2. کتاب دوم گیاهان دارویی
2. کتاب دوم گیاهان دارویی
2. کتاب دوم گیاهان دارویی
6.1 Paper-making
It is the ultimate cells that are used for paper-making and this requires the
cellulose to be as pure as possible and, if necessary, reduced in length. The
cellulose
fibres are suspended in a large volume of water in the ratio of 1% fibre to 99%
water,
where they swell and form a layer of pulp. The fibres are then filtered from the
suspension through a sieve or screen, mould or wire, to form a uniform layer of
drained pulp, i.e. a wet sheet of paper. In a process known as couching the screen
is
separated from the paper in such a manner as to leave the wet and therefore fragile
sheet unwrinkled and undisturbed. The couched paper is then placed in contact with
a
woven cloth or felt and pressed to remove excess water. The moist paper is removed
from the felt and the cohering mass of fibres with their gelatinised and
fibrillated
surfaces dried. When dried out in sheet form the flexible fibres, as a result of
hydrogen bonding, form a semi-rigid sheet of paper containing 8-10 layers of fibres
(Kirby, 1963; FAO, 1973).
More modern methods involve the use of mechanised Hollander beaters, an oval
tub in which the fibre (or rags) are circulated in water and lacerated by a roll of
metal
bars revolving over a metal or stone bed plate. The machine is so constructed that
the
slurry is kept in constant motion by both the backfall and the rotation of the
roll. The
cutting action can be regulated by the distance between the roll bars and the bed
plate,
and by the duration of the beating, thereby determining the strength and texture of
the
paper.
For handmade paper the paper maker dips his mould (screen stretched over a
frame) and deckle (a removable upper frame) into the vat to scoop up sufficient
pulp
or stuff for a sheet. Raising the mould and deckle to a horizontal position above
the
vat, it is deftly shaken from side to side to distribute the fibres evenly over the
mould.
The water drains through the wire mesh of the mould, leaving behind a sheet of
water-logged fibres. The deckle is then removed and the paper sheet laid with a
rocking motion (couched) onto a board or damp felt to dry. A pile of couched sheets
is built up to form a post of ca. 25 sheets, which is then forcefully pressed to
expel as
much water as possible. The sheets are then carefully removed from the felt and
dried; partial air-drying is followed by pressing between blotters under pressure
to
give a flat, smooth appearance.
In traditional oriental paper making very thin sheets of paper are prepared from
the pounded bast of Broussoneria spp., producing a particularly tough and strong
fibre, the sinewy, 5-10 cm long, 0.018 mm wide threads neither shrinking nor
expanding. In Japan the nagashizuki technique is used, where a viscous agent, neri,
prepared from Abelmoschus manihot, syn. Hibiscus manihot, is added. The mucilage
slows down the passage of water through the mould mesh, allowing the paper maker
more time to form the sheet, as wave after wave of fibre is laminated onto a
flexible
bamboo screen held in place by a mould and hinged deckle. The sheets arc then
couched to form a post without any intervening sheets of felt. Overnight the excess
Vegetable Fibres 275
water is slowly and gradually pressed out of the post, a procedure that bonds the
fibres into a strong paper. Finally, the moist sheets are separated from one
another
and dried in the sun.
The scale of paper making in the orient varies greatly. In Thailand, for example,
paper making is still very much a cottage indusiry, while in Japan large-scale
production uses 1000 tons of bast annually, much of which has to be imported. The
wood fibre from wasp’s nests, especially Polistes spp. (paper wasp) consisting of
macerated plant fibres mixed with fluid from the wasp, may also be used for making
hand-made paper. Such ‘wasp paper pulp’ is believed to have given the Chinese the
idea of how to make paper (Hunter, 1947; Schmidt and Stavisky, 1983; Turner and
Skiold, 1983; Indrbhakdi, 1989; Lewington, 1990).
Nowadays, in commercial paper production, the pulp is first fed onto a fast-
moving, wire-mesh screen, where it drains and the fibres become interlocked. Most
of
the remaining moisture is then removed and the sheets pressed flat by passing
through a series of heavy rollers and heated cylinders, with the resultant paper
emerging in a continuous roll. The quality of the paper very much depending on the
type of pulp or mixture of pulps used. Chemical pulp processes result in bleached,
fluffy, crumb-like particles suitable for all kinds of writing, printing and
drawing
papers. Mechanical processing produces a coarser pulp containing additional
material
to the cellulose, i.e. lignin, hemicellulose and resins. Such pulp is unsuitable
for high
quality paper and, in time, tends to turn yellow when exposed to heat and light
(Lewington, 1990).
Although the stem fibres of Thymelaea hirsuta (shaggy sparrow wort) have
traditionally been used for cordage, their use for paper is a recent development.
In
1979 a paper mill was established in Israel for using the bast fibres to produce a
high
quality, hand-woven paper known as Mitnan paper. The paper is used primarily by
artists, but also by paper conservators for repairing documents and works or art.
The
xylem fibres are comparable to those of hardwoods but with a higher length:width
276 Chapter 14
ratio, yet lower than those from rice straw (El-Ghonemy et al., 1974; Schmidt and
Stavisky, 1983).
Very strong yet flexible papers are required for bank notes and some legal
documents. For such papers a mixture of hemp, cotton and flax fibres are used, all
of
which are longer than wood fibres and need far less processing, Cotton fibres,
after a
special beating treatment, are also used for blotting paper. The short fibres or
tow of
cotton, flax, hemp, ramie, Manila hemp (abacd), etc. are mainly used for textiles,
with a secondary use in paper-making. Manila hemp produces a very strong paper,
which is used for Manila envelopes, wrapping papers and stencils. Also, because the
fibres maintain their strength when wet, ca. 40% are used in the paper for tea
bags.
Amongst other uses, ramie and hemp are used for cigarette papers.
For the finishing of paper a number of additives are added to the pulp in order to
give the required colour, smoothness and opacity. They include size, dyes,
brighteners
and fillers (chiefly china clay or chalk). Although synthetic sizes are available,
a
number of plant-based starches, gums and resins are still being used as sizing
materials, including potato starch, guar gum from Cyamapsis tetragonolobus, locust
bean gum from Ceratonia siliqua, methyl cellulose derived from cellulose, rosin
(see
Chapter 12) and alginates (see Chapter 19) (Lewington, 1990).
7. FILLING FIBRES
Filling fibres were used in upholstery and for the stuffing of mattresses, pillows
and cushions, e.g. kapok and the seed floss of Asclepias spp. and Calotropis spp.,
leaf
fibres such as crin végétal, henequen, Copernicia prunifera and Yucca elata, the
bast
fibres of Asclepias spp. and Tillandsia usneoides (Spanish moss), and coir. In
recent
years fire regulations have restricted the use of such fibres for stuffing.
Kapok or kapoc fibres are interesting because of their lightness. They are the
silky fibres obtained from the fruit of Ceiba pentandra (silk cotton or kapok
tree). It
is a native of tropical America but now grown in commercial plantations, especially
in southern Asia, with ca. 90% of the world's production coming from Indonesia. The
fibres are ca. 2.5 cm long but too brittle for easy spinning, Formerly kapok was
used
to stuff mattresses, pillows and upholstery but because the fibres are highly
inflammable, its use for such purposes has declined in favour of less inflammable
and
mainly synthetic fibres demanded by fire-safety regulations, However, the fibres
are
very light and water-resistant, due to the walls of the air-filled cells being
impervious
to both air and water and are thus able to support 30 times their own weight in
water.
Kapok is consequently widely used in water-safety equipment; it is also used as a
thermal insulator. (Kirby, 1963; Robbins, 1995; Jarman, 1998).
In the past, both hemp tow and sunn hemp were widely used as oakum for
caulking the seams in boats, casks and barrels; coir too was used as an oakum
substitute. However, the development of steel and plastic boat hulls have limited
the
Vegetable Fibres 277
need for such caulking fibres to decking, while steel kegs have largely replaced
the
traditional wooden casks. Fibres are also used as a stiffening in plaster, and as a
general packing material (Hill, 1952).
8. BRUSH FIBRES
Vegetable fibres have been used for making brushes, brooms and whisks for
countless years, probably dating back to early man, although many countries, such
as
Italy, now rely almost entirely on synthetic fibres. Fibre suitability for brush
making
is governed by such factors as bend recovery, wear, loss of stiffness when wet. The
fibres must be very strong, stiff yet elastic and with a high degree of
flexibility,
capable of holding moisture if required, and able to withstand any scrubbing
action,
From a production point of view the available lengths are also important. There are
no international or EU Standards for quality, although quality can be tested using
a
"brushing" machine that simulates the brush in action on various surfaces
(P.W.Coward, 1997 pers. comm.).
The fibres used in the brush making industry today fall into three groups: (1) Leaf
fibres; (2) Palm fibres (petioles, ribs and seed fibres); and (3) Grass fibres
(root
fibres and culms). While there was a decline in the use of vegetable fibres in the
1970s and 80s, this trend has reversed during the 1990s with the replacement of the
higher quality fibres by cheaper imports. A number of vegetable fibres are used by
the
Hill Brush Company, the major Buropean broom and brush manufacturer and the
following examples illustrate how the fibre qualities are utilised.
