADI Programme for Tribal Livelihoods A Concept Note BAIF Development Research Foundation is a Non-Government Organisation working for rural development across seven states of India. Registered as a Public Charitable Trust in 1967, BAIF is today managed by over 1000 dedicated professionals, implementing a multi-disciplinary programme in Livestock Development, Water resource Development, Tree Based Farming Systems, Community Health and Empowerment of Village Communities, especially women, spread over 10,000 villages. THE BAIF MISSION BAIF’s Mission is to create opportunities of gainful self employment for the rural families especially disadvantaged sections, ensuring sustainable livelihood, enriched environment, improved quality of life and good human values. This is being achieved through development research, effective use of local resources, extension of appropriate technologies and upgradation of skills and capabilities with community participation. BAIF is a non-political, secular and professionally managed organisation. The Maharashtra Programme BAIF, through its Associate Organisation MITTRA, has taken up the Wadi programme for tribal livelihood promotion. This is done through a holistic approach incorporating horticulture, agriculture development, management of natural resources and introducing off-farm activities to add value to the farm produce. The programme also has interventions for improving the quality of living through improved health and creating development opportunities for women. The programme is implemented in over 325 tribal villages from Nashik, Thane and Ahmednagar districts of Maharashtra State. In these areas programmes reach out to about 20,000 families. The programme has now also been initiated in other areas such as Nandurbar and parts of Vidarbha. The above programmes are implemented in exclusive tribal areas where the families do not have year-round livelihood opportunities, and are forced to migrate for survival. The Wadi programme has made possible for them to have a secure and stable livelihood. HERBOTECHNIK: A UNIQUE STRATEGY A new programme direction is now launched by BAIF in selected areas, to understand, conserve, cultivate and utilise medicinal herbs. The Herbotechnik approach has the following cornerstones:  Help sustain the traditional knowledge systems on medicinal herbs, in a living form  Promote availability of medicinal herbs in all their diversity  Integrate use of herbal medicines in the community health programme  Commercialisation with benefits to the local communities who have contributed to the knowledge. Proposed Programme It is planned to integrate the Herbotechnik strategy with the ongoing Wadi Programme. In order to have a people based programme for production and forward linkages, BAIF / MITTRA have started to work with the traditional herbal healers and other tribal farmers in order to take up production / procurement, cleaning, value addition and marketing of medicinal herbs and semi processed products. As a step in this direction, the following is planned to be undertaken:  integrate cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants within the ongoing “Wadi” activities (agri-horti-forestry)  promote block plantations of identified trees having medicinal value  establish herbal gardens and backyard plantations for local use  introduce appropriate quality standards in the collection, handling and storage of new herbs  introduce field level quality and purity testing methods  establish forward linkages for sale of pure and quality herbal materials The above field level components will be backed by the necessary work on:  standardization and transfer of practices for propagation and cultivation  establishment of “mother” plantations of medicinal plants / herbs from authentic sources  developing protocols for assurance of purity and quality  standardization and transfer of techniques / methodology for field level testing Support Request Requested to support the above programme for which a detailed three year project proposal will be worked out. Dr.Anil Saraf. Additional Programme Director BAIF Development Research Foundation Dr. Manibhai Desai Nagar, N.H. No. 4. WARJE, PUNE- 411 029. INDIA. Tel.: 91 20 25231661. Fax: 91 20 25231662. E-mail: baif@vsnl.com OR ansaraf@rediffmail.com Mon, 05 Jun 2006 02:52:05 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=79 Moulay Ismail University, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques Errachidia, UFR Physiology of Nutrition and Endocrinian Pharmacology and Laboratory of Protection and Preservation of Natural Resources are jointly organizing the International Congress on Medicinal Plants which will take place in Errachidia, Morocco from 16th to 19th March 2005. The objectives of the congress are as under:- - Developing collaboration between scientific researchers in the field of medicinal plants and natural products - Updating informaton and techniques used in the study of pharmacological activities of medicinal plants - Preservation of traditional knowledge in phytotherapy - Debate problems and solutions related to different aspects of the phytotherapy - Contributing to development of Moroccan Industry dealing with natural products Important dates:- Deadline for abstracts submission: 10th January 2005 Deadline for full length papers submission: 10th February 2005 For more information on the congress, please visit the website http://www.membres.lycos.fr/cnpm2005/ Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:18:10 -0600 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=78 10th October to 3rd November 2004 As part of the implementation of the CBD Global Strategy for Plant Conservation especially Target 15 'Building capacity for the conservation of Plant Diversity: The number of trained people working with appropriate facilities in plant conservation increased, according to national needs, to achieve the targets of this strategy'; funding has been sought to bring to together African plant conservation practitioners for a training course to be held in Kampala, Uganda from 10th October to 3rd November 2004. The course is being run as a joint initiative of Makerere University and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew with support from BGCI and the CBD secretariat. The course will include formal presentations and field work focused on the 16 outcome targets of the CBD Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. Tuition, travel and modest accommodation costs will be covered for participants. The participants will be required to host cascade seminars on the Strategy in their countries after completion of the course. For expression of interest, send your CV by email to reach by 5th September 2004 for transmission to course organizers to: Stella Simiyu SCBD/BGCI Program Officer Global Strategy for Plant Conservation Email: sws@iucnearo.org, stella.simiyu@biodiv.org Tue, 07 Sep 2004 05:14:32 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=77 Johannesburg, South Africa, 16-18 March 2005 The main ojective of this conference is to review current indigenous knowledge laws and to recommend changes and amendments wherever necessary. It will also give participants a chance to educate indigenous healers on how to develop and protect their medical products, process and procedures; and also to promote collaboration between indigenous healers, conventional medical practitioners and corporate institutions for joint development and sharing of intellectual property rights of medicinal products, processes and procedures. For more information, please visit the site http://www.africa-first.com Wed, 25 Aug 2004 02:59:50 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=76 Synthesis IDRC has been supporting a program of information exchange at the global level among regional partners and networks working on research and development of medicinal plants and traditional medicine. Wide ranging members of this group including networks, research institutes, NGOS, government agencies, and industry participated in a 12 week e-discussion on South-South Networking on Medicinal Plants which started from May 03rd to July 24th 2004 The e-discussion focussed on four main themes integral to sustainable use of medicinal plants - Conservation and Sustainable Management and related policy - Equitable Trade and Markets and related policy - Access and Benefit sharing and related Policy - Health and related policy The main objectives of the discussion were:- - to identify areas of experience that regional networks have to offer to other regions; - to identify and prioritize areas for exchange and collaboration across regions; - to discuss best mechanisms to engage in this exchange and collaboration; and - to develop strategy to move this agenda forward. The synthesis document of the e-discussions prepared by Ms. Seema Bhatt, Facilitator of the e-group, is available at "Resources" section under "Downloads" Wed, 25 Aug 2004 02:35:36 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=75 Le CRDI, par le biais de son Initiative de programme "Utilisation durable de la biodiversité", soutient différents projets dans la sous-région ouest-africaine sur la préservation, la conservation et la valorisation des plantes médicinales. Au Sénégal, avec le projet mis en oeuvre par Enda Tiers-Monde avec l'appui de l'UICN sur l'importance économique des plantes médicinales, le CRDI contribue également à boucler la boucle par la mobilisation des parlementaires sur cette importante question afin d'aboutir à l'adoption d'une loi. A travers la presse sénégalaise, suivez les différentes activités et étapes du projet: http://network.idrc.ca/ev.php?ID=61058_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC Wed, 07 Jul 2004 04:32:42 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=74 Kenya is to develop a national strategy for both promoting and regulating the use of traditional medicine, and providing alternative forms of treatment to the country's poor. The new arrangement will boost research into the use of both traditional knowledge and modern medicines to curb major diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria. It will also encourage the conservation of biological resources from which traditional medicines are drawn. Representatives of the ministries of health, agriculture, environment and national planning met last week in Nairobi with their counterparts from other countries in the eastern Africa region to discuss ways of incorporating traditional medicine into national health programmes. The meeting was organised by the National Council of Population Development and the US National Institutes of Health, and included participants from Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Zambia. Kenya's move to regulate traditional medicine coincides with a draft bill on regulating traditional knowledge currently awaiting debate in parliament. Also, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has