Skip to main content

IUCN Updates Red List of Threatened Species; Tree Harboring Taxol at Increased Risk


In November of 2011, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) updated its Red List of Threatened Species, documenting an increasing threat faced by several plants, including some important medicinal species.1 IUCN describes its Red List as “the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of plant and animal species.”2 Though IUCN often partners with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Red List is separate from the CITES appendices, which document the conservation status and risk assessments of animals and plants while also serving as an international agreement implementing trade restrictions followed by CITES members.3  

For the Red List, IUCN and partner organizations, such as the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew (in the United Kingdom), assess thousands of plant and animal species, considering which of 8 extinction risk levels a species should be classified as if no conservation action were to take place.2 The 8 risk levels are classed as follows: data deficient, least concern, near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered, extinct in the wild, and extinct. Factors considered in the classification process include population trend, population size and structure, and geographic range.

According to Danna Leaman, PhD—the chair of IUCN’s Medicinal Plants Specialist Group (MPSG)—many medicinal species are included on the Red List, but it has been difficult to determine exactly which ones and how many (e-mail, December 12, 2011). In order to address this issue and document the conservation status of medicinals, the MPSG began building a Global Checklist of Medicinal Plants based on international, regional, and national pharmacopeias and medicinal floras, as well as the NAPRAlert database at the University of Illinois at Chicago, developed by the late Professor Norman Farnsworth. In May of 2010, the group teamed with TRAFFIC International to compare the list that then consisted of 16,600 species (and now includes ca. 27,000) with the online and off-line versions of the IUCN Red List.

more at:

http://cms.herbalgram.org/heg/volume9/01January/IUCNRedListupdated.html?t=1326058297&ts=1387112293&signature=0bcf8c28490166eee52716b7f53dce00



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

More Than 50 Herbal Medicines Hold Possibility for Cancer Cure

More Than 50 Herbal Medicines Hold Possibility for Cancer Cure Researches explore the probability of some Chinese herbal medicines to be effective ingredients in making anticancer drugs. (Photo : Getty Images ) Medical experts and nutritionists have long acknowledged that fruits and vegetables contain anticancer properties. Mother Nature seemingly holds another key for cancer prevention and treatment . Chinese scientists learned that 57 kinds of medicinal plants commonly used in creating traditional Chinese medicine have anticancer components, reported Xinhua. Dai Shaoxing from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing, however, said that additional research should be conducted to determine their full potential to cure cancer. The fruit of the medicinal plant Siraitia grosvenorii , for one, contains mogrosides, whose extract--the natural compound mogroside V--was tested for its antitumor effect and its probable capability to treat pancreatic cancer, accor...
169 comments
Read more

Date palm, bitter kola, zobo top local herbal ‘cures’ for Yuletide blues

Date palm, bitter kola, zobo top local herbal ‘cures’ for Yuletide blues T 0 Comments Today is Christmas. The Yuletide is here again. The season is synonymous with over indulgence in alcohol, food and sex. Hangover, weight gain and sexually transmitted infections such as Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) become the order of the day. But scientists have validated bitter kola, date palm, zobo, grapefruit, among others as ‘cures’ for hangover and to prevent weight gain. They advise against unprotected sex and promiscuity, and recommend being faithful to one partner and the use of condom. CHUKWUMA MUANYA writes. THE temptation to drink and get intoxicated with alcohol is high especially during festive periods. The habit, however, comes with the resultant hangover.      Hangover is the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological effects following consumption of alcoholic beverages, which can last for more than 24 hours.    ...
15 comments
Read more

Fwd: Medicinal Importance of Bitter Leaf (locally called ewuro)

Medicinal Importance of Bitter Leaf (locally called ewuro) Bitter leaf is a medicinal plant of the family Asteraceae. It is a small perennial shrub that grows in tropical Africa. Vernonia amygdalina is commonly called bitter leaf because of its bitter taste and it can be propagated either by cutting or seedling. Today, the plant is widely known throughout the continent and nearly 85% of Nigerians cultivates the plant due to its nutritional and medicinal values. It is locally called 'ewuro' in yorubaland. The leaves of the plant may be consumed either as a vegetable (macerated leaves in soups) or aqueous extracts as tonics for the treatment of various illnesses.  In the wild, chimpanzees have been observed to ingest the leaves when suffering from parasitic infections. Many herbalists and naturopathic doctors recommend aqueous extracts for their patients as treatment for Emesis, nausea, diabetes, loss of appetite-induced abasia , dysentery and other gastro intestinal t...
Post a Comment
Read more