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The Value of Rainforest Preservation: Why Chemists Should Protect Biodiversity

The Value of Rainforest Preservation: Why Chemists Should Protect Biodiversity. UMD MCLFS TIP: Chemical Ecology Lisa Mahla, Lenora Overstreet, Isaac Rapelje, Dana Wilson. Important Compounds found in rainforest plants. 70% of plants with anti-cancer characteristics found in the rainforest

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The Value of Rainforest Preservation: Why Chemists Should Protect Biodiversity

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  1. The Value of Rainforest Preservation:Why Chemists Should Protect Biodiversity UMD MCLFS TIP: Chemical Ecology Lisa Mahla, Lenora Overstreet, Isaac Rapelje, Dana Wilson

  2. Important Compounds found in rainforest plants • 70% of plants with anti-cancer characteristics found in the rainforest • Account for the source of 25% of drugs used in Western medicine • Fewer than 5% of rainforest plant species and .01% of rainforest animal species have been tested for medicinal value

  3. Malaria Treatment - Quinine • Source: cinchona tree (S. America) (UCLA, 2001)

  4. Rubber Products - Latex • Source of materials for surgical gloves, paint, balloons, tires, etc • Many synthetic compounds have been created to be similar Nap, 2000 Koehler, 1887

  5. Koehler, 1887 Glaucoma Treatment - Neostigmine • Calabar bean (Africa) • Also used as an intermediate to synthesize insecticides Commonwealth of Australia, 2008

  6. Anesthetics - Novacain (Procaine) • Less addictive substances derived from cocaine • Source: coca plant (South America) Cocaine and less addictive Novacain US DEA

  7. Muscle Relaxant - Tubocuarine • Source: Curare liana (America) • Originally used in poison-tipped arrows • Muscle relaxant for surgery • Treat muscular disorders like Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis • Cannot be synthesized Sengebush, 2003

  8. Leukemia treatment - Vincristine & Vinblastine • Source: rosy periwinkle (Madagascar) • Used to treat pediatric leukemia and Hodgkin’s disease • One of the world’s most powerful anti-cancer drugs, significantly reduced mortality rate

  9. Anti-HIV Compound: Calanolide A • From a Borneo tree species Calophyllum lanigerum var austrocoriaceum • Active against HIV-1 • Found in Malaysia - upon return - it was gone - felled for lumber & fuel • Some specimens in Singapore Botanical Garden - developed synthesis of compound

  10. The Importance of Biodiversity • Ecosystem is more diverse = healthier • More possibilities for interspecies relationships • Less likely to strain the environment’s resources • Genetic Reservoir • Potential Food Sources • Medicinal Potential

  11. What does this have to do with Chemistry? • Rainforest plants have been using chemicals for thousands of years to combat predators, infections, pests and diseases • They can help us to do the same, but we must isolate the compounds responsible

  12. How chemists find these compounds: (Bioprospecting) • Test close relatives of plants that already are known to have useful compounds • Look for plant’s effects on animals, especially insects • Notations of bio-activity • Studying use of plants by indigenous people

  13. Companies Currently Involved in Bioprospecting: • Merck Pharmaceutical Company • Abbott Laboratories • Bristol-Myers Squibb • Eli Lilly • Monsanto • Smith Kline-Beecham • National Cancer Institute

  14. Deforestation May Destroy Cures We Have Not Yet Discovered • The current rate of deforestation is causing us to lose an estimated 50,000 species a year • With the deforestation, native people lose their home and traditions, knowledge of medicinal plants is lost • Rainforest preservation for these compounds has greater economic value then its destruction for grazing, farming, etc.

  15. Other Implications • 80% of today’s food crops originated in the rainforest, so there could be future food sources we have not yet accessed to help solve a growing global hunger crisis • 20% of the Earth’s oxygen comes from the Amazon Rainforest alone

  16. Other Implications • More soil erosion • More CO2 emitted, less O2, enhances global warming threat • More air and water pollution • Malaria epidemics increase

  17. What can be done • Rainforests products can be used sustainably to provide income for surrounding communities • A market for these products and the compounds found there must be developed - corporations distributing them must be focused on responsible harvesting & offer incentives for sustainable harvests

  18. References • Butler, Rhett. 2006. Mongabay homepage. Accessed 8 April 2009 at http://rainforests.mongabay.com . • Taylor, Leslie. 1996. Rainforest Facts. Rain Tree Homepage. Accessed 8 April 2009 at http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm. • UCLA. 2001. Chemotherapy against malaria. Accessed 8 April 2009 at http://dna.kdna.ucla.edu/parasite_course-old/malaria_files/subchapters/treatment.htm.

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