Summary of Work on Consumption

Problem: How do plants consumed in the diet (the full range including calories, nutrition, seasoning) relate to plants consumed as medicine (the full range including internal, topical, inhaled)? What factors determine whether a plant is a medicine, food, poison, cosmetic, etc?

Our Objectives and Questions: Student Learning Objectives:

1) Identify pre-Contact Hawaiian spices and foodstuffs and their uses.

2) Identify post-contact spices and foodstuffs and their uses in contemporary Hawaiian food.

3) Explore positive and negative aspects of introduced food and medicine.

Scientific Questions:

1)  What are nine plant foods used as medicines in pre-contact Hawaii. How are these plants used today in Hawaii, as based on the acquired literature?  

2) Focusing on post-contact introduced spices and foodstuffs, How have they impacted traditional Hawaiian medical practices?

3)  What is the role of diet as preventative medicine and treatment in Hawaiʻi today?

What we knew before: We knew that native Hawaiians have many health problems compared with the rest of the U.S. population. We knew that Hawaii has been highly globalized since European contact with the arrival of Cook. We knew that traditional Hawaiian cuisine has been replaced in much of Hawaii by a corporate, western diet. I also had previous knowledge of Polynesian introduced plants and their uses. Dane and Marisa were both familiar with laʻau lapaʻau. 

How we adressed these: We each took on 3 plants. I covered Kukui, Ti, and Breadfruit. Dane did Kalo, pia, and limu, while Marisa did 'uala, mamaiki, and niu. We also divided up the scientific questions for the paper. I wrote the section on #3, Dane did #1 and Marisa did #2.

We worked well together, meeting a couple of times in Hamilton and Sinclair libraries, and working for hours on research. We worked a few times to improve our LOs and scientific questions, switching them around before they were finalized. This was a difficult process for us at first, but with some help we were able to achieve what we wanted to learn out of the problem.

I found working with a new group quite difficult at first. I think this was because we each had developed a specific formula with our previous group and now we had to redesign how we were going to work together and achieve our goals/answer our questions. This got better with time and with group meetings. In the end I think we were able to develop our own unique formula that hopefully has helped us answer this problem.

I believe everyone contributed a lot to the group work. We all met at the times we planned to meet and worked hard to complete our section of the problem. For what was not assigned to individuals, we found ways to fill it in. We also provided each other with books and articles that we thought would be helpful.

Ki, 'ulu, and Kukui Uses

Our group decided to split up some of the work by each choosing three plants to cover. I chose Ti (Ki) (Cordyline Fruticosa), Breadfruit ('ulu) (Artocarpus altilis), and Candlenut (kukui) (Aluerites moluccana).

Here are some notes I have taken from Isabella Abbot's book La'au Hawai'i and a document called Ulu mau, which Dane shared with us from a La'au class he took on the big island.

Ti: Ti leaves were used as wrappers  in the preparation of food. The leaves were wrapped around food while it was cooked in an imu. In medicine they were also used as hot packs by placing hot stones in the ti leaves. They worked very well for wrapping things up due to their waxy epidermis.

‘ulu (Breadfruit) (Artocarpus altilis)

Does not fruit as abundantly in Hawaii compared to other Polynesian islands.
Breadfruit was a form or kinolau of the god Ku.
Breadfruit is typically 2-7 pounds and  just one can feed a group of people.
In Hawaii ripens between May and October
a tool called a lou was reported to be used to pick breadfruit by Hawaiians, the tool consisted of a long piece of wood with another piece of wood shaped like a hook, attached at the end.
In pre-Contact times, Hawaiians would cook the ‘ulu fruit in an imu and make poi, in similar fasion to the preparation of kalo.
Today, ‘ulu fruit is prepared by boiling it.
piepiele ‘ulu: ripe, soft ‘ulu fruit mashed with coconut cream, placed in a ti leaf and baked in an imu.
‘ulu was also simply consumed by eating chunks that had been cooked in an imu or over open flame/coals.