The major leaf fibre is from Agave lophantha and is known as Mexican fibre,
istle or Tampico (named after the port from which it is exported). The Tampico
fibres
are noteworthy for being highly elastic and resistant to temperature changes, acids
and alkalis, and their fineness for polishing and grinding. They are also very
water
absorbent, retaining 65% more water than its polypropylene synthetic replacement,
as
well as being non-electrostatic, so that the brushes, which are mainly used for
grooming horses, remain dust free.
The major palm leaf fibres are: (1) Bahia bass from the leaf bases of Attalea
funifera, also known as Bahia piassava, piassalba or coquilla. The fibres have good
water retention, do not rot when damp and are very resistant to distortion. Bahia
bass
is used for the very best yard and street brooms, and in some industrial platform
brooms; (2) African bass is obtained from the retted petioles of Raphia hookeri;
that
exported from Sierra Leone is known as Sherbro bass or piassave. Sulima bass, also
from Sierra Leone, is no longer obtainable. The fibres do not lose their stiffness
when
wet and are used in road sweeping and farm brushes. Calabar bass from Nigeria is
currently unobtainable due to the local political situation; (3) Gumati is from the
leaf
sheaths of Arenga pinnata, syn. A. saccharifera. The fibres are softer and finer
than
Bahia bass but have similar excellent wearing and sweeping qualities. They are used
278 Chapter 14
for sweeping dry concrete floors; and (4) Bassine or palmyra from the leaf bases of
Borassus flabellifera (palmyra palm). The fibres are less resilient than the others
and
are used in the cheaper warehouse brooms and household brushes, and for scrubbing
brushes. The split midrib of B. flabellifera, known as split palmyra or split cane,
is
always used with other fibres, such as Sherbro bass, to enhance the stiffness and
add a
decorative colour contrast (Coward, 1997).
Coir or coir fibre is the name given to the twisted fibres obtained from the
mesocarp (husk) of the coconut and is the only seed fibre used in brush making. It
is
cheap and abundant but is liable to crush and distort; it is therefore used for the
cheaper brushes. The coconut husk was traditionally retted for 10 months and then
beaten with sticks to free the fibres, which were then hackled, i.e. combed, with a
steel comb. Now the unretted husks are passed through a defibering machine and
then retted for only 3 days. One tonne of nuts will yield ca. 150 kg coir. Coir is
unusual in that it does not retain smells. Its use, however, is declining as
synthetic
substitutes become cheaper and more readily available. Coir is also widely used for
matting, especially door mats, ropes, and traditionally for wrapping around bed-
springs in mattresses. The short fibres and dust are now widely used in
horticulture as
a peat substitute (Robbins, 1995; Coward, 1997).
The peeled and bleached rhizomes of the Mexican grass Muhlenbergia macroura,
syn. Epicampes macoura (zakaton) are known as Mexican whisk, broom or rice root;
it is regarded as the best material for brushes used for grooming animals,
otherwise it
is not very widely used. The culms of Miscanthus sorghum, syn. Miscanthidium
sorghum (broom grass) from Lesotho mixed with other fibres are used for the lighter
domestic and yard brooms. A native of eastern South Africa the upland stream banks
of Lesotho provide the environment that gives the fibres their resilience (Coward
1997).
During brush making the fibres are doubled over and retained in the wooden or
plastic brush back with a wire staple, an operation that is now carried out at
speeds up
to 300 tufts per minute using computer controlled production machines. It is
important, therefore, that the fibres do not break when doubled over at speed. Some
fibres, such as Bahia piassava and Sherbo piassava are first soaked in hot water in
order to make them more supple but most fibres, such as coir and gumati, are
punched dry (P.W.Coward, 1997 pers. comm. ).
Broom-corn from a cultivar of Sorghum bicolor is grown for its long, fibrous
panicle branches, which are made into brooms and brushes in many parts of the
world. A native of Manchuria and originally developed by the Chinese as broom
kaoling, broom-corn was cultivated in Europe during the mid 17th century and
introduced to America in 1797, and has since spread to Australia and South Africa.
The seed branches are long and straight, but with the rachis much shorter and
telescoped than in the grain sorghums. The inflorescences are harvested by cutting
the stem 15 cm below the node. The leaf sheath is then removed and the heads
threshed and spread out to dry in the open or in curing sheds, or they may be
ricked
Vegetable Fibres 279
and then threshed, although the former method causes less damage to the fine
fibres.
The heads are then bundled together into brooms (Hill, 1952; de Wet, 1990; Doggett,
1970; Rooney, 1996).
The range of raw materials used in the domestic and local economy for plaiting
and basketry include the stems of reeds, rushes, grasses, bamboo, rattan, willows,
etc.
as well as leaves and roots used either entire or split. They are either woven or
twisted
together into hats, sandals, mats and matting screens, chair seats, baskets, etc.
Despite the numerous plant materials available relatively few are of any commercial
importance. (Hill, 1952).
Of these, the Panama hats are of interest since there has been a revival in their
use in recent years. The hats, despite their name, are made in Ecuador, with over 1
million hats being exported annually The hats are characterised by their uniformity
and fineness of texture, their strength, durability, elasticity and water
resistance. They
are manufactured from the young leaves of Carludovica palmata (Panama hat paim,
toquilla), an almost stemless, palm-like shrub of the Cyclanthaceae from the
forests of
Central and South America. Six leaves are required per hat; they are cut before
they
unfold (Hill, 1952; Kirby, 1963; Mabberley, 1987).
Chapter 15
Phytochemicals
Phytochemicals are the plant’s chemical constituents, their type and quantity
being affected by environmental factors, e.g. climate and soil, also by the
karyotype
and stage of development, especially the former. Acorus calamus (sweet flag), for
example, contains B-asarone, which has halucinogenic and carcenogenic properties.
The Asian tetraploid contains 70-96% B-asarone, the European triploid contains less
than 15% while it is absent in the North American diploid (Schultes and Hofman,
1992; Motley, 1994).
The chemical products that can be obtained from plants include gums and resins,
tannins, dyestuffs, latexes and rubbers, lipids, essential oils, waxes, alcohols
and
other chemicals (Cook, 1995). However, there are some substances that cannot be
readily classified chemically and can be variously considered within several
different
groups. The toxic substance solanine, for example, present in the potato and other
members of the Solanaceae, can be considered for inclusion in four different
groups.
It has the physical properties of a saponin because it forms a semi-permanent froth
when shaken with water. Chemically it is a glycoside because it consists of the
sugar
solanose bound to the aglycone solanidine, the non-sugar part of the glycoside
molecule. During digestion the solanine molecule is broken up by enzymes and the
sugar is split off, leaving the solanidine. Because solanidine is a nitrogenous
organic
substance it conforms to the definition of an alkaloid. Furthermore, because part
of
the molecule of the alkaloid is a sterol group, it can also be classified as a
sterol. Asa
consequence solanine can be regarded as a steroidal, alkaloidal glycoside with the
properties of a saponin (Kingsbury, 1964, cited by Everist, 1972)!
282 Chapter 15
1. GUMS, MUCILAGES, RESINS AND OLEORESINS
11 Gums
The true gums are complex polysaccharides, i.e. carbohydrates derived from
monosaccharides, that either dissolve or swell in water to produce very vicious
colloidal solutions (sometimes incorrectly referred to as mucilages) that are
insoluble
in organic solvents. They form the dried plant exudates that are usually obtained
when the bark is cut or the plant otherwise injured. Carob bean or locust bean gum,
however, is obtained from the pods of Ceratonia siliqua and guar gum from the seeds
of the cultigen Cyamopsis tetragonolabus. The poor water solubility of carob bean
gum at temperatures below 85°C make the gum highly suitable for use in processed
foods where its thickening and texturising properties do not interrupt the cooking
process until high temperatures are reached. By way of contrast, the water
absorbing
properties of the readily water-soluble guar gum are used to control the viscosity
of
drilling muds. Mention should also be made of xanthan gum from the bacterial
fermentation of waste sugar products (see Chapter 18).
A selection of commercial gums that are widely used as thickening agents in the
food and pharmaceutical industries are shown in Table 18).
TABLE 18. A selection of commercial gums and their applications (Brouk, 1976;
Anderson, 1985; Sharp,
1990; Robbins, 1995; Mabberley, 1997)
inks, explosives
inks
Phytochemicals 283
1.1.1 Gum Arabic
The gum from Acacia senegal known as gum arabic is one of the major gums of
commerce, Its history in the world market well illustrates the influence of
taxonomy
and the tightening of quality control in defining the product. It was originally
defined
as “the gummy exudate from Acacia senegal or its related species”, embracing 18
species. The group included the unrelated A. seyal (gum talha from East and West
Africa), A. xanthophloea (from East Africa) and A. karroo (from southern Africa).
All were traded on the international markets. This was despite the fact that the
Test
Article, evaluated as toxicologically safe as a food additive, refers solely to gum
from
A. senegal, The increasing international pressure towards tighter trade
specifications
and labelling regulations, identity and purity, has led to the Revised
Specification
(WHO. 1990a, b; FAQ, 1990) where gum arabic is defined as originating from A.
senegal or closely related species, with a specific optical rotation range of -26°
to -34°
and a Kjeldahl nitrogen content of 0.27-0.39%. This has limited the gums permitted
for the food trade and designated gum arabic to members of Acacia subgenus
Aculeiferum which, in addition to A. senegal, include A. laeta, A. mellifera, and
A.
polyacantha. Since the exudates from the other authorised species occur as small
tears and driblets, their collection is consequently extremely time-consuming, so
much so that the marketing of these gums is not commercially viable.