just published guidelines on the proper use of traditional medicines, following recent increases in reports of adverse effects (see WHO issues traditional medicine guidelines). Earlier attempts to regulate the industry, including requiring the registration of traditional healers, have failed as a result of bitter rivalries between conventional doctors and traditional practitioners. "A multi-sectoral approach will allow health systems to be built that guarantee access to both modern and traditional medicine for more than 80 per cent of the population," says Charity Ngilu, Kenya's health minister. Peter Eriki, the WHO representative in Kenya, says that one of the priorities of the organisation's Africa office is to advise on the development of policies, legal frameworks, and the local production of traditional medicine. "Because the majority of the African population depends on traditional medicine in one way or another, there is a need to involve authorities responsible for conserving natural resources," he says. "The recent surge of public interest in the use of plants as medicine has been based on the assumption that the plants will be available on a continuing basis," adds Eriki. "Today many medicinal plants face extinction, but detailed information is lacking." Newton Kulundu, Kenya's environment minister, suggested at last week's meeting that increased research into developing traditional medicines for the poor could be used to encourage communities to conserve biological diversity. For example, he emphasised the need to preserve one of the most endangered tree species, Prunus africana, whose bark contains medicinal compounds. Kenya has already banned the tree's export in order to protect it. Wed, 07 Jul 2004 04:27:33 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=73 NTFPs play an important role in poverty alleviation, sustainable management of natural resources and private sector development in Lao PDR. There are more than 50 organizations working in Lao PDR in the NTFP sector. FRC/NAFRI and SNV recently carried out a survey among these organizations, which identified a strong need for: * development of entry-level tools for enterprise development and marketing; * need for better coordination between field implementing organizations; and * exchange of information and documentation of successful field experiences in the form of case studies. Objectives and expected outcomes: The objective of the workshop is to identify opportunities for information exchange and co-operation through networking among organisations working in the NTFP sub-sector in Lao PDR. The expected outcomes are: * shared understanding on what each organisation wants to achieve and what it can offer in cooperation/exchange of information on NTFP development; * a shared vision on what networking is and how it could be done in Lao PDR; and * a to-do list of networking/exchange activities that could be followed up in informal meetings/partnerships between groups of organisations/individuals. Participants: Representatives from organisations working in the NTFP sector in Lao PDR will be invited to join the workshop. Workshop access is free of charge; lunch, dinner and snacks will be provided. Participants are requested to cover their own travel costs. Proposed time and venue: The workshop will be held on Friday 9th of July 2004, at the meeting hall of the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), Dong Dok, Vientiane. What to bring/prepare: There will be a small information market during the workshop to enhance sharing and exchanges of information. Participants are invited to prepare/bring any pictures, posters, reports and/or other materials illustrating their NTFP work. Participants will also be asked to prepare a summary of what they expect to gain from networking and what they expect to contribute, in advance of the workshop. Guidelines will be sent to them early June 2004. Host organisations/ contact information: The workshop will be hosted by the following organisations: * Forest Research Centre, Dong Dok * National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Dong Dok * Regional Community Forestry Training Centre (RECOFTC), Thailand * SNV, The Netherlands Development Organisation, Lao Country Office For more information, please contact: Mr. Kamphone Sengdala Tel. 021-770892 or 020-5526753 Email : khamphone01@yahoo.com or Mr. Joost Foppes SNV-FRC NTFP Adviser Tel. 020-5508760 Email : jfoppes@csloxinfo.com Fri, 11 Jun 2004 02:18:15 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=71 Africa First LLC of Minnesota, USA, in collaboration with the Government of South Africa acting through its Ministry of Health, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Association of Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association, the National Council Maori Nurses of New Zealand, the National Maori Health Providers Association of New Zealand, the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Medicine International (PROMETRA), the Centre for Scientific Research Into Plant Medicine (CSRPM) of Ghana, Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA), Traditional & Modern Health Care Providers Together Against AIDS (THETA) of Uganda and Traditional Health Practitioners Association of Zambia (THPAZ), invites all governmental and non-governmental institutions, orthodox medical practitioners, medical schools, medical associations, traditional health practitioners, medical students, foundations, pharmaceutical