(Abbot, 35, 100-101)

Kukui as Medicine:

• All parts of the plant used as a laxative.
• leaves used in poulstices for swelling or deep bruising.
• Mashed, roasted kukui nuts were used for external sores and ulcers.
• Charcoal from the shell would be consumed for sore throats.
• Today: Kukui nut is still used for skin problems and is found in many commercial lotions.
• Abscess. Broil immature nuts. Pound with ÿulu sap & ÿahuÿawa or lama powder, eliminating lumps.
• Asthma, Use juice of bark.
• Backache, bind area with leaves. 
• Birth laceration, apply warm oil. 
• Bladder problems. (sore urination) Chew meat from 32 nuts before placing in water. Strain before drinking. 
• Bruise, contusion, & swelling, Apply fresh leaves as poultice. 
• Chapped lips, chicken pox, cold sore, halitosis, measles, shingles, & sunburn, Apply sap. 
• Constipation, Bake dried nut, Crush with paÿakai, Eat with meals. 
• Cramp, Chew 4 nuts before placing in warm water, Drink, cut, (deep) Mash nut before adding paÿakai, Apply. 
• Dry skin, Apply oil.
• Headache, Chew nut before placing in water, Apply to head. 
• High blood pressure, Eat 1 teaspoon of ground roasted kernels. 
• Rheumatism, Boil shelled kernels, Pound with paÿakai before broiling in läÿï, Apply. stiffness, Bind 4-5 leaves overnight. 
• Sore throat. 1. Gargle sap. 2. Chew flowers. thrush. 1. Masticate flowers. 2. Apply sap to mouth & tongue. 
• Tonsillitis, Chew flowers. 
• Ulcer. Pound baked nut with ripe noni.

'ulu medicinal uses:

• Abscess, boil, cut, peeling skin, & rash, Apply sap. 
• Broken bone, Apply bark to affected area, Bind to place with koali ÿawa. 
• Cramps., Use with kö kea & koali. 
• Deafness, Use sap mixed with pöpolo juice.
• Sore, Mix sap with ÿahuÿawa powder, and 8 unripe kukui nuts, Broil in läÿï, Pound with lama powder, Apply 2x/day until healed. 
• Thrush, Use leaf buds. 
• Ulcer (stomach), Use sap.

From Ulu Mau Plant List

Our group also made this table from Ulu Mau and added in some info that we found on other sites.

Plant	Species	Role as Food	Role as Medicine
Kalo (poi)	Colocasia esculenta	Principle carbohydrate, baby food, dessert	Stomach health, burn salve, blood coagulant, health maintenance [1]
ʻuala (Sweet Potato)	Ipomoea batatas	Carbohydrate
Mamaki	Pipturus albidus	Beverage	General disease preventative [5]
Niu (Coconut)	Cocos nucifera	Beverage, oil, dessert, supplimentary item
ʻUlu (Breadfruit)	Artocarpus altilis	Carbohydrate	Skin problems, Broken Bones.
Kukuʻi (Breadfruit)	Allurites mollucana	Spice (inamona), oil, mixed with sea salt.	Skin problems internal and external. Many more.
Pia (Arrowroot)	Tacca leontopetaloides	Thickening Agent	Blood coagulant, anti-diarrheal [4]
Limu (seaweed)	Various spp.	Spice, texture	Rheumatism, Source of Vitamins and minerals [2,4]
Tī / KĪ	Cordyline fruticosa	Food prep, starch	Dressing, poultice, wound compress, head/body aches. [5]

New Learning Objectives and Scientific Questions

Today we revised out Learning Objectives and Scientific Questions. We worked to narrow down our Scientific Questions on focus on more specific topics.

Student Learning Objectives:

1) Identify pre-Contact Hawaiian spices and foodstuffs and their uses.

2) Identify post-contact spices and foodstuffs and their uses in contemporary Hawaiian food.

3) Explore positive and negative aspects of introduced food and medicine.

Scientific Questions:

1)  What are 9 plant foods used as medicines in pre-contact Hawaii. How are these plants used today in Hawaii, as based on the acquired literature?  

2) Focusing on post-contact introduced spices and foodstuffs, How have they impacted traditional Hawaiian medical practices?

3)  What is the role of diet as preventative medicine and treatment in Hawaiʻi today?

Human Consumption

We have now moved on to a new PBL. Human Consumption:

How do plants consumed in the diet (the full range including calories, nutrition, seasoning) relate to plants consumed as medicine (the full range including internal, topical, inhaled)? What factors determine whether a plant is a medicine, food, poison, cosmetic, etc?



We now have new groups and I will be working with Dane and Marisa for this problem. Today we met at Hamilton library to share some of our research and put the final touches on our LOs an SQs. 


Here are our completed LOs and SQs for this problem:

Student Learning Objectives:

1)  Identify traditional Hawaiian Spices and foodstuffs.

