Observations and Wrapping up.

During this problem my group has been very busy preparing for finals. We have been communicating by phone but have not met up much. My research has mostly focused on three or four papers and drawn a lot from one of them( Vermaak's). I tried to go beyond the scope of these papers, but the other information I found was either repetitive or unnecessary. I tried searching Google Scholar, Web of Science and Pubmed but all articles had similar info. I have begun transferring data from the google doc into a powerpoint presentation. I am getting a little bit worried because my other group members have not been posting in the google doc. I will try and use the research I have done to answer the necessary questions.

The papers I have used are:

Hoodia gordonii: An Up-to-Date Review of a Commercially Important Anti-Obesity Plant by Ilze Vermaak, Josias H. Hamman, Alvaro M. Viljoen. 2011.


An appetite suppressant from Hoodia species by Fanie R. van Heerden, R. Marthinus Horak, Vinesh J. Maharaj, Robert Vleggaar, Jeremiah V. Senabe, Philip J. Gunning. 2007.

Hoodia gordonii: A natural appetite suppressant by F.R. van Heerden. 2008.

Chemical fingerprint of Hoodia species, dietary supplements, and related genera by using HPTLC by Chidananda Swamy Rumalla, Bharathi Avula, Yatin J. Shukla, Yan-Hong Wang, Rahul S. Pawar, Troy J. Smillie, Ikhlas A. Khan. 2008.

We are now presenting today and will have our final on Tuesday at 12pm. The course is wrapping up very quickly. This class has been challenging, but I feel that I have been pushed to learn in a new way and have picked up research and presentation skills that I will use a lot in future work.

Update: I have added one more source that I used and forgot to add. My group is now all working very hard to finish our powerpoint. Everything is coming along well. I have looked back through the articles and pieced together some of the missing history.

Problem #6 Out of Context Medicines

We have now started on the new problem which goes as follows:

 Traditional plant use occurs within specific cultural, ecological, and physiological contexts that give them meaning and influence their effects. What happens when a ritual or medicinal plant is used out of context or “re-invented”?

Choose one plant (one that you have not focused on in other problems) that is traditionally used as a food, medicine, and/or entheogen.

Describe its:

traditional name(s), botanical name(s), habit, habitat, traditional meaning, use, preparation (and dose if possible), context, and associated  physiological or pharmacological implications (e.g., nutritional, medicinal, psychoactive).

Then describe its transformation. How and why did it happen? How does its “new” preparation, context, and use differ and what are the potential physiological effects and how do they differ from traditional ones? Who are the new consumers? How does the “re-invented” plant product or plant use associate itself or make use of the traditional one? What are the cultural and economic implications for the “original” users of the plants when others begin using and distributing the plant? 

Our group has chosen the plant Hoodia gordonii. I have created a google doc and framed categories for what we are required to answer during our research on this problem. I have researched three articles so far and I have filled out the google doc framework with the information I have gathered. I will continue to research and add more details to each category. Hopefully my group will also contribute information to the empty sections. Here is our google doc so far containing the information I have gathered on Hoodia gordonii. 

Sources: http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/bitstream/10204/765/1/van%20Heerden_2007.pdf  (Van Heerden et al, 2007)
http://www.sciencedirect.com.eres.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/science/article/pii/S0378874108004 637  (Van heerden,2008)
http://www.icecubediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Hoodia-New-Review.pdf (Vermaak et al, 2011)

Traditional names: ghaap, guaap, or ngaap.  (Van Heerden et al, 2007)

Botanical names: Hoodia Gordonii
Aponcynaceae. (Van Heerden et al, 2007)
Hoodia, named after Mr. Hood, a well-known succulent grower in Britain. first validly published by Joseph Decaisne in 1844 (Vermaak et al, 2011).


Botanical features: spiny succulent, thorns, fleshy grey-green and grey-brown stems. Flesh colored flowers (sometimes purple-red in Nambia).  “An unpleasant smell resembling decaying flesh and attracts flies and blowflies to the flowers for pollination” Horn shaped seed pods, brown seeds with silky hairs (Vermaak et al, 2011).  

Habit: slow maturation (Vermaak et al, 2011).

Habitat: Arid areas of southern Africa (Van Heerden et al, 2007). Climate: can survive extreme heat (> 40 ∞C) as well as relatively low temperatures ("-3 ∞C) but is susceptible to frost and mainly grows in summer rainfall areas. habitats such as dry sand, stony slopes or barren, flat areas (Vermaak et al, 2011).

Traditional Meaning:

Original Users: Khoi-San (Bushmen, oldest inhabitants of Africa) of South Africa and Nambia (Vermaak et al, 2011).

Traditional use: Consumed rarely low status as food. Consumed for hunger and thirst suppressant during long hunting trips (Vermaak et al, 2011).

Preparation: Stem consumed fresh after removing thorns (Vermaak et al, 2011).

Dose:

Traditional context: Used on hunting trips by San people to suppress apetite (Vermaak et al, 2011). Hoodia pilifera used to be the plant of choice by indigenous people (the real ghaap). Hoodia Gordonii was a substitute (Van heerden,2008).

Physiological or pharmacological implications

Nutritional:

Medicinal: Research focus on pregnane glycoside P57 (Vermaak et al, 2011).

Psychoactive:

Transformation

How did it happen: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa 1963 explored possible molecules for appetite suppression. Discovered p57. In 1995 and 1998 patents were made and a licensing agreement was signed by CSIR and British pharmaceutical company phytopharm. Sublicensed to Pfizer. Pfizer and Pharmacia merger in 2003 halted further research on P57. 2004 for patent licensed to Unilever incorporation in foods but was abandoned in 2008 due to safety concerns (Vermaak et al, 2011).

Why did it happen: USA public’s high obeisity rates and demand for weight loss supplements (Vermaak et al, 2011).

New context: Consumed in supplements to lose weight (Vermaak et al, 2011).

New use: Deterring obeisity, eliminating fat (Vermaak et al, 2011).

New physiological effects (how do they differ?):

New consumers?: USA public, overweight or obese (Vermaak et al, 2011).

How does it relate to the traditional product?: Highly adulterated, and falsely marketed. Consumed in supplements rather than eating the plant (Vermaak et al, 2011).

Economic implications:

Economic implications for “original users”: After complaints and lawsuits by the impoverished San people, they finally reached an agreement regarding intellectual property rights with CSIR. “The money, 8% of all payments that the CSIR receives from licensees and 6% of all royalties after commercialisation, will be paid into a Trust controlled by the San to be used to the benefit of the San people” Nothing has come out of this because CSIR and there licensed companies have not produced any drugs yet (Vermaak et al, 2011).

Problems: adulteration of products, high public demand, low supply sue to slow maturation and permits to harvest (CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species permit to cultivate and export raw material).  Safety testing is somewhat absent from research (Vermaak et al, 2011).