and bio-technological companies, legal practitioners, law schools, law students and law societies around the world to a Global Conference on Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional Medicine on March 16-18, 2005 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa. Description The main ojective of this conference is to review current indigenous knowledge laws and to recommend changes and amendments wherever necessary. It will also give participants a chance to educate indigenous healers on how to develop and protect their medical products, process and procedures; and also to promote collaboration between indigenous healers, conventional medical practitioners and corporate institutions for joint development and sharing of intellectual property rights of medicinal products, processes and procedures. For more information please visit us at : www.africa-forest.com Thu, 10 Jun 2004 02:41:01 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=70 The Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-Aligned and Other Developing Countries (NAM S&T Centre) and NAM Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation (NAM CSSTC) is organizing the International Workshop on Enhancing Cooperation on Herbal Medicine; A Solution for Community Health Problems and Herbal Fair, Jakarta, Indonesia, July 27-30, 2004 The international Workshop and exhibition is expected to address three key issues :- Enhancing cooperation which covers issues of research, information and documentation, trade (business development) as well as intellectual property rights; Herbal medicines which have been existing related to the efforts of curing mass disease like HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis, diabetic, hypertension, rheumatic, reproduction, health supplements; and Solution for community health problems of which the traditional medicine could be alternative to chemical modern medicine since it is affordable, locally produced, culturally accepted, and direct benefit to people of both producers and consumers. The workshop is expected to bring together all the stakeholders whose views are sought after and who can influence the national and international policy issues as well as technical aspects pertaining to developing the traditional medicine, possibly taking stock of what NAM member countries have in common and identify their potential relative contributions to develop these areas jointly and at the same time increase their interdependence through increased trade. For more information on the workshop please visit www.nam-csstc.org or contact :- Ms. Adityawidi Adiwoso Asmady, Executive Director Non-Aligned Movement Centre for South South Technical Cooperation Jin. Landasan Barat Kav. B10, No. 6, Bandar Kemayoran Jakarta 10610 Indonesia Tel : +62-21-6545326, 6545321 Fax : +62-21-6545325 Email : wieke.a@csstc.org Ms. Christina Sudiro, Executive Secretary Office Address, Tel. and E-mail: as above. Tel. (R) 62-21-7433795 NAM S&T CENTRE Prof. Arun P. Kulshreshtha, Director, Centre for Science & Technology of the Non-Aligned and other Developing Countries Zone-6, 2nd Floor, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, NEW DELHI - 110003 (INDIA) Tel: (O) +91-11-24645134, 24644974 (R) 22628799 Fax: (O) +91-11-24644973 E-mail: namstct@vsnl.com Website: www.namstct.org Mr. N. N. Sareen, Administrative Officer Office Address, Tel. and E-mail: as above. Tel. (R) 91-11-27486502 Fri, 21 May 2004 01:39:23 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=69 The 9th International Congress of the International Society of Ethnobiology, is being held in collaboration with the 45th Annual Meeting of the Society for Economic Botany and the 8th International Congress of the International Society of Ethnopharmacology, at the University of Kent, Canterbury, UK from 13th to 17th June 2004 The theme of the congress is Ethnobiology, Social Change and Displacement and will emphasize the role of ethnobiology in a rapidly changing world characterised by the movement of people, natural resources and knowledge. The Congress will be hosted at the campus of the University of Kent. A pre-conference workshop on ethnobotanical collections will be held at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, on Saturday 12 June. For more information you may contact: ice2004@kent.ac.uk or visit the site at www.kent.ac.uk Fri, 21 May 2004 01:27:16 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=66 The Century Foundation, India had organized the First Global Summit on Medicinal Plants in Mauritius Island during September 2003 in order to attract medicinal plant experts to discuss the recent trends in the field of medicinal plants and importance of herbal medicine in the new millennium. The Summit was attended by participants from moiré than 20 countries and more than 100 research papers were presented during the event. At the concluding ceremony of the summit, it was decided to organize the Second Global Summit on Medicinal and Aromatic plants in New Delhi, India during 2004. Plants have been a major source of medicine for human kind. As per the available information a total of at least 35000 plant species are widely used for medicinal purposes. The demand for traditional herbal medicine is increasing very rapidly mainly because of harmful effects of synthetic chemical drugs. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 80% of the population of developing countries depend on traditional system of medicine, mostly plant based products for their primary health care. The global clamor for more herbal ingredients creates possibilities for the local cultivation of medicinal and aromatic crops as well as for the regulated and sustainable harvest of wild plants. Such endeavours could help raise more rural employment in the developing countries, boost commerce around the world and perhaps contribute to the health of millions. The scheduled summit will be a forum where academicians, researchers, producers and personnel from industry share ideas, information and experiences, and as well as initiate collaborations and cooperation in the development of the world herbal industry. The event will explore the world’s hopes and concerns for the potential of plant-based medicines and other alternative therapies. Dr. V. Sivaram - President Dr. Anita M - Organizing Secretary C/o Century Foundation # 35, 3rd Cross Road, Vignannagar, Malleshpalya, Bangalore ­ 560075, INDIA E.mail: confound@sparrl.com Telefax +91-(080)- 23219295, 25244592 For more Information you may visit the website: www.cenfound.org/global/global.html Wed, 05 May 2004 01:59:21 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=65 IHDP (International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change) and IAI (Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research) would like to announce The 2004 Global Environmental Change Institute on Globalization and Food Systems - Scientific Workshop and Science-Policy Forum, to be held from October 24 - November 6, 2004 at the Mesoamerican Institute of the National University of Costa Rica in Nicoya. The Institute will focus on interactions between processes of globalization and global environmental change, and the implications for food systems and food security. Globalization has been a very powerful driving force in the world since the early 1980's, leading to economic, social, institutional and cultural changes that influence food systems in a myriad of ways. These changes are transforming the production and storage of food, the movement and trade of food, access to and consumption of food, and the quality and safety of food. At the same time, global environmental change is altering both the physical and social conditions that underpin terrestrial and marine food systems. The transformation of food systems in a globalizing world is likely to interact synergistically with global environmental change. The goal of the Institute is to explore this critical interaction and consider implications for food security, particularly in areas characterized either by poverty and food insecurity or by growing per capita incomes and rapidly changing demands for food. The Scientific Workshop aims at encouraging systematic promotion of young scientists, particularly social scientists, from developing countries and countries in transition, to initiate their future integration into IHDP and IAI networks and project communities, and to developing partnerships among governments, industries and communities; connecting local and regional professionals and institutions worldwide with initiatives and networks of other organizations dealing with the same subject; and informing local and regional professional on the funding opportunities available to support projects dealing with global environmental change and food systems in the region and related fields. For more information, please contact :- Ms. Maarit Thiem IHDP Walter-Flex-Str.3 D-53113 Bonn, Germany Fax: +49-228-739054 Web: http://www.ihdp.org (forms under "news" section) E-mail: thiem.ihdp@uni-bonn.de For further information on the IHDP-IAI Institute, please visit the website http://www.iaisummerinstitutes.iai.int Wed, 14 Apr 2004 07:31:45 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=64 The International Conference on Medicinal Herbs and Herbal Products; Livelihoods and Trade Options is being organized by Oxfam GB in India and Community Enterprise Forum - India (CEFI). The conference is organized in collaboration with the Department of AYUSH, Government of India, IDRC, Ford Foundation, UNDP and APEDA. More than 200 national & international participants including a major private sector contingent are expected to attend the meeting. A large number of partners of IDRC’s Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Program in Asia (MAPPA) are expected to present their research findings in the conference. The objectives of the conference are as under: - - identify growth opportunities within the herbs and herbal medicinal plant products market sub-sector; - link markets for development of sustainable livelihood options; - identify ways to make these opportunities work for the poor; and - identify wise practices in conservation through sustainable use Fri, 02 Apr 2004 00:56:56 -0600 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=63 Statement of the Problem Botanicals are used for medicinal purposes throughout the world. The need exists to standardize the preparations to enhance safety and reproducibility. There is a lack of scientific understanding of the compounds within many plants that are responsible for the desired biological effects and as a result, many botanicals are not standardized or are standardized to a marker that has no meaningful biological effect. There is also a lack of availability of purified reference standards from authenticated plant samples and validated analytical methods and highly purified reference standards. One organization can not