The other gums are now restricted to industrial use only. Nevertheless, acacia
gum ‘from A. senegal and other African species’ is still listed as official by the
British Pharmacopoeia Commission (1993) for use as a bulk-forming laxative and
pharmaceutical aid. While the US specification for the use of acacia gums in the
food
trade is restricted to gum arabic, the pharmaceutical specification permits the use
of
gum talha. The rational for the less stringent pharmaceutical specifications is
because
the small quantities of gum talha used are given under medical supervision
(Anderson, 1993).
In the Sudan, which is the largest exporter of gum arabic, the best grades are
known as Kordofan gum. The marketing of gum arabic is further discussed in
Chapter 7. High quality gum droplets should be of a light yellowish or rosy pink
colour, globular and 2-4 cm in diameter. Gum arabic is a polysaccharide, consisting
of D-galactose, D-glucuronic acid, arabinose and rhamnose.
Its use as the food additive E414 within the European Union is subject to a
rigorous specification regarding identity and purity. The gum is used in the food
industry to fix flavours and as an emulsifier. It is also used to prevent the
crystallisation of sugar in confectionery products, as a stabiliser in frozen dairy
products and as a foam stabiliser and clarifying agent in beer, while its viscosity
and
adhesive properties find use in bakery products. In the pharmaceutical industry gum
arabic is used as a stabiliser for emulsions, a binder and coating for tablets, and
as an
ingredient of cough drops and syrups. Gum arabic is also extensively used in folk
medicines as a soothing and softening agent. In cosmetics it finds use as an
adhesive
284 Chapter 15
for facial masks and powders, and to give a smooth feel to lotions. The poorer
grades
of gum arabic are used industrially in foundry sands to give the sand moulds
cohesive
strength, applied as an adhesive, as a protective colloid and safeguarding agent
for
inks, as a coatings for special papers, a sizing agent to give body to certain
fabrics, as
a sensitiser for lithographic plates and as an anti-corrosive coating for metals.
It is
also used in the manufacture of matches, paints, boot polish, ceramic pottery, etc.
(Anderson, 1985; Sharp, 1990; Cossalter, 1991; Robbins, 1995).
1.2 Mucilages
Of plant origin, mucilages are polysaccharides consisting of a mixture of a
complex polyuronide, proteinaceous matter and cellulose, which swell in water and
have glue-like properties. Mild hydrolysis of the polyuronide yields xylose and
Phytochemicals 285
Important mucilages include slippery elm from the dried inner bark of Ulmus
fulva (Indian moose, sweet elm), which is used as an invalid food and medicinally
as
a laxative and emollient of the gastro-intestinal tract. Also psillium from the
mucilaginous seeds of Plantago afra, syn. P. psyllium (psyllium plantago), used as
a
laxative, as an emollient for relieving skin irritations and cosmetically in face
masks
(Chiej, 1984; Mabey, 1988; Mabbetley, 1997). See also Chapter 19 regarding agars
from seaweeds.
1.3 Resins
Hard and brittle, more or less translucent, non-volatile, with no particular odour
or taste, rosins are readily fusible and burn with a smoky flame, They are very
poor
conductors of electricity but become negatively charged when friction is applied.
Rosin consists of a complex mixture of diterpene resin acids, mainly monocarboxylic
acids related to abietic acid; they contain only a little, if any, essential oil.
They occur
naturally in pine oils and are also obtainable from tall oil, a by-product of the
kraft
paper industry (see Chapter 12). Rosin was formerly used for caulking ships’ hulls,
and is now widely used in various industrial applications, Rosins, because of their
low
oil content and ready solubility in alcohol, and are an important source of
varnishes;
they are also used in paints, inks, plastics, sizing, adhesives, fireworks, etc.
fossil origin containing very little or no essential oils. The word is Spanish,
from the
Mexican Nahuati copali, for rosin. They yield a hard, elastic varnish, which is
much
used for exterior work. The true damars are distinguished by being insoluble in
chloral hydrate but completely soluble in alcohol and turpentine. The term is now
commercially applied to the hard rosins obtained by tapping members of the
Dipterocarpaceae, especially Shorea spp. and a few members of the Burseraceae, also
species of the conifer Agathis. The word damar or dammar is from the Malayan
damar for rosin and is applied to a torch made of decayed wood and bark mixed with
rosin, wrapped in leaves and bound with rattans. True damars are mainly used in
Because of their lustre and light colour they are especially suitable for
varnishing
paper; they are also used for interior work and histology.
Other hard resins include the Focene fossil amber from now largely extinct
conifers, and is used mainly for jewellery and tobacco pipes, Also lacquers,
chiefly
from Rhus verniciflua (Chinese or Japanese lacquer tree), which are used as a
lacquer
and for candles. The acaroid resins from Xanthorrhoea spp. (blackboy) are used as
adhesives, metal lacquers, gold size, a mahogany stain and as a source of picric
acid.
Sandrac from Callitris spp. (Cypress pines) and Tetraclinis articulata (thuya) is
used
for varnishes, and mastic from Pistacia lentiscus (mastic) for varnishes, quelling
halitosis, as a filler for caries and as an ingredient of ouzo. Dragon’s blood from
American species of Dracaena and Asian species of Daemonorops are used in
varnishes and photo-engraving. Finally, the gum kinos from Eucalyptus spp. and
Pterocarpus spp. have astringent properties and are used medicinally.
Not all resins are obtained from woody species. Jalap, for example, is from the
dried tubers of Ipomoea purga, syn. Exogonium purga and, as its specific name
implies, is used as a purgative. The Aborigines of central Australia also extract a
hard
rosin from the highly inflammable spinifex grasses Plectrachne spp. and Triodia
spp.
for use as an adhesive. The rosin is secreted by the leaf epidermal cells and coats
the
leaf surface, and helps to reduce water losses (Hill, 1952; Tootill, 1984; Walter
and
Breckle, 1986; Long, 1994; Mabberley, 1997).
14 Oleoresins
An elemi refers to various oil resins, e.g. Manila elemi from Canarium luzonicum
(Java almond). They are exuded as clear, pale liquids which tend to harden on
exposure to the atmosphere, although some may remain soft while others become
quite hard. According to Long (1994) the word is from the Spanish elimi, from the
Arabic elem, a dialectal variant of al-lami, the elemi. They are used in making
inks
and varnishes, and in the pharmaceutical and perfume industries,
The turpentines are light, volatile, essential oils obtained almost exclusively as
exudates or by distillation from conifers. They are viscous, honey-like liquids or
soft,
brittle solids, consisting of a mixture of cyclic terpene hydrocarbons, the chief
being
a-pinene. They are used as thinners for paints and varnishes, and as solvents. See
also Chapter 12 for further discussion (Hill, 1952; Sharp, 1990; Coppen and Hone,
1995; Mabberley, 1997).
from Ficus elastica is a minor rubber source; the species is probably extinct in
the
wild. Former rubber sources, now superseded by Pari rubber, include Castilla
elastica (Panama rubber), a species apparently seen by Columbus, and Manihot
glaziovii (Ceara rubber).
Tapping Para rubber trees yields a latex containing 30-36% rubber. The latex is
then strained, diluted with water and coagulated with methanoic or ethanoic acids
to
yield a solid rubber. Vulcanisation is the process by which wear and tensile
strength
is increased by rendering the rubber less plastic and sticky. The necessary cross-
linking is achieved by heating with a vulcanisation agent, generally sulphur. The
process was discovered in 1839 by the US inventor Charles Goodyear while trying to
find a method of raising the melting point of rubber when rubber mixed with sulphur
accidentally dropped onto a hot stove. The method was patented in 1844 (Briicher,
1989; Sharp, 1990).
3. TANNINS
The tannins constitute a large class of amorphous, bitter and astringent plant
metabolites, which are often present in the bark, leaves, fruit, etc. They are
either rare
or only present in small quantities in the Lower Plants, comparatively rare in the
Monocotyledonae except for the Palmae, and common but scattered among the
Dicotyledonae. For example, they are absent or rare in the Cruciferae and Labiatae,
and invariably present in the Rosaceae and Guttiferae; large quantities are often
present among members of, for example, the Combretaceac and Rhizophoraceae.
Globally the most important tannin sources are the Anacardiaceae (Rhus spp. and
Schinopsis spp.), Combretaceae (Terminalia spp.), Leguminosae (Acacia spp.
especially A. mearnsii) and Rhizophoraceae (several genera).
Tannins are defined as complex polyhydric phenols with a molecular size and
shape permitting suitable solubility in water, They represent the condensed
products
of various phenols, the most important being pyrogallol and catechol. Depending on
whether they can by hydrolysed by acids or enzymes, or whether they condense the
components to polymers, tannins may be separated into hydrolysable tannins and
condensed tannins respectively. Such separation roughly corresponds to groups based
on gallic acid or flavone-related components, and are of some importance when
considering dietary tannins (see Chapter 8), Although tannins can act as a
deterrent
to herbivores, their major evolutionary role is believed to deter fungal and
bacterial
attack.
.Tannins can be extracted from the raw material by leaching with water or other
solvents and precipitated with lead ethanoate. The plant extracts will contain both
tannin and non-tannin components; clearly the higher the tannin content the more
suitable the plant source. The property of tannins to precipitate the gelatine and
other
proteins present is widely used in the tanning industry in the treatment of hides
to
Phytochemicals 289
make leather. Tannins are also used as mordants in the textile industry, to clarify
wine and beer, and as an astringent and styptic. Some tannins are dual purpose and
used for both dyeing and tanning, e.g. the dark extract known as catechu obtained
by
boiling heartwood chips of Acacia catechu (Lemmens and Wulijarni-Soetjipto, 1991;
Lemmeans ef al., 199i; Sharp, 1990).
