Suchergebnisse

AbstractCultural property activists have worried about the bioprospecting, or even biopiracy, of kava (Piper methysticum), a plant exchanged and consumed for many Pacific social and ritual purposes. By the 1990s, kava and concoctions made from the plant's component kavalactones were increasingly popular products within global markets for recreational and medicinal drugs. Starting in 2002, however, a number of European countries among others banned kava imports after initial reports that some heavy users suffered liver damage. This has complicated the kava story as producer efforts shifted from protecting rights to the plant to reopening blocked export markets. The difficulty is to both push kava into global markets while protecting local rights to the plant. A promising strategy may be developing consumer awareness of geographic indicators and "noble" kava varieties that Vanuatu's local producers may control yet globally market as "the best in the world."

Aquatic macrophytes of the Kava River basin in northern Okhotsk area are represented by 4 species of macroalgae and 51 species and 4 hybrids of vascular plants. Flora of the Magadan Region was completed by 3 species and 3 hybrids: Aegagropilopsis moravica, Equisetum arvense × E. scirpoides, Elatine aff. triandra vel americana, Potamogeton × vepsicus, Sparganium chlorocarpum and S. chlorocarpum × S. gramineum. Almost all species of aquatic vascular plants protected in the Magadan Region (10 out of 11) are concentrated and abundant in the Kava River basin, 3 "red listed" species in the Khabarovsk Territory were also found in its basin and with a high abundance. Basing on floristic diversity, water bodies are grouped according to the similarity of environmental conditions, and not according to their geographical location. Almost all diversity of aquatic macrophytes is concentrated in lakes. The lake-river system of the Chukcha River, one of the major tributary of the Kava River, is distinguished here by the greatest diversity and concentration of rare taxa, because it is the most isolated from the cold sea winds. Rich aquatic flora and vegetation in the Kava River basin had emerged and are now sustained due to the special favorable microclimatic conditions of the closed valley of a large river, the existence of numerous water bodies of different ages and genesis with a wide variation in hydrological and hydrochemical parameters, the possibility of moving the propagules of aquatic plants along a well-developed lake-river network. The unique lake-river system of the Kava River requires increased attention and protection.

This article focuses on kava ( Piper methysticum G. Forst, Piperaceae) in its various forms: plant, beverage, medicine, and dietary supplement. Specifically, I examine a relatively unexplored dimension of kava's use: the ways in which both the form and the use of kava are changing as it is introduced into new and different cultural contexts. Kava's popularity outside Oceania has led to changes in how and why it is used, as well as transformations in the form in which people consume it. The best known of these is the manufacture of kava-containing pills and tinctures, which are marketed for treating anxiety and depression in Western countries. But kava is also undergoing a transformation into an alcohol-like recreational analogue, and it is being incorporated into a range of food products. In this article, I first seek to document some of these transformations and to describe the contexts into which kava has been introduced. Second, I analyze these transformations and attempt to frame them within larger discourses about medicines, recreational intoxicants, and notions of authenticity and exoticism. Finally, I speculate about the future face of kava. The collapse of demand for kava for use in dietary supplements provides a second chance for kava growers and wholesale distributors to consider how they want kava to be represented and sold to the wider world. The article's conclusion outlines some of the ongoing efforts to shape this future, while highlighting some of the lessons that might be learned by considering the problems associated with the previous kava boom.

Face à la concurrence mondiale, l'agriculture d'exportation du Vanuatu est en déclin rapide. Alors que le maintien des filières classiques (coprah, cacao) mobilise les experts, les produits locaux suscitent peu d'attention et le marché local est délaissé. Les importations alimentaires, quant à elles, s'accroissent. Le pays pourrait pourtant tirer avantage de « ressources spécifiques », notamment sur les marchés local et régional. Les cas du kava et des plantes à tubercules sont développés pour illustrer cette affirmation.

Indigenous crops, tremendously valuable both for food security and cultural survival, are experiencing a resurgence in Hawaiʻi. These crops have been historically valued by agricultural researchers as genetic resources for breeding, while cultural knowledge, names, stories and practices persisted outside of formal educational and governmental institutions. In recent years, and following conflicts ignited over university research on and patenting of kalo (Hāloa, Colocasia esculenta), a wave of restoration activities around indigenous crop diversity, cultivation, and use has occurred through largely grassroots efforts. We situate four crops in Hawaiian cosmologies, review and compare the loss and recovery of names and cultivars, and describe present efforts to restore traditional crop biodiversity focusing on kalo, ʻuala (Ipomoea batatas), kō (Saccharum officinarum), and ʻawa (Piper methysticum). The cases together and particularly the challenges of kalo and 'awa suggest that explicitly recognizing the sacred role such plants hold in indigenous worldviews, centering the crops' biocultural significance, provides a foundation for better collaboration across multiple communities and institutions who work with these species. Furthermore, a research agenda that pursues a decolonizing approach and draws from more participatory methods can provide a path forward towards mutually beneficial exchange among research, indigenous, and farmer communities. We outline individual and institutional responsibilities relevant to work with indigenous crops and communities and offer this as a step towards reconciliation, understanding, and reciprocity that can ultimately work to create abundance through the restoration of ancestral crop cultivar diversity.

Piper is an economically and ecologically important genus of plant that includes a fascinating array of species for studying natural history, natural products chemistry, community ecology, and evolutionary biology. The diversification of this taxon is unique and of great importance in understanding the evolution of plants. The diversity and ecological relevance of this genus makes it an obvious candidate for ecological and evolutionary studies, but surprisingly, most research on Piper spp. to-date has focused on the more economically important plants P. nigrum (black pepper), P. methysticum (kava), and P. betle (betel leaf). While this book does address the applied techniques of studying Piper, its focus is more on Piper in its natural setting. Piper: A Model Genus for Studies of Phytochemistry, Ecology, and Evolution synthesizes existing data and provides an outline for future investigations of the chemistry, ecology, and evolution of this taxon, while examining its key themes of Piper as a model genus for ecological and evolutionary studies, the important ecological roles of Piper species in lowland wet forests, and the evolution of distinctive Piper attributes. This volume has a place in the libraries of those studying or working in the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, natural products chemistry, invasive species biology, pharmaceutics, and ethnobotany

Background: There is considerable interest among consumers in using 'natural', plant-based nutritional supplements for their purported health benefits. However, the data required to support health claims on these so-called botanicals is subject to an ongoing debate, especially in Europe. Remarkably, pharmaceutical regulations have a provision that sometimes makes it possible to include data on 'traditional use' in the approval process.Scope and approach: In this critical perspective, we elaborate why substantiation of health benefits with evidence on traditional use is not easy to apply for food products. This is highlighted by the examples of recent incidents with traditional herbal substances such as kava kava and ephedra. These examples demonstrate that safety considerations, which are explicitly considered in the assessment of traditional herbal medicinal products, deserve special attention, and cannot be disregarded in food products that have health claims based on traditional use.Key findings and conclusions: Unexpected safety-related problems may arise when consumers combine botanicals with (prescribed) pharmaceutical products or specific nutrients, as it is often unlikely that such interactions will have been identified during traditional use. Information on both the safety and the health benefits are key to enable consumers to make the best decision for their personal health.As current legislative requirements for food products do not provide the opportunity to include both effectiveness and safety in the assessment, it is questionable whether and how traditional use evidence can be used under the current regulatory framework for health claims on foods.