Phytochemistry and Conservation Concerning Medicinal Plants of Pinus ponderosa Forests

1. Phytochemistry and Conservation Concerning Medicinal Plants of Pinus ponderosa Forests By: Hannah West

2. www.think-aboutit.com Medicine www.geninv.net herbsknowledge.com

3. satoribymharker.wordpress.com 25% of modern medicines are based off of the chemical compositions of plants in the rainforests alone…. thebalanceyouneed.com Yet the number of plants that have been examined for medicinal value range from 1% to 10%. www.blazingstarherbalschool.org

4. Learn from the past! Chamomile www.cas.vanderbilt.edu Juniperusscopulorum www.healthyfellow.com Pseudotsugamenziesii Lavender Fennel Seed www.fs.fed.us Rooibos www.gourmetsleuth.com www.mooseyscountrygarden.com Valerian root Elderberry www.clarocet.com nettle-tea.net www.viableherbalsolutions.com Aloe Vera www.larkin-us.com Nettle tea Ginseng www.skrewtips.com Pinus ponderosa conpm.wordpress.com

5. 1972 • Plots were taken of various forests in the Rocky Mountains by a researcher named Robert K. Peet • CVS protocol—used to document vegetation • Areas can be observed now and during future years to examine succession • Ecological succession is defined as “the sum of the changes in the composition of a community that occur during its development towards a stable climax community” • Observing the areas was the intentional study, but the focus ended up being on medicinal plants

6. Purpose • Plants were used as medicine and could in turn be used today outdoors.webshots.com • Using plants in their natural state is a dying art

7. Succession • Primary: a major catastrophic event removes all plant life from an area • Secondary: not all of the plant species are wiped out and an ecosystem develops from the remaining inhabitance • Occurs naturally due to interactions between various species and other factors

8. Primary Succession www.southtexascollege.edu

9. Secondary Succession www.rpdp.net

10. Conservation—saving medicinal plants • Human caused succession • Forest fires • CO2 levels increasing since 1950’s • Conservation of knowledge • Witchdoctors without apprentices • Herbal medicine is a dying art

11. Pinus ponderosaForests • Focus of study • Coniferous forests (trees are cone bearing) • Dominate Rocky Mountains in the lower montane region (5,000 to 9,000 feet) • Pinus ponderosa, Pseudotsugamenziesii, and Juniperusscopulorum are endemic to Pinus ponderosa forests • These species were used by Native Americans By: Fumagalli

12. www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca Pinus ponderosa • One of the world’s tallest trees—some over 250 feet • Needles grow in bundles of three and are 10 to 25 cm long • Bark: thick for protection; orange, black, brown, and gray

13. Pinus ponderosa • Grow in semiarid to moist climates • Mountainous and plateau regions • Elevations up to 9,800 feet By: West • Used as a respiratory cleanser and antiseptic • Pitch (thick resin) was chewed to relieve coughs and sore throats • Branches used in steam baths to relieve muscular pain • Resin was also applied to skin to treat rashes and burns

14. Pseudotsugamenziesii • Rocky Mountain bears smaller trees: diameters of 1 meter and heights of 100 feet (due to drought) • Needles: short, blue/green bleedingedgegaming.files.wordpress.com

15. Pseudotsugamenziesii • Grow in relatively moist to very dry areas • From the foothills to subalpine • Primarily used as an antiseptic • Resin could be chewed to treat coughs • Infusions (extraction via soaking) of the green inner bark was used to treat excessive menstruation, bleeding bowels, and stomach issues • Infusions of young sprouts treated colds By: West

16. invisibleear.files.wordpress.com Juniperusscopulorum • Cones resemble tiny bluish purple berries • Scaly, sage green leaves • Leaves have resin glands

17. Juniperusscopulorum • Grow in dry, open, rocky sites • From the foothills to the montane • Elevations up to 8,900 feet • Decoction (extraction via boiling) of berries was used to treat lung/venereal diseases • Decoction of roots, leaves, branches, and bark could treat ulcers and heartburn • Most commonly used as a treatment for urinary tract infections: a teaspoon of crushed berries was steeped—covered—in a cup for 15 minutes, then consumed By: West

18. Plot Diagram Intensives 6 8 7 10 9 1 2 3 4 5 Residuals

19. Procedure • Non-random sampling based on convience • 6 of 305 plots • Observed only Pinus ponderosa forests due to time constraints • Measured trees and identified species

20. Hypotheses H1: Are the species Pinus ponderosa, Pseudotsugamenziesii, andJuniperusscopulorumreproducing at the level needed to survive in Pinus ponderosa forests? **Rationale: yes -Succession would not wipe out all three species from various forests within 40 years H2: Is the chemical composition of Pinus ponderosa, Pseudotsugamenziesii, andJuniperusscopulorum similar to one another? **Rationale: yes -The species are similar -They are used to treat a lot of the same symptoms