meet this international need. A concentrated effort by a consortium of interested parties is needed to address these global issues. Parties who have expressed interest in helping plan the consortium include: Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Food and Drug Adminstration, USA Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), National Institutes of Health, USA American Herbal Products Association, USA American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, USA Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC International), USA Agriculture Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture, USA National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR), University of Mississippi, USA Other potential members include: The World Health Association (WHO) The State Drug Administration (SDA), China Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China United States Pharmacopoeia (USP), USA Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), USA NSF International, USA National Undersea Research Program (NURP), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), USA Missouri Botanical Garden (MBOT), USA New York Botanical Garden (NYBG), USA The Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences (PCRPS), University of Illinois at Chicago, USA Modern TCM Research Center at Peking University, China The Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Plant Diversity Research Center, Korea Universidade de Ribeirao Preto, Brazil University of São Paulo, Brazil H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, Pakistan PhytoMedical Research Institute (PRI), China University of Auckland, New Zealand Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha, India Various for-profit companies Various non-profit research institutions and government agencies Objective To establish a consortium to: Isolate and purify bioactive chemicals from botanicals to serve as analytical reference standards and for samples for biological testing. Consortium members will prioritize botanicals for standardization. Harmonize standardization for certain botanicals where active constituents are known Develop and validate analytical methods Identify and qualify new analytical techniques Disseminate information among members Host visiting scientists interested in standardization Host workshops and hands on training courses on standardization, characterization methods, and other quality control issues Maintain a repository of plant voucher specimens, extracts and reference standards Mon, 19 Jan 2004 00:29:47 -0600 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=62 INTERNATIONAL HERBAL FAIR-2003 DATES: 14TH TO 16TH DECEMBER 2003 VENUE: DUSSHERA MAIDAN, T.T. NAGAR, BHOPAL, INDIA Dear Friends!! Madhya Pradesh State Minor Forest Produce (Trading & Development) Co-operative Federation Limited, Bhopal, INDIA is the Nodal agency of the state seeing to the development and trade of MFPs, including medicinal plants, for the last two decades or so. The Federation has been trying to support the medicinal and herbal sector through initiatives in conservation, processing, value-addition and marketing. Considering the growing importance of herbal products and to provide collectors, traders, manufacturers and consumers, an interface for networking and marketing (in an effort to address the main problematic area in this sector) our organisation has been organizing National Level Herbal Fair with resounding success for the last two consecutive years with increased participation from both the manufacturers and consumers. This time the organisation has widened its horizon and are organising International Herbal Fair scheduled between 14-16th Dec 2003 in Dusshera Maidan T.T. Nagar Bhopal, India whereby it is envisaged that opportunities will further get enhanced for all the major stakeholders of this sector. The participation criteria and fees are very simple and nominal so that even the smallest player can think of exploring the potentialities of this field. On display will be the latest in natural herbal products, cosmetics, alternative and traditional medicine to name a few. For more information regarding the fair, please refer to the following link in our website http://www.mfpfederation.com/content/melaweb.htm Registration for participation is now open. Contact Shri Narendra Kumar (ED and State Medicinal Plants Commissioner) edmfpfed@sify.com or Ms. Regina Hansda, Asst. Manager & Organising Secretary, IHF-2003 reginahansda@rediffmail.com, 09826096878 MP State MFP (Trade& Dev) Cooperative Federation Ltd. 74, Bungalows, Khel Parisar, Bhopal Telephone: 91-755-2555867, 2555869, 2555871, 2554880 Telefax: 91-755-2552628 Mon, 24 Nov 2003 01:59:21 -0600 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=61 The Columbia University Centre for Complementary and Alterntive Medicine has decided to honour Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) for its contribution to the revitalisation of traditional systems of health care in India, towards the conservation of medicinal plants in India and the development of extensive databases on the materia medica of Indian medicinal plants. FRLHT has also been commended for establishing a quality control and product development laboratory, which is attempting to interpret traditional knowledge with the adit for medern tools, and for initiating the development of a national herbarium of medicinal plants used in traditional Indian systems of medicine. Congratulations to FRLHT on such a prestigious recognition. It is very exciting that Columbia University has acknowledged in such a distinguished and wide-reaching fora, the outstanding work of FRLHT in illuminating key issues related to medicinal plants and more importantly the cultural traditions and prominence of these medicines and practices in peoples' lives. Mon, 24 Nov 2003 01:59:08 -0600 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=60 As many of you know, Rolie Srivastava who has been the Co-ordinator of MEDPLANT for the past two years, is leaving her position to a very exciting new one! Rolie will be having a baby sometime in the coming weeks, and is busy preparing with her husband for the arrival of their first child. