This International Cooperative Biodiversity Group was assembled in response to RFA No. TW-92-0I. The objective of this 5-year project is to discover and develop pharmaceuticals and crop-protection agents from plants of arid and semi-arid ecosystems in Latin America to promote sustained economic growth while conserving biological resources in these fragile environments. Plants will be collected from poorly known floristic areas of Mexico, Chile and Argentina. To collect the greatest diversity of plants for a comprehensive screening program, an ethnobotanical as well as a random pattern approach will be employed by the Latin American collaborators.
A specific aim will be to collect a minimum of 600 species of higher plants per year. The collected samples will be processed to obtain a minimum of 1,200 crude extracts for a battery of biological testings in the U.S. These will be evaluated by our collaborators for novel lead compounds in a) binding (receptor target) and enzyme assays; active samples will be followed up by concentration response and bioresponse assays as well as anti-microbial and anti-viral bioassays. Therapeutic areas of potential target application include: central nervous system, cardio-vascular, intermediary metabolism, allergy/inflammation, gastrointestinal, cancer, anti-virals and anti-bacterials. Recollection of those plants showing biological activity in primary and secondary screens will be done to provide sufficient plant material for isolation, structural characterization and further testing of the biodynamic principles using a bioassay-guided approach in Associate Projects 2 and 3. An information management component will be organized to insure a timely and efficient transfer of information between members of each associate project as well as between countries, industrial collaborators and the U.S. Scientific coordinator. Prior to exploitation of a newly discovered biological product, critical issues concerning implications for biodiversity and sustained economic growth will be identified and strategies for minimizing negative impacts and guaranteeing local community benefits will be developed.
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