31 Tanning
The skins used for tanning are composed of two outer epidermal layers and an
inner dermis or true skin, and of these it is the inner layer, consisting of ca.
98%
collagen (fibrous protein), that is important for leather. An essential property
for
tanning is a stereochemical resemblance between the tannin and the protein, without
which some polyphenol molecules are unsatisfactory, even though their molecular
weights are between 500 and 3000. If the gram molecular weights of the tannin
molecules are <300 there is, for some unknown reason, little or no reaction; if
>3000
they physically prevent a complete reaction along the polyphenol molecule.
For tanning purposes, the gallotannins and ellagitannins, such as those obtained
from members of the Fagaceae and Terminalia spp., are generally preferred as they
produce good quality leather with a pale tan that does not fade in the light. A
darker
tan can be obtained from proanthocyanidines, such as those obtained from Acacia
spp. (wattles) and members of the Rhizophoraceae. The tendency of such leathers to
fade can be lessened according to the tanning techniques used.
Tannage, the art of tanning hides and skins to make them flexible, dates back
into prehistory, with archaeological evidence from northern Germany dating from
10,000 BC and Pharaonic Egypt from 5000 BC. Commercial tanning requires the
hides to be trimmed and soaked, and for the removal of any remnants of flesh, after
which the hides are depilated by placing them in lime for ca. 7 days. Following
deliming and treatment with detergents, the hides are soaked in ever increasing
concentrations of tannin for ca. 3 weeks. The shoulder and belly leathers are then
trimmed, leaving the thicker and more valuable butt leather from the back and
sides.
The butts are halved into bends and receive further tanning for several weeks,
after
which they are cleaned and bleached. The leather is then treated with various oils
and
chemicals, rolled with a heavy cylinder, sponged with a wax coating and finally
dried. Two notable and possibly linked characteristics of leather are a decrease in
hydrophilic properties and a stability against rotting.
impart greater mouldability to the sole leathers, and also provide greater weight
and
better durability, whereas chrome leather has the advantage of being more heat-
proof,
stronger, more supple, elastic and water repellent, and easier to dye.
The use of synthetic tanning has increased rapidly since 1950, so much so that
world shipments of the three major tannins, from Acacia mearnsii (mimosa),
Castanea sativa (chestnut) and Schinopsis spp. (quebracho), fell from 440.8 x 10°
tons to 179.6 x 107 tons between 1950 and 1988. Although vegetable tannins still
remain an important commodity, the shift from vegetable to synthetic tannin
materials is likely to continue. Such a shift could also be environmentally
detrimental
since the waste products from chrome, aluminium and titanate tannins are heavy
pollutants, whereas the effluent from vegetable tannins are relatively readily
biodegradable and, provided the waste products are not dumped in excessive
quantities, less detrimental to the environment. Vegetable tannins also have the
advantage of being a renewable resource, although there is an unfortunate tendency
for the mangrove sources to be over-exploited. Obviously, there is an urgent need
for
their conservation for sustainable development (Lemmens and Wulijarni-Soetjipto,
1991).
4. DYESTUFFS
Dyestuffs are intensely coloured compounds, i.e. dyes, pigments, inks and stains,
that are applied to a substrate such as fibre, paper, cosmetics, hair, etc. in
order to
give colour. Plant dyestuffs are extracted by fermentation, boiling, or chemical
treatment of plant tissue. A definitive listing of dyestuffs and pigments is given
by
The Colour Index (Anonymous, 1971) and later supplements, providing information
on their chemical nature, commercial names, method of application, etc. The method
of application may be acid, basic, direct, disperse, azo, sulphur, vat, or fibre
reactive.
Gums, resins, such as gum damars and karaya gum and latexes (Section 1) are often
used as thickening agents for solutions of dyes used in paints and inks, while the
golden-yellow dye gum resin known as gamboge from Garcinia hanburyi, is used in
paints, varnishes, lacquers and inks (Lemmens ef al. (1991).
The terms natural dyes, colorants, and pigments are used indiscriminately in both
commerce and the literature. They can be defined as follows: (1) Natural dyes or
dyestuffs, as distinct from natural colorants, are the natural plant (or animal)
products used to impart a desired colour to non-food materials such as textiles,
wood,
leather, etc. by a process known as dyeing; (2) Natural colorants are natural
products
which are incorporated into foodstuffs to provide an attractive colour to the final
product (see Chapter 9); and (3) Natural pigments are specific chemical compounds
Phytochemicals 291
that are responsible for the colour in living plant organs, e.g. the yellow pigment
crocein present in the stigmas (saffron) of Crocus sativus, and the green,
photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll in plant tissues, which are sometimes used for
colouring food. Pigments are used to impart colour to surfaces, plastics, inks,
etc.;
they may incidentally affect other properties of the substrate. Unlike dyestuffs,
which
operate at molecular level, pigments tend to be particulate and insoluble, and to
more
closely retain their identity on bonding to the substrate. Many insoluble organic
dyestuffs and inorganic metal compounds are also used as pigments (Sharp, 1990;
Green, 1995).
Some vegetable dyes, such as indigo from the leaves of Indigofera spp., madder
from the roots of Rubia tihctoria, and woad from the leaves of the herb Isatis
tinctoria, have been used for dyeing fabrics, implements and utensils for thousands
of
years. Indigo was recorded as being used in China as long ago as 4000 BC and in the
Sanskrit writings of 2000 BC. Indigo dyes from India are currently being used to
produce the ‘faded look’ to denim fabrics.
Woad was reputed to have been used by the Ancient Britons to daub their bodies.
Cloth first dyed blue with woad and then yellow with Reseda luteola (dyer’s rocket,
weld) yields Saxon green, a colour associated with Robin Hood and the Sherwood
Forest. Woad was cultivated in the English Fens until the beginning of the 20th
century, the last factory at Wisbech in Cambridgeshire being closed in 1914. The
dye
was allegedly used to dye policemen’s uniforms blue before being replaced by
cheaper
imports of indigo. Indigo gave a stronger and faster blue and was, in turn,
replaced by
cheaper synthetic dyes. The red and yellow dyes from Lawsonia inermis (henna) and
Punica granatum (pomegranate) respectively, were being used in Ancient Egypt to
dye leather in 2000 BC.
The first synthetic aniline dyes, ‘mauve’, was discovered in 1856 by the English
chemist W.H. Perkin while attempting to produce synthetic quinine from coal tar.
Indigotin, the active principal of indigo (see below) was first synthesised in
Germany
by Adolf von Bayer in 1880, but it was not until the end of the 19th century that
synthetic indigotin could be produced more cheaply than the natural product. This
led
to a rapid replacement of many vegetable dyes by the beginning of the 20th century,
although there has been a revival in recent years in the use of woad and other
natural
dyes by the traditional craft industries. For example, following a study at the
School
of Plant Sciences, University of Reading into the mediaeval techniques used for
indigo extraction and dyeing, a methodology is now being developed to enable
indigotin to be purified from future woad crops grown in the UK (Baker, 1964;
Green, 1995; Robbins, 1995; Mabberley, 1997; Wigmore, 2000).
The major classes of plant dyes and pigments recognised by Lemmens ef al.,
1991) are: (1) Chlorophyll, a generic term embracing a number of closely related
green pigments, e.g. chlorophyll a present in all autotrophic plants and algae,
chlorophyll b in the Chlorophyta and in land plants, chlorophyll a and b in the
Cyanobacteria and chlorophyll ¢ and d present in certain algae. They are sometimes
292 Chapter 15
used for colouring foods and beverages; (2) Carotenoids embrace a tremendous
variety of chemical structures exhibiting a range of yellow, orange, red and purple
colours. Examples of carotenoid pigments are the red colorant of annatto dye of
commerce from bixin present in the seed coats of Bixa orellana, yellow crocein from
the stigmas of Crocus sativus, the petals of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis and the
fruits of
Gardenia jasminoides. They also used for colouring foods and beverages. The non-
toxic annatto is insoluble in water but soluble in fats. Formerly used by the
Caribbean
Indians for anointing their bodies, it is now finds similar use as one of the
colouring
agents of lipstick; (3) Flavonoid pigments such as morin from several species in
the
Moraceae, including the yellow-khaki fustic from the heartwood of Maclura
tinctoria, syn. Chlorophora tinctoria, and rutin from the flowers of the legume
Sophora japonica (pagoda tree). During tanning the derivatives of flavonoid tannins
present often impart a particular colour to the leather; and (4) Quinones, which
usually produce a yellow to red colour. They include the black to red to blonde
naphthaquinone dye lawsone from the dried leaves of Lawsonia inermis, and the
anthraquinones present in members of the Rubiaceae, e.g. the orange-red alizarin
and
purpurin from Rubia tinctoria (madder), and the Turkey red morindin from the root
bark of Morinda citrifolia (Indian mulberry). The glandular young shoots and leaves
of Cordeauxia edulis (jicid, ye’eb) contain cordeauxiaquinone, an orange to magenta
naphthaquinone-derived pigment which forms a fast and insoluble combination with
many metals. The dye is also noteworthy in being the only known naphthaquinone
found in the Leguminosae (Lister ef al., 1955; Baker, 1964; Purseglove, 1987; Booth
and Wickens, 1988; Sharp, 1990; Lemmens ef al., 1991; Green, 1995).