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rolie for all of her efforts in developing MEDPLANT and bringing all the members and visitors together in this relatively new and emerging forum. It has been a challenge to meet the needs of very diverse interests and organizations from across the globe, and Rolie has worked diligently and enthusiastically in establishing the website and facilitating dialogue among different groups. Thank you, Rolie, for all of your contributions to MEDPLANT. Best wishes to you,James and the baby! Liz Fajber Senior Program Officer IDRC/SARO Sun, 20 Jul 2003 22:03:41 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=59 Martin Bauer GmbH & Co KG, a major company within the global network of MB-Holding, has successfully cultivated devil´s claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) for the first time worldwide. The department for cultivation has managed to cultivate the wild-growing devil´s claw in cooperation with its partner company in South Africa, and the first wide-scale commercial growing of the root is being carried out in South Africa and Namibia. The medicinal herb originally derived from the Kalahari desert of Africa and flourishes only in very dry desert soil. This year's harvest will supplement the raw material needed for producing extracts and teas made of devil´s claw and will support the MB-Holding policy of expanding its contracted growing of herbal remedies within its group "the nature network". By successfully growing the herb, Martin Bauer will be protecting the species that grow in the wild while also guaranteeing its customers raw materials of consistent high quality. For more information please visit: www.martin-bauer.com Sun, 20 Jul 2003 21:53:36 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=58 Proceedings of the Scientific Forum on Caribbean Ethnomedicine and Medicinal Plants was held at Montego Bay, December 6-7th, 2002. The objectives were: 1. To discuss the possibility of NPI, UWI becoming the WHO Collaborating Center for the Americas for Ethnomedicine and Medicinal Plants (EMP). 2. To encourage international collaboration in EMP. 3. To have a back-to-back meeting with the Caribbean Herbal Business Forum to explore possibilities for synergy and investment. 4. To launch of a Global EMP website. 5. To identify future priorities and possibilities For more information please contact: Dr. Sylvia Mitchell Medicinal Plant Research Group Biotechnology Centre University of the West Indies Mona, Kingston 7 Jamaica Email: smitchel@uwimona.edu.jm Sun, 20 Jul 2003 21:28:32 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=57 The book, 'Cultivating a Healthy Enterprise: Developing a Sustainable Medicinal Plant Chain in Uttaranchal, India' is a joint effort between KIT (the Netherlands), CSD (Dehradun, India) and IAMR (New Delhi). The book looks at the supply chain analysis and provides a powerful tool in designing actions that enhance sustainable economic development. In their commitment to 'cultivate health enterprise' KIT, IAMR, and CSD developed an approach where stakeholders interact to construct a sustainable and equitable chain. A case study was conducted on medicinal plants in Uttaranchal, India. For more information on this publication please contact: Mr. John Belt Agricultural Economist KIT-Royal Tropical Institute Sustainable Economic Development Group PO Box 95001 1090 HA Amsterdam the Netherlands tel: +31 (0)20 568 8489/8374 fax: +31 (0)20 568 8498 E-mail: J.Belt@kit.nl Website: www.kit.nl Sun, 20 Jul 2003 21:13:40 -0500 http://medplant.icimod.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=56 The internet has become the unlikely hi-tech home to generations of traditional remedies that are being used by Western drug companies. For centuries traditional healers have been discovering and passing on remedies for all kinds of ailments with potentially huge benefits to Western pharmaceutical companies and consumers. The lion's share of such local knowledge has been exploited by drug companies which have stamped their own patent on the discoveries and failed to return any share of the profits to local people, say the project leaders of a new website. The American Association for the Advancement of Science in partnership with a range of other organisations intent on protecting the rights of indigenous people hope that the Tekpad (Traditional Ecological Knowledge Prior Art Database) website will go some way to redress this bio-piracy by offering US and European patent offices a comprehensive list of traditional remedies that are already in the public domain. To read the full article please visit the BBC website at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2858253.stm Sun, 20 Jul 2003 20:35:13 -0500