- How should Africa’s medicinal plants be managed?
- How can agricultural research be engendered?
- What makes a shrimp sustainable?
Evaluating St John’s wort not as easy as it sounds
USDA researchers at Ames, Iowa are screening 180 accessions of St Johns wort (Hypericum) for biologically active compounds. I hope they’ll take into account phase of the moon in their evaluations:
Research on St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum, Hypericaceae) herb, one of the top ten herbal products in retail sales in the United States, has shown seasonal variation and differences due to cultivation location. Levels of hypericin and pseudohypericin, the compounds to which commercial products are usually standardized, were found to vary from 100 ppm to 5000 ppm from winter to summer. This remarkable quantitative difference in compounds could account for some of the differences in commercial products whose raw materials are usually from multiple sources. Additional studies with St. John’s wort found significant variation among wild and cultivated plants sourced from around the world.
The truth about açaí
I had no idea açaí (Euterpe oleracea) was such a big thing in the US. Anyway, now it’s a slightly smaller thing. But still tasty. And still obviously a success story among formerly neglected species. ((Ok, maybe not.))
Nibbles: Truffles, Botanicals, Cell phones, Child nutrition, Chocolate, Georgia
- Truffle genome (about to be) sequenced. Pigs unimpressed.
- Lunar influence on botanicals. Fascinating.
- Cell phones for germplasm documentation and taxonomic identification.
- Video of John Hoddinott of IFPRI discussing award-winning Lancet article on the effects of child nutrition on adult income.
- Climate-ready cacao, anyone?
- GEF agrobiodiversity project in Georgia a success story. See why.
Fair deal for rooibos
Before fair trade, small-scale farmers like Hendrik lived close to the breadline as prices for rooibos were squeezed by the market. But fair trade has tripled the farmers’ income. Plus, with the extra money they now get for the tea, Hendrik and his friends can invest in their future, buying their own farming equipment and their own tea court where the raw rooibos leaves are chopped and dried.
“Hendrik” is Hendrik Hesselman, from the Cedarberg region of South Africa. He’s one of 5,000 farmers from Cedarberg who produce the world’s supply of rooibos (or redbush) tea.
Mr Hesselman is a founding member of the 50-plus strong Heiveld Cooperative, which was established in 2003 — with backing from UKaid from the Department for International Development — “to get their tea recognised as Fairtrade, and to get a fair price for it.”
There are also photos, and a video on the community’s attempts to adapt to climate change. One of the things they’re doing is evaluating different “wild types” of rooibos for tolerance of drought conditions. I can’t find any reference to ex situ conservation activities, alas.