There are also other important dyes that do not conform to the above groupings,
including the dark blue indigo dyes extracted from the leaves of Indigofera spp. by
the hydrolysis of the colourless indican glucoside to indoxyl and its subsequent
oxidation to indigotin, which is also present in woad. Indigo is unusual in being
one
of the few natural dyestuffs whose fastness is not improved by a mordant process.
The fiery red crystalline brazilwood dye brazilein is produced by the oxidation of
the whitish, water-soluble phenolic compound brazilin present in the heartwoods of
Caesalpinia echinata (Bahia wood, Brazilian redwood), C. violacea, syn. C.
brasiliensis, Haematoxylum spp. (logwood, campeachy wood, campeche), etc. from
South America. The heartwood of H. campechianum, for example, contains the
colourless haematoxylin, which is then rapidly oxidised to produce the violet-blue
haematoxein, known commercially as haematein. The brazilwood dye was originally
obtained from the Asian Caesalpinia sappan. Following the discovery of the
Americas, the name was transferred to brazilwood dyes from the more productive
South American species. It was because of the large quantities of the dye (pau
brasil)
then being exported to Portugal that Brazil owes its name. The dye derives its name
from the Middle English brasil, from the Old French bresil, ‘red-dye wood’,
probably
from the German brese, ‘burning coals’ (Long, 1994; Green, 1995; Mabberley,
1997).
Phytochemicals 293
41.1 Dyeing Textiles
Several basic types of vegetable dyes are used for dyeing textiles. These are: (1)
Direct dyes forming hydrogen bonds with the hydroxyl groups of the fibres. Dyeing
is direct from an aqueous solution of the dyestuff. Such dyes are not fast, e.g.
the
yellow curcumin colorant and former dyestuff from the tubers of Curcuma longa,
syn. C. domestica (curcumin, tumeric), and used as a food colorant. Synthetic
direct
dyes are now available, of which the azo dyes are probably the most important; (2)
Acid dyes are dyestuffs containing an aromatic chromophoric group and a group
conferring solubility in water, generally with the SO;H group as its sodium salt.
They
are relatively simple in application. Examples are to be found among the flavonoid
pigments; (3) Basic or catonic dyes are dyestuffs containing ionic species. Their
chlorides are generally water soluble organic salts, oleates or stearates soluble
in
organic solvents. They are used in printing inks, forming insoluble salts with
heteropolyanions; they have a high fastness and brilliant shades. They are also
used
in paints and wallpaper pigment. A mordant is usually required when used with
natural fibres; (4) Vat dyes are regenerated in the fibres by a redox process, ie.
oxidation reduction. The water-insoluble dyestuff becomes water-soluble on
reduction
in an alkaline solution. The insoluble dyestuff is precipitated within the fibre on
re-
oxidation, generally in the atmosphere. Such dyes, e.g. indigo, often display
excellent
fastness to light and washing; (5) Disperse dyes form a group of water-insoluble
dyes
which are generally used from an aqueous suspension, the dyestuffs having a high
affinity for the fibre, especially nylon and other synthetic fibres. The main types
are
anthraquinone, e.g. alizarin, and synthetic aminomonoazo compounds; and (6)
Mordant dyes are used to dye textiles that have been treated with a mordant. Such
dyes can be very fast, e.g. alizarin and morindin. Vegetable tannins are sometimes
used in alizarin stain complexes in order to prevent white-coloured portions of a
textile from being dyed differently by binding the stain that is lost from the
coloured
parts.
42 Inks
consists of a fluid tannin extract with the addition of solutions of iron salts,
with
which it reacts to form dark blue or greenish-black compounds. The galls from the
twigs of Quercus pubescens, syn. Q. infectoria (Aleppo oak), contain 36-58% tannin
and were an early and important source of tannin inks. The inks used in ball-point
combine chemically with the paper fibres. Chinese or India ink is a virtually
permanent ink made from carbon black, lamp black, or soot from burning pine wood
or vegetable oils, such as sesame or tung oils, mixed with a sizing agent, such as
glue
or gum arabic. Printing inks consist of carbon in combination with rosin, gum
arabic,
a drying oil, such as linseed and tung oils, fractionated palm and coconut oils, a
chemical drier and a soap. Large quantities of alginates (see Chapter 19) are now
used for sizing and the thickening of printing inks. For lithographic printing the
application of gum to relevant parts of the printing plate makes the parts more
receptive to the printing ink, while areas free of gum will repel the ink (Hill,
1952;
Lewington, 1990; Sharp, 1990; Walker, 1991; Thomson, 1992; Mabberley, 1997).
The use of woad is currently under investigation at Bristol University for use in
inkjet
printers.
4.3 Stains
Stains are specific dyes that are used to treat specific organs or chemical
substances in biological specimens so that their identity may be more clearly
visible,
as in microscopic examinations, e.g. haematoxylin, which continues to be
successfully used for histological staining. Other well-known examples are iodine,
a
product of the seaweed industry and used to highlight the presence of starch, also
litmus obtained from Roccella spp. following the oxidation of the lichens in the
presence of NH; and is used as an indicator of acidity (Sharp, 1990, Green, 1995;
Mabberley, 1997).
In Somalia the teeth and bones of goats browsing the glandular shoots of
Cordeauxia edulis are stained an orange to red by the cordeauxiaquinone present,
suggesting the possibility of a histological use. It has been suggested that the
pigment
may directly or indirectly act in stimulating the haemopoetic tissue to produce
erythrocytes (Gutale and Ahmed, 1984; Booth and Wickens, 1988).
Phytochemicals 295
5. LIPIDS
Natural substances of a fat-like nature are known as lipids, although the exact
definition is somewhat variable. Strictly they fatty acids or their derivatives,
that are
insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents. They include simple fats and
waxes, also the phospholipids and cerebrisides (largely present in nerve sheaths).
Many would also consider such compounds as sterols (phytosterols) and squalenes to
be lipids. The seeds of the grain amaranths (Amaranthus spp.), for example, contain
7-8% fat (oil), of which 4-11% of the total oil fraction is the acrylic triterpene
squalene. Both squalene and the more stable saturated hydrocarbon squalane act as
non-toxic vehicles for cosmetics, for promoting the absorption of drugs applied to
the
skin, and as a lubricant for the computer industry (Sharp, 1990; Jain and Sutarmno,
1996).
Fatty oils are produced in many plants; they are usually stored in the seeds but
may also be found in other organs. Most oils function as energy storage compounds
and are especially useful during seed germination. In the past vegetable oils and
fats
or tallows have mainly been utilised for food purposes, with many also finding
applications as lubricants and greases, illuminants and candles, and in soaps and
paints. Even in this age of petrochemicals fats and oils still have a major role in
non-
food applications. Although water-based latex systems have now replaced much of
the traditional vegetable oil-based paint market, approximately one third of the
binders used are still based on vegetable oils or their derivatives. Large
quantities of
fatty acids derived from vegetable sources are also required as surfactants, ie.
soluble, surface-active agents, such as detergents and soaps, capable of altering
the
interfacial tension of water and other liquids or solids {Princen, 1983; Walker,
1991).
The term ‘oil’ is applied to those glycerides that are liquid at 20°C. Four classes
of oils are recognised: (1) Drying oils which, on exposure to the atmosphere, are
oxidised to form thin, elastic films of dry resin. They are of great importance to
the
paint and varnish industries. The oils consist mainly of unsaturated triglycerides
and
unsaturated hydrocarbon polymers; (2) Semi-drying oils can only slowly absorb a
limited amount of oxygen and will only form a soft film after long exposure to the
atmosphere. Some of these oils are edible, others are used as illuminants, or in
the
manufacture of soap and candles; (3) Non-drying oils remain liquid at ordinary
temperatures and do not form a film. They are edible and, in addition to the food
industry, can be used in soaps and lubricants; and (4) Fats and tallows are solid
(tallows) or semisolid at 20°C. They are edible and also used in the manufacture of
soaps and candles. Examples of these four classes are shown in Table 19.
Fatty oils (fixed oils), as distinct from volatile oils (see Section 6), do not
evaporate or become volatile, neither can they be distilled without being
decomposed.
They are also bland, insoluble in water but soluble in various organic solvents,
unlike
‘fats’ which are solid at 20°C. Chemically they are close to animal fats,
consisting of
triacylglycerols, esters of glycerol (glycerin) and three long-chain carboxylic
acids or
296 Chapter 15
fatty acids, with oleic, palmitic and stearic acids predominating, They may be
iriesters of either the same fatty acid, such as palmitic, stearic, oleic, and
linolenic
acids.