2) Identify introduced spices and foodstuffs.

3) Analyze the impact of Post-discovery spice and foodstuffs on the Hawaiian diet.


Scientific Questions:

1)  What traditional Hawaiian Medicines are widely being used today?  What are their current uses?

2) Focusing on introduced spices and foodstuffs, how have these impacted the health of Hawaiian natives and their descendants?

3)  What changes have been made to methods of treatment in traditional Hawaiian medicine due to modern-day lifestyles and diet?

I have been researching some articles and books on the topic of Hawaiian plant uses. Here are some notes and excerpts I took:

-Spices by Etkin

spice flavor comes from volatile essential oils: mostly terpenes.

Hot compounds are nonvolatile thus distinct from flavor.

Volotiles and pungent spices tend to have strong antimicrobial activity as do constituents that include aldehyde –CHO or hydroxl –OH groups.

Spices are used most in hot climates for their antimicrobial properties

Ancestors diets contained many unprocessed vegetables, containing the nutrients and phytochemicals needed to prevent cancer.

O’odham Indians of the American southwest 50% of adults have diabetes.

-La'au Hawaii by Isabella Aiona Abbot

The lapita people spread through Polynesia and on to the Hawaiian islands bringing with them a transported landscape.

List of Polynesian introduced plants to Hawaii

Banana, Mai’ a

Betel nut

Betel pepper

Breadfruit, ‘ulu

Coconut, niu

Gourd, ipu

Hau

Kamani

Kou

Kukui

Milo

Noni

Ohi’a ‘ai

‘ohe

sago palm

sugarcane, ‘ko

paper mulberry, wauke

Tahitian chesnut

‘ape

awapuhi

kava, ‘awa

kudzu

Polynesian arrowroot

Pia

Pulach

Turmeric, ‘olena

Taro, kalo

Ti

Sweet potato, ‘uala

Yams (5 species)

(Abbot, 3) 

Hawaiians lived mostly on agriculture based diet, less so on fishing.

Hawaiian diet differed from the Polynesian diet.

Limu, kalo, and ‘uala were the major staple crops of the Hawaiian diet.

‘uala and kalo provided carbohydrates and high-quality vitamins and minerals.

-Obesity and cardiovascular risk intervention through the ad libitum feeding of traditional Hawaiian diet by Terry T Shintani, Claire K Hughes, Sheila Beckham, and Helen Kanawaliwali 0 ‘Connor

The Waianae Diet Program

a pre-Western-contact Hawaiian diet to reduce chronic disease risk factors in Native Hawaiians.

Correlation between modernization of diets and rising health problems wheter cardiovascular or obesity.

the Native Hawaiians have the shortest lifespan of all ethnic groups in Hawaii. Their lifespan is also among the shortest in the United States.

The traditional diet of Native Hawaiians (consumed before Western contact) was high in fiber, high in complex carbohydrates, high in the ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids, low in fat, and low in cholesterol.

Ten men and 10 women aged 25-64 y were selected for study. One individual was unable to complete the program because of viral illness. All were considered obese based off of the body mass index or BMI scale.

Weight Loss : .8 kg (range 2-15 kg), or 6.4% oftotal weight, injust 3 wks.

Cholesterol: Total serum cholesterol concentrations decreased an average of 14.0%.

Blood Pressure: The average systolic blood pressure decreased 7.8% and the average diastolic pressure decreased 1 1.5%.

Served: taro (a starchy root-like potatoes), poi (a mashed form of taro), sweet potato, yams, breadfruit, greens (fern shoots and leaves of taro, sweet potato, and yams), fruit, seaweed, fish, and chicken.


-Early Plant Introductions in Hawai'i by Kenneth M. Nagata

From England  and  transported on 28  May 1825:
1 Anona cherimolia (Annona cherimola Mill.)
1 Anona species
1 Psidium pomiferum (P. guajava L.)
1 Psidium Chinese
1 Psidium species from  Maranha
1 Eugenia aquea
1 Demacarpis longum {Euphoria longana Lam.)
4 peaches or nectarines (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.)
2 walnuts {Juglans regia L.)
2 figs (Ficus carica L.)
1  plum {Prunus sp.)
1  apple {Pyrus malus L.)
2 cherries {Prunus sp.)
8 grapes {Vitis? vinifera L.)

