Broad Lonq-Term Goals and Objectives Undertake planning and coordination activities to create a full ICBG proposal that will undertake the following specific activities:
Specific Aims To perform additional pre-clinical evaluations of Prostratin (for HIV/AIDS) and to discover and develop other bioactive agents of potential utility for local and international health priorities. The source of new bioactive agents or phytomedicine products will be terrestrial plants, micro-organisms and marine organisms found in of Samoa and Tonga. To create sustainable harvest programs for the harvesting of Homo/anthus nutans and develop this general capacity for the creation of local biodiversity based sustainable development of phytomedicines. To implement a highly integrated ethnomedical field research program in Samoa and Tonga that utilizes a sophisticated union of western trained medical doctors, traditional healers and ethnobotanists. To help conserve vanishing ethnomedical knowledge in these nations. To conduct inventories and collections of vascular plants and micro-organisms in these island nations where endemism of the regions flora is very high. To train and build capacity with local scientists and emerging scientific professionals. To undertake the collection of marine organisms in Samoa and Tonga and isolate compounds. Micro-organisms will also be isolated from these materials and screened for antinfective activity. To screen plant extracts and compounds derived from terrestrial and marine environments for anti-infective, CNS, anti-cancer, cardiovascular and phytomedicine applications.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Fogarty International Center (FIC)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
1R21TW006608-01
Application #
6710445
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-ICP-2 (50))
Program Officer
Katz, Flora N
Project Start
2003-09-30
Project End
2005-04-30
Budget Start
2003-09-30
Budget End
2004-04-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$165,000
Indirect Cost
Name
National Tropical Botanical Garden
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Kalaheo
State
HI
Country
United States
Zip Code
96741
Johnson, Holly E; Banack, Sandra A; Cox, Paul Alan (2008) Variability in content of the anti-AIDS drug candidate prostratin in Samoan populations of Homalanthus nutans. J Nat Prod 71:2041-4