TABLE 19. Examples of the four classes of vegetable oils and their sources’
sebiferum); nicuri or
macauba (Syagrus
coronata); cocoa butter
{Theobroma cacao);
shea butter (Vitellaria
paradoxa)
Two classes of fatty acids are recognised: (1) Saturated fatty acids, ie. with
molecules to which no further atoms may be added. They have the general formula
C,H,,0,, e.g. palmitic and stearic acids with methanoic acid (formic acid) from
Urtica spp. as the lowest members of the series; and (2) Unsaturated fatty acids
include the monounsaturated fatty acids, or oleic acid series, with one double bond
and the general formula C,H, ,0,, and the diunsaturated fatty acids, or linolenic
acid series, with two double bonds and the general formula CHa, 405, etc. The lower
members of the series are liquids, soluble in water and volatile in steam. As the
number of carbon atoms increases, the melting points rise and the acids form
solids,
insoluble in water and soluble in organic solvents. They occur mainly as oils. The
only exceptions in major commercial seed oils are linseed oil (methyl-interrupted
triene), tung oil (conjugated triene), castor oil (hydroxy fatty acid) and high-
erucic
rapeseed oil (long-chain fatty acid). High-erucic rapeseed is now relatively scarce
due
to the increasing requirement by the food industry for low-erucic acid rapeseed.
The
major fatty acids available commercially are shown in Table 20, and their
application
in Table 21.
Phytochemicals
297
TABLE 20. Major commercial fatty acids from vegetable fats and oils (Princen, 1983;
Appleqvist (1989),
MAFF, 19942)
TABLE 21. Examples of characteristic fatty acids and their use and potential use
(compiled from Rexen
and Munck, 1984; MAFF, 1994a; Mabberley, 1997)
octanoic (caprylic) fuel, detergents, soaps, potential synthetic resins and Cy,
compounds in surfactants
capric fuel, detergents, soaps, potential synthetic resins and Cy, compounds in
surfactants
laurie fuel, detergents, soaps, potential synthetic resins and Cy compounds in
surfactants
petroselenic detergents, plastics
myristic fuel, detergents, soaps, potential synthetic resins and Cy, compounds in
surfactants
palmitic food
palmitoleic food
stearic food
y-linolenic pharmaceuticals
gadoleic food
nervonic lubricants
The commonest fatty acids found in plants are palmitic and oleic acids, with
linolenic acid predominant in specialised tissues, e.g. chloroplasts. Other
important
fatty acids are lauric, linoleic, myristic, palmitoleic and stearic acids. Both the
linolenic and linoleic acids can be synthesised by plants but not by animals. They
are
the precursors of prostaglandins and are an essential requirement for animal diets;
they are consequently known as essential fatty acids.
The fatty acids are loosely grouped according to their carbon content as being
short-chain, e.g. octanoic acid (caprylic acid), medium-chain, e.g. palmitic acid,
and
long-chain, e.g. erucic acid. The short- to medium-chain fatty acids are required
for
the production of soaps, detergents and emulsifiers; they are also used for
lubricants
and other materials. The soap and detergent industries in particular are heavily
dependent upon coconut oil for their lauric acid requirements. Medium-chain fatty
acids (Cis.5) are used in the manufacture of plastics, fabric softeners, adhesives,
and
coatings, i.e. films forming the plates of a capacitor in the electrical industry.
Long-chain fatty acids (Cy) are largely responsible for the physical properties of
complex lipids, being able to withstand considerable heat before breaking down.
They
are consequently suitable as high temperature, non-foaming lubricants for jet
engines,
etc. Until recently sperm whale oil from Physetes catodon (sperm whale) was the
sole
Phytochemicals 299
The major commercial source of commercial hydroxy fatty acids (the prefix
hydroxy denotes the presence of a hydroxyl (-OH) group) is ricinoleic acid from
castor oil seed, with Lesquerella spp. (bladder pod) from southern USA and northern
Mexico as potential alternatives. Epoxy fatty acids (the prefix ‘epoxy’ indicates
the
presence of an oxygen bridge across an alkene bond) are used extensively in the
coatings and adhesive industries. They are largely derived from petrochemicals,
although some 45-90 x 10° kg of linsced and soya bean oils are also converted
annually, Other potential sources are Vernonia anthelmintica (ironweed), V.
galamensis and Siokesia laevis (Stokes’ aster) (Hill, 1952; Princen, 1983; Tootill,
1984; Perdue et al., 1986; Horrobin, 1990b; Sharp, 1990).
6. ESSENTIAL OILS
Essential oils are more or less volatile oils which are mainly formed in
specialised
glands, rarely in ducts, and are extracted from plants. They occur throughout the
plant kingdom, among both higher and lower plants. Among the natural exudates
(see Section 1.4) are the balsams, elemis, and gum resins, including oleogum resins
and oleoresins. They are called ‘essential’ because the oils are believed to
possess the
very essence of colour and flavour. They were certainly used for aromatics and
perfumes by the early Egyptians and Hebrews, amongst others, and were recorded by
Theophrastus ‘On Odours’ in ca. 288-287 BC.
extract of cedarwood oil. Twelve other US juniper species used for post timbers are
also known to contain similar natural wood preservatives. Essential oils with
fungicidal properties from Cymbopogon flexuosus (Malabar oil grass), Sentalum
album (sandalwood), Vetivera zizanioides (vetiver grass) and in particular
Trachyspermum ammi (ajowan), have been shown to inhibit growth of Microsporum
gypseum, Trichophyton equinum and T. rubrum, which are among the pathogenic
fungi responsible for ringworm (Dikshit and Husain, 1984; Adams, 1991).
Essential oils may also be used as food and drink additives, in cosmetics,
perfumes, incense, soaps, toothpastes, shampoos, deodorants, detergents, cleaning
agents, pharmaceuticals, aromatherapy and insecticides, e.g. camphor from
Cinnamomum camphora, which is also used in the manufacture of celluloid and
explosives, and is now largely obtained from synthetic sources. Perhaps rather
surprising to the western world where cloves, from Syzygium aromaticum, are used
for flavouring food, in Indonesia they are used in the manufacture of a clove-
flavoured cigarette known as ‘kretek’ (Hill, 1952; Sharp, 1990; Linskens and
Jackson, 1991b; Walker, 1991; Lawless, 1992; Coppen, 1995; Robbins, 1995).
Other examples of plants yielding essential oils that are used as sources of
chemical isolates for derivative manufacture are Chinese sassafras oil from
Cinnamomum camphora (also a source of camphor) and Brazilian sassafras oil from
Aniba pretiosa, syn. Ocotea pretiosa, the oils yielding safrole, which is used to
manufacture heliotropin, a valuable flavour and fragrance compound; they also yield
piperonal butoxide, an important ingredient of pyrethoid insecticides. Previously
unexploited Piper spp. are also a potential source of safrole. Originally flavours
and
fragrances were obtained almost entirely from the plant kingdom, very few being of
animal origin. While many are now products of today’s petrochemical industry, the
building blocks for many of these synthetic compounds are of plant origin. For
example, the a- and B-pinenes from turpentine lack flavour and fragrance but can be
converted into more desirable derivatives (Coppen, 1995).
There are approximately 100 commercially marketable essential oils that are
derived from plants, of which those from Citrus spp. account for about one third of
the world’s production, the remaining two thirds are almost entirely from
cultivated
trees and herbs. World production is in the region of 45,000 tonnes and worth ca.
US$700 million and, although the number of uses and the volume of trade has
increased considerably, the development of synthetic substitutes has also grown.
For
example, in the perfume industry rosewood oil from Aniba rosaeodora and A. duckei
was formerly an important source of linalool, which was used either alone or as a
precursor of other fragrance compounds. Cheaper sources of synthetic linalool are
now available, although rosewood oil (bois de rose) persists as the established
ingredient of the more expensive perfumes, Similarly, the much prized sandalwood
oil from Santalum album remains unsurpassed by synthetic substitutes as a perfume.
Probably the most widely known of the essential oils is eucalyptus oil, or Oleum
Eucalypti, which is defined in the British Pharmacopoeia (1985) as ‘the oil
distilled
Phytochemicals 301
from the fresh leaves of Eucalyptus globulus, E. amygdalina, and probably other
species of eucalyptus’.
The mode of extraction of essential oils is dependant on the quality and stability
of the compound. The main methods used are: (1) Steam, water or dry distillation,
and is used for the majority of neat essential oils, e.g. cinnamon oil from
Cinnamomum verum, syn. C. zeylanicum, myrth from Commiphora myrrha,
eucalyptus oil from Eucalyptus spp., lavender oil from Lavandula spp., and
sandalwood oil from Santalum album; (2) Expression, i.e. extraction under pressure,
is used for most citrus oils; the method also yields neat essential oils; (3)
Solvent
extraction using a hydrocarbon solvent is used where distillation would adversely
affect the final product, e.g. jasmine oil from Jasminum officinale. The process
also
produces a more true-to-nature fragrance. The raw plant material, e.g. bark,
leaves,
flowers and roots, is subjected to solvents to produce a concrete rich in soluble
material, with very low alcohol levels and devoid of any water-soluble components.
The majority of the concretes are solid and of a waxy, non-crystalline consistency
and
consisting of ca. 50% wax and 50% essential oil. Ylang ylang concrete from
Cananga odorata is a rare example of a liquid concrete with ca. 80% essential oil
and 20% wax. Concretes have the great advantage of being more stable and
concentrated than pure essential oils, and are used in perfumery as fixatives to
prolong the effect of the fragrance. Because concretes are not very soluble in
perfume
bases, they need further conversion into an absolute should the material be
required
for use in a fine fragrance. Examples of plants that may be either steam distilled
or
solvent extracted to produce a concrete include Cananga odorata, Lavandula spp.
and Salvia sclarea (clary sage). The vernacular name of the latter is based on a
corruption of the Medieval Latin ‘sclarea’, dry or stiff; the plant is also known
as
‘hot housemaid’ on account of the pungent scent of sweaty armpits emitted when
brushed against. It is not unusual for scents to have an objectionable smell when
in
high concentrations and a more desirable fragrance when diluted. An absolute is
obtained from the concrete by a second process of solvent extraction using ethanol,
in
which the unwanted wax is only slightly soluble. The result is usually a highly
concentrated viscous liquid, although in some cases, such as clary sage absolute,
they
may be solid or semisolid. They are normally subjected to repeated treatments with
cthanol, even so, as is the case of orange flower absolute from Citrus aurantium,
syn.