21. Aspect: 40, Slope: 34 Aspect: 285, Slope: 20

22. Aspect: 340, Slope: 18 Aspect: 330, Slope: 20

23. Aspect: 310, Slope: 19 Aspect: 60, Slope: 15

24. www.tciamerica.com Terpenes Abietic acid • Majority of the trees’ medicinal value from the essential oils of their resins • Diterpenes (Monoterpenes and diterpenes are the most common) • The species being studied had abietic acid, specifically palustradiene

25. waltzingaustralia.files.wordpress.com Citronellol • Juniperusscopulorum containscitronellol • Same chemical in eucalyptus plants • Eucalyptus: 85% (relieves coughs and common colds, treats diabetes, and reduces blood sugar levels) • Juniper berries: 10%

26. 3.bp.blogspot.com • H1: species were growing in the majority of the plots at a rate necessary to survive (healthy populations with a variety of sizes) • Juniperusscopulorum was less popular • H2: all three resins were determined to provide medicinal use and all consist primarily of terpenes

27. www.blueplanetbiomes.org Theoretical and Practical Implications • Arrays of people have the potential to be helped • Ecosystems offer beauty, chemical cycles, healthier planet.....also knowledge • 25% of today’s medicines are based off of plants in the rainforests alone

28. The Big Idea • Not only pertains to the species that were studied • Encompasses the idea that all plants should be conserved + Phytochemistry is a relatively new study Using plants in their natural state is a dying art A whole world of medicine could be revealed

29. Acknowledgements I would like to sincerely thank the Adolph Coors Foundation for sponsoring my research efforts as well as providing me with the opportunity to attend FSI. I would like to thank...... • Mario Bretfeld, MichoneDuffy • FSI staff: Lori Ball, Karen Allnut, Nicholas Broeker, Nathan Kirkley, ZabedahSaad, Nickolas True, and Kayla Schinke. • Abby Davidson • Antonio Fumagalli and AshtinHulse • Tamara Pennington, Glenn Peterson and Meg Jacobson • MikaelaSkaare, Ann & Randy West, Jacob & Alex West.

30. References • Akerele, O., Heywood, V. H., & Synge, H. (1991). The Conservation of medicinal plants: proceedings of an international consultation, 21-27 March 1988 held at Chiang Mai, Thailand. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press. • Anonymous. (2009). Medicinal plants and healthcare. Appropriate Technology, 36(1), 4. • Breitmaier, E. (2006). Terpenes: flavors, fragrances, pharmaca, pheromones. Weinheim: WILEY-VCH. • Carolina Vegetation Survey. Web. 11 July 2011. <http://cvs.bio.unc.edu/>. • Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 11 July 2011. <http://www.dictionary.com>. • Douglas Fir/Juniper/Ponderosa Pine. (n.d.). Medicinal herbs - natural healing power. Retrieved July 6, 2011, from http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net • Ecological Succession. (n.d.). Welcome to Penn State's Home on the Web. Retrieved July 5, 2011, from http://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/succession.htm • Elsevier. (2005). Vegetation change: a reunifying concept in plant ecology. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 7(1), 69-76. • Firn, R. (2010). Nature's chemicals the natural products that shaped our world. Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Kershaw, L., MacKinnon, A., & Pojar, J. (1998). Plants of the Rocky Mountains . Edmonton: Lone Pine Pub. • Kershner, B., Mathews, D., Nelson, G., & Spellenberg, R. (2008). Field Guide to Trees of North America. New York: Chanticleer Press, Inc. • Lewin, D. C., Peet, R. K., & Veblen, T. T. (1992). Plant succession: theory and prediction. London: Chapman & Hall. • Moerman, D. (2009). Native American medicinal plants:anethnobotanical dictionary. Oregon: Timber Press. • Moore, M. (1979). Medicinal plants of the mountain West. Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press. • Peet, R. (1972). Forest vegetation of the Colorado Front Range. Department of Biology, University of North Carolina. Retrieved July 5, 2011, from www.bio.unc.edu/faculty/peet/pubs/vegetatio45;3.pdf • Plants, T. U. (n.d.). Saving Rainforests with Medicinal Plants. Rainforests. Retrieved July 21, 2011, from http://rainforests.mongabay.com/1007.htm • Ponderosa Pine - Colorado State Forest Service - Colorado State University. (n.d.). Colorado State Forest Service - Colorado State University. Retrieved July 14, 2011, from http://csfs.colostate.edu/pages/forest-types-ponderosa-pine.html • Sell, C. S. (2003). A fragrant introduction to terpenoid chemistry . Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry. • Solomon, A. M., & Shugart, H. H. (1993). Vegetation dynamics & global change . New York: Chapman & Hall. • Sumner, J. (2000). The natural history of medicinal plants . Portland, Or.: Timber Press. • Terpene (chemical compound) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 21, 2011, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/588086/terpene • Terpene Chemistry ex Pine Trees!. (n.d.). Squidoo : Welcome to Squidoo. Retrieved July 21, 2011, from http://www.squidoo.com/terpene-chemistry