Plants from  Rio de  Janeiro:
7 Myrtis virides  Lacram- to {Eugenia viridis Berg.)
7 Myrtis species nova
3 Mangifera indica
1 Laurus persia {Persea americana Mill.)
5 Citrus nobilis {Citrus reticulata Blanco)
12 oranges raised from seed {C. sinensis (L.) Osbeck)
2 figs {Ficus carica L.)
8 Eugenia jambos
30 coffee plants {Coffea arabica L.)
1 Datura arborea
8 grapes, Valparaiso {Vitis? vinifera L.)

(Nagata, 41)

Research notes

Here are some notes I have taken while researching. The notes relate to the learning objectives listed in the previous post.


The Evolution of Herbal Medicine: Behavioral Perspectives by Benjamin L. Hart

• Chimps have been observed consuming a low amount of Trichilia rubescens leaves and Albizia grandibracteata bark, which both have bioactive properties. 
• Chimps have been observed swallowing whole leaves of Aneilema aequinoctiale.
• Chimps have been observed consuming non caloric items such as soil and toxic plants such as Phytolacca dodecandra. 
• Trichilia rubescens is thought to be antimalarial and it is possible that this is due to the liminoid compounds: trichirubine A and B. 
• Albizia grandibracteata is used by humans in Uganda and Congo for conditions such as bloat, and parasitism. 
• The fruit of Phytolacca dodecandra, which chimps ingest, is used by humans in traditional medicine for abortion. 
• Chimps in Kanyawara were observed not eating an available palm civet, possible taboo. 
• "(1)There is a low probability that an observer will be present to observe and record the behaviour of an animal that is ill seek out and consume medicinal herbs. (2) Social transmission of the behaviour among individuals in a group may be less likely in nonverbal animals than in humans (see below). (3) Animals may actually become acutely ill less frequently than humans, and consequently, only infrequently use medicinal herbs for therapeutic properties."
• Possible that human brain developing to become larger allowed for need of more calories and protein thus inspiring humans to eat more meat. More meat means more chances of higher cholesterol and more health problems. This would mean a need for medicine. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFzVdfozISo&feature=related

• Red Colobus monkeys eat charcoal after eating toxic plants.

Nonhuman Primate Self-Medication with Wild Plant Foods by Kenneth E. Glander 

• 'Elephants comsume legume creepers (Entanda shefferi) before walking long distances.
• Indian wild bores eat pig weed (Boerhaavia diffusa) roots which humans use as an anthelmintic.
• Pigs eat pomegranate to deter tapeworms with alkaloid.

Diversity of Medicinal Plant Use by Chimpanzees in the Wild by Michael A. Huffman and Richard W. Wrangham. 

Evidence of chimpanzee medicinal use of plants

• Restriction of plant use to areas with high risk of parasites.
• Ingestion of plants with little nutritional benefit.
• Apparent sickness of individual at the time.
• Association with seasonal use when parasites are more common.
• Low frequency intake of plants not normally in diet. 

Shanidar IV, a Neanderthal Flower  Burial in Northern Iraq.

Nonhuman use of plants

• Shanindar cave, Neanderthal deaths estimated 60,000 years ago.
• Al-Rawi and Chakravart identified 6 out of 8 as having medicinal properties
• Achilles  santolina - repellent  properties, and its leaves are useful against dysentery, intestinal colic, "expulsion of gases," and as a  general tonic  and  carminative
• Centaurea cyanus - diuretic, emmenagogue, tonic,  pectoral,  stimulant,  astringent, febri- fuge, and collyrium.
• Centaurea solstitiali.
• Ephedra alata - cure  for  asthma,  a cardiac stimulant, and for epidemic dropsy.
• Senecio  vulgaris - emetic, diuretic, and purgative.
• Althaea  rosea - acute spasms, toothaches, and inflammations.

Problem #4 Zoopharmacognosy

Learning objectives:

Analyze human knowledge of chimpanzee plant use as medicine. Discover which plants are being used and what they could be treating.

Analyze early human use of plants as medicine. Discover the possible explanations for how or why humans and chimpanzees began using plants as medicine.

Research questions:

Is there evidence of non-human animals ingesting plants for non-nutritive, non-therapeutic purposes? What are the benefits of ingesting these plants?

What is the relationship between human and Chimpanzee medicinal usage? Are the same plants used for the same treatment? Could identifying chimpanzee medicine help to create pharmaceuticals for human usage?