C. aurantium var, amara, a small portion of the wax remains, Absolutes can be
further processed by molecular distillation to remove every last trace of non-
volatile
material. The alcohol is recovered at the end of the process by evaporation,
although
some absolutes will retain ca. 2% or less of cthanol and are consequently not
recommended for therapeutic use; (4) Enfleurage extraction is primarily used for
extracting aromatic materials from flowers that contain minute quantities of
delicate
302 Chapter 15
Solvent extraction can also be used to produce: (1) Resinoids are the solvent
extracts from natural exudates or dead, natural resin exudates such as balsams, gum
resins or oleoresins using a hydrocarbon solvent such as petroleum ether or
hexanes.
The resinoids may therefore be regarded as concretes of dried organic materials.
They
usual form a homogeneous mass of non-crystalline character, but may occur as
viscous liquids, semisolids or solids. Resinoids, like concretes, are also used in
perfumery as fixatives to prolong the effect of the fragrance. Some resinous
materials,
such as frankincense from Boswellia spp., especially B. sacra, and myrrh, are used
to
either produce an essential oil by steam distillation, or a resin absolute by
ethanol
extraction directly from the crude oleo-gum, Benzoin from Styrax benzoin, however,
is insufficiently volatile to produce an essential oil by distillation, and liquid
benzoin
is often just a benzoin resinoid dissolved in a suitable solvent or plasticising
dilutent.
It is used a fixative for perfume, medicinally as an inhalant for respiratory
infections,
and locally for incense; (2) Extracts are. concentrates obtained from resin-free
dried
aromatic plant material using a polar solvent, by CO, under pressure, or extraction
using microwaves and microwave transparent solvents; (3) Infusions are the hot
extraction of plant materials or exudates with water or an organic solvent. The
technique is not popular due to the difficulties in controlling the chemical
composition of the infusions; and (4) Tinctures are the alcoholic or aqueous
alcoholic
extracts of natural raw materials where the eventual alcohol content is usually
adjusted to 20-60%, although some 95% aqueous alcoholic tinctures are known
(Lawrence, 1995).
There are approximately 100 commercially marketable essential oils that are
derived from plants, of which those from Citrus spp. account for about one third of
Phytochemicals 303
the world’s production, the remaining two thirds are almost entirely from
cultivated
trees and herbs, World production is in the region of 45,000 tonnes and worth ca.
US$700 million and, although the number of uses and the volume of trade has
increased considerably, the development of synthetic substitutes has also grown.
For
example, in the perfume industry rosewood oil from Aniba rosaeodora and A. duckei
was formerly an important source of linalool, which was used either alone or as a
precursor of other fragrance compounds. Cheaper sources of synthetic linalool are
now available, although rosewood oil (bois de rose) persists as the established
ingredient of the more expensive perfumes, Similarly, the much prized sandalwood
oil from Santalum album remains unsurpassed by synthetic substitutes as a perfume.
Some 650 tonnes of eucalyptus oil are produced annually from more than 15,000
tonnes dry weight of leaves. harvested from coppiced trees; oil production can be a
year-round activity. China by far the largest producer, although it is suspected
that
some of the eucalyptus oil from China is Chinese sassafras oil, which is not
readily
distinguishable from that of Eucalyptus.
The grades of eucalyptus oils vary according to the species. Those from E.
camaldulensis (Red River gum), E. dives (broad-leaved peppermint), E. exserta
(Queensland peppermint), E. globulus (Gippsland blue gum), E. polybractea (blue
mallee), E. radiata (candle bark), E. smithii (gully gum), and E. viridis (green
mallee) are characterised by their high cineole content, below 70% being considered
undesirable for pharmaceutical purposes. These oils are also used in confectionery,
as
a general disinfectant, cleaner and deodoriser, as a fuel additive and solvent, and
in
formulations with other oils. The oil from E. dives is also rich in pipertone and
phellandrene, and is used industrially in a small and diminishing market as a
substitute for natural and synthetic methanol. While the oils from E. citriodora
(lemon-scented gum) and E. staigeriana (lemon-scented ironbark) are rich in
citronellal, and are used either in the cheaper soaps, perfumes and disinfectants,
or
for the production of citronellal by the fractionation of the crude oil for use in
the
aroma and chemical industries (Inman et al., 1991; Coppen, 1995; Robbins, 1995).
7. WAXES
The term wax was formerly limited to fatty acid esters with monohydric fatty
alcohols having plastic and water-repelling wax-like properties. The term is now
arbitrarily used for any organic substance having such properties. The waxes are
important components of the cuticle covering the stems, leaves, flowers and fruits
of
most plants, They originate in the epidermal cells as oily droplets and migrate via
tiny canaliculi to the cell surface. Waxes are used in paper coating, polishes,
electrical insulation, textiles, leathers, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Important
commercial sources include carnauba or Ceard wax from Copernicia prunifera
(carnauba wax palm), candelilla wax from Euphorbia antisyphilitica (candelilla),
and
304 Chapter 15
ouricuri or licuri wax from Syagrus coronata (ouricuri, nicuri, palm nut), with
cavassii wax from Calathea lutea (balasier, cachibou) as a potential source.
Extraction usually involves beating the harvested leaves to free the wax (Tootill,
1984; Sharp, 1990; Robbins, 1995; Mabberley, 1997).
8. ALCOHOLS
Alcohol is the general term for compounds containing hydroxyl groups attached
to carbon atoms in place of hydrogen atoms, and having the general formula R.OH,
where R represents the aliphatic radical (Walker, 1991).
In the past ethanol (ethyl alcohol, industrial alcohol, spirits of wine) was almost
exclusively manufactured from the fermentation of materials containing starch and
sugar by yeasts, and to a lesser extent by other moulds and bacteria (see Chapter
19).
Ethanol is now largely produced by the direct hydration of ethene (ethylene)
obtained
as a by-product of the petroleum industry. Ethanol is the starting point in the
manufacture of other chemicals, principally ethanal (acetaldehyde) as a solvent and
chemical intermediate for ethanoic (acetic) acid and other chemicals, perfumes and
pharmaceuticals. The recent general trend for increasing oil prices has stimulated
an
interest in using alternative sources to the petrochemical industry for ethanol
from the
fermentation of maize and other cereals, sugar cane, molasses, potatoes, sugar
beet,
eic., even though the production costs are greater than for gasoline. The ethanol
production from one ton of sorghum, for example, yielding 372 1 of 182 proof
ethanol
has a potential comparable to the 367 | of ethanol obtainable from maize. In terms
of
work output ethanol used as a fuel contains 60% of the energy value of petrol,
while
gasohol, i.e. petrol containing 10% ethanol, is comparable to that of petrol plus a
lead
additive. The technology is particularly well developed in Brazil (Cross, 1984;
Rexen
and Munck, 1984; Sharp, 1990; Eckhoff and Paulsen, 1996; Rooney, 1996).
9.1 Sugars
The sugars include any of the lower molecular weight carbohydrates, namely
monosaccharides, the smaller oligosaccharides, and their derivatives. Any mono-
saccharide with the carbonyl (CO) group on the terminal carbon and forming an
aldehyde (CHO) group is known as an aldose sugar. When the carbonyl group is
positioned elsewhere, it is referred to as a ketose sugar. The majority of the
natural
sugars contain 6 or 12 carbon atoms in the molecules. They are crystalline,
extremely
soluble in water, and generally have a sweet taste, with sucrose as the standard
(1)
against which sweetness is measured. Those sugars possessing a potentially active
aldehyde or ketone group, and therefore capable of reducing an oxidising agent, are
known as reducing sugars, and can be detected by using Benedict's and Fehling’s
solutions. All monosaccharides have this capacity, but for a disaccharide to be a
reducing sugar one of the reducing groups of either of the two component mono-
saccharides must be left intact. Thus, maltose, which consists of two glucose units
linked by an a(1-4) glycoside unit, is a reducing sugar because the second glucose
unit can undergo oxidation, having an aldehyde at carbon 5, while sucrose is a
nonreducing sugar because the component glucose and fructose units are linked by
the aldehyde and ketone groups. The enzyme invertase hydrolyses sucrose to D-
Jructose to produce invert sugar, the name indicating the change of optical
rotation
from the dextrorotatory sucrose solution to the laevorotatory mixture.
The major sugar of commerce is the disaccharide sucrose, and is obtained from
either sugar cane or sugar beet. Other natural sugars include the monosaccharide
glucose (dextrose or grape sugar), commercially produced from starch fermentation.
The monosaccharide fructose (laevulose or fruit sugar) is also present with glucose
in many fruits. Commercial production is from inulin, present in the tubers of
Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke) and some other species. Inulin is a
chain-
like polysaccharide of fructose units, each chain with a terminal glucose unit. It
306 Chapter 15
cannot be digested by man until broken down by micro-organisms in the colon, hence
its usefulness as a sweetener for diabetics and is, by association, sometimes
confused
with the pancreatic hormone insulin. The disaccharide maltose occurs free in barley
grains and a few other plants. It is readily produced from starch or glycogen by
the
action of the enzyme amylase (diastase), and is of considerable importance to the
brewing and soft drinks industries (see also Chapter 9).
