South African Healing Plants to be Studied

Category(-ies): Plants, Food and Medicine

"South Africa is home to more than 200,000 traditional healers who care for more than 27 million people," according to Medical Research News. The International Center for Indigenous Phytotherapy Studies (TICIPS), a collaborative research effort between the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, will look at the safety and effectiveness of some of the plants used by the traditional healers.

Native healers use plants to treat conditions from the common cold to AIDS. Two of the more widely used plants will be the focus of the first studies: Lessertia frutescens, commonly used to prevent wasting in AIDS patients and Artemisia afra, which is used to treat respiratory infections and may be effective against tuberculosis and cancer.

Link: $4.4 million, 4-year grant aims to bridge gap between Western and African medicine from News-Medical.Net

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 11:16 AM

Fungi Share More than a Taste for Cocoa

Category(-ies): Plant Diseases and Pests

Two of the most troubling pests for cocoa farmers, witches' broom and frosty pod rot, were thought to be very different types of fungi. The morphology of the two is quite different; one lives in the branches and forms structural shoots and fruiting bodies, the other forms a cottony coat on the pod and has no apparent fruiting bodies.

Some researchers suspected that the two pathogens might be related because of similar symptomology. Modern DNA analysis of the fungi confirmed that they were not only closely related, but that the two form a new genus, yet to be named.

Link: Fungal Threats to Cocoa Share an Ancient History from the Agricultural Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 2:52 PM | Comments (0)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

Category(-ies): Botanical Resources , Plants, Food and Medicine , Sources of Botanical News

Since its founding in 1945, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has worked to promote food security and end hunger. FAO provides resources and expertise to member countries to aid research and development of agricultural and food systems. The organization serves as a neutral international forum for nations to discuss policy and negotiate agreements. A wealth of books, reports, newsletters and other digital media have been produced to meet the needs of these efforts.

Continue reading "Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN"

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 12:59 PM | Comments (2)