The aldohexose sugar mannose does not occur free in nature but, instead of
glucose, chains of mannose form the reserve polysaccharide mannan present in many
of the Leguminosae; it is also a frequent component of some hemicelluloses. The
extremely hard endosperm known as vegetable ivory from Phytelephas spp. (ivory
palm) is also composed of mannans, and is used for billiard balls, chessmen, dice,
buttons, etc. The reduction product of mannose is the sugar alcohol mannitol, which
is the principal soluble sugar in fungi and lichens, as well as being a major
product of
photosynthesis in the brown algae, lichens, and some higher plants.
Neither does the aldohexose sugar galactose, an isomer of glucose, normally exist
in the free state in plants, but as polymers such as galactomannans, with glucose-
forming glucomannans. The tubers of Amorphophallus spp. (elephant foot yams), for
example, store their carbohydrates in the form of large amorphous granules of
glucomannan. That obtained from the tubers of A. konjac has been used industrially
in China and Japan as emulsifiers and stabilisers in the food, drinks and cosmetic
industries, and in drilling fluids (Tootill, 1984; Sharp, 1990; Jansen et al.,
1996).
307
TABLE 22. Examples of plant starch grains and their characteristics and uses
(Doggett, 1970; Gohl, 1981;
Rexen and Munck, 1984; Snyder, 1984; Purseglove, 1985, 1987; Ensminger et a/.,
1994; Flach and Rumawas.
1996)
Species Grain size Starch Amylose ~~ Amylopectin ~~ Use
(pm) %HDW) (%) (%)
CEREAL GRAINS
Hordeum sp. (barley) 2-3 68-78 35-40 60-65 food, alcohol,
fodder, adhesives
Sorghum bicolor 2-25 68-85 14-25 75-86 food, alcohol,
(sorghum) fodder, industrial
starch
Oryza sativa (rice) 2-10 69-88 14-32 68-86 food, alcohol
Zea mays (maize) 5-30 72-84 23-28 77-77 food, alcohol,
high amylose 5-35 50-85 15-50 fodder, industrial
waxy maize 5-25 1-5 95-99 starch
Triticum aestivum 5-40 60-85 19-28 72-81 food.alcohol,
{wheat) fodder, ethanol
CORMS, RHIZOMES, ROOTS AND TUBERS
Dioscorea esculenta 05-20 83-88 mainly food
(lesser yam)
Colocasia esculenta 1-6.5 85-89 food
(dasheen, taro)
Ipomoea batatas (sweet 5-50 8891 food, fodder,
potato) industrial starch
Pachyrhizus erosus (yam 8-35 84 food, fodder
bean)
Maranta arundinacea 10-60 19-22 20 80 food, fodder,
{W. Indian arrowroot) glues, soap
Curcuma zedoaria (shoti, 10-607 23 food
zedoary)
Solanum tuberosum 10-185 75-82 20-24 76-80 food, fodder,
(potato) adhesives
Xanthosoma spp. (tannia) 17-20 86-88 food
Canna indica 30-130 85-86 food, feed,
(Australian or Queensland industrial starch
arrowroot)
STEM PITH
Metroxylon sagu (sago 81-88 81-88 27° 73° food, industrial
palm) starch
Starch, like cellulose, possess one primary and two secondary hydroxyl groups per
glucose unit, to which alkyl or acid residues may be coupled to produce ethers and
esters respectively. These find use in the food, textile and paper making
industries,
both hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropyl starches, for example, are used in the food
industry as coatings, the former also as a binder.
The textile industry too is an important outlet for natural starch, slightly
moditied
starch, i.e. oxidised amylopectin starch, as well as starch derivatives such as
starch
phosphates and acetates, hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropyl starches. Their use
include:
(1) As a size to strengthen warp yarns, and to improve resistance to abrasion
during
weaving. The use of cationic starches, which in aqueous solution form positively
charged surface-active ions, are becoming increasingly popular for sizing; (2) To
change the appearance of the fabric after bleaching, dyeing, or printing; (3) To
confine dyes and other chemicals within given areas during textile printing by
preventing their diffusion into surrounding areas; and (4) As a component in
finishes
to give glaze and polish to sewing threads.
In the paper and board industry starch phosphate may be used as a binder and
emulsifier, and starch sulphate as a hydrophilic sol. Their use helps to compensate
for the loss of the natural binding ability in recycled fibres. The chemical
similarity of
starch and cellulose polymers and their compatibility leads to their use for (1)
Beater
sizing using ionogenic starch, i.e. forming ions, thus saving milling costs,
improving
starch retention, and improving optimal strength values, While 1-3 kg starch dry
matter 100 kg fibre is normally used and although additional starch would further
improve paper quality, any additional starch would also increase pollution
problems.
Whereas cationic starch or starch and xanthates would both improve starch retention
and allow further additions, thereby improving the ultimate strength of the fibre;
(2)
Surface sizing using modified starch products of low viscosity, such as oxidised
starch, starch esters or slightly hydrolysed starch, with protein wax emulsions,
Phytochemicals 309
carbonomethyl cellulose, etc. will improve the surface for printing as well as
improving burst factors, folding number and breaking length; and (3) Paper coating
for smoothing out any unevenness in the paper surface by using pigmented
suspensions containing special starches as binding agents, or more often, to coat
the
printing paper with organic pigments, such as white clay fixed in organic adhesives
such as starch, proteins and synthetics.
fruits of the Rosaceae, e.g. Sorbus aucuparia (rowan) and is used in the production
of
vitamin C. It is also extensively used for making surfactants and emulsifiers,
especially for the food industry, as well as in the chemical, pharmaceutical,
cosmetic,
plastic, paper and textile industries.
Depending on oil prices, starch polymers can be a cheaper substitute raw material
than the petroleum derived, synthetic polymers polypropylene and polyethylene. They
can be used as a filler for polyvinyl acetate (PVA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and
polyethylenes, thereby reducing the cost of raw materials and making the product
more biodegradable, e.g. PVC will degrade in 30-120 days. Starch-PVA plastics are
water-soluble and are used in the USA for hospital laundry bags that dissolve in
the
washing machine. Like starch xanthates, there is a similar potential for packaging
agrochemicals to improve safety during handling. Starch polymers are also used in
PVC for vinyl-coated paper, such as washable wallpaper. Also for low density
polyethylene (LDPE) bags, e.g. carrier bags, envelopes, air-sickness bags, which
contain 6% maize starch treated with silicone to create an oleophilic surface,
thereby
providing an attractive, satin-like appearance with improved machine-printing
qualities. Such starch polymer films can also be used as an agricultural mulch to
control soil moisture and temperature, reduce nutrient leaching, prevent weed
growth,
and thereby increase crop yields by 50-350%.
used medicinally as an absorbent for disposable bandages, bed pads, baby powder,
nappies, sanitary towels, etc. (Johnson, 1984; Rexen and Munck, 1984; Callaghan et
al., 1988; Aronson et al., 1990; Sharp, 1990).
The starch fermentation products include (1) Ethanol, used as a solvent and feed
for other chemicals, principally ethanal, glycol ethers and amines, acrylic and
ethanoic esters (acetic esters); (2) Glycerol, which is mainly produced from
propylene
derived from petrol and natural fats. although there is the alternative possibility
of
carbohydrate fermentation, the process is complicated by the production of ethanol
and ethanal as by-products. Consequently, it is more economical to produce glycerol
by chemical synthesis than by fermentation. Glycerol is used in the manufacture of
synthetic resins and ester gums, explosives and cellulose films, and as a moistener
agent for tobacco; (3) Fumaric acid, produced by the fermentation of malic acid and
maleic anhydride, is used as a food acid; (4) Itaconic acid, which is produced by
the
fermentation of sugars, is used as a commoner in plastics, and its esters
polymerised
to lubricating oils and plasticisers; (5) Industrial ethanoic (acetic) acid is an
important feedstock for the chemical industry. It is now entirely produced by
chemical processes. However, {ood grade aqueous ethanoic acid, i.e. vinegar, is
exclusively manufactured by the oxidation of ethanol with Acetobacter aceti; (6)
Propanoic acid (propionic acid) occurs as a product of wood distillation and as a
major end product of glucose fermentation by Propionibacterium spp., with ethanoic
acid and CO, as by-products, The bioconversion of propanocic acid to the highly
volatile chemical propenoic acid (acrylic acid) is by the action of Clostridium
propionicum. The propenoic acid can then be polymerised to important polymers
used as thickeners in textile treatment, as drilling mud additives, flocculating
agents,
in paper making and, if co-polymerised with, for example, divinylebenzene, as ion-
312 Chapter 15
Cellulose is the major constituent of the cell walls of all plants as well as being
the most abundant organic matter found in nature. It is a glucose polymer, with a
chain of over 3500 repeat units. It is completely hydrolysed by strong acids to
glucose, while mild hydrolysis produces hydrocellulose with shorter chains, lower
viscosity and lower tensile strength. Wood pulp and cotton linters are the most
important commercial sources of cellulose, with its largest use in the rayon
industry,
The hemicelluloses are rather ill-defined and ill-differentiated from cellulose and
represent the more easily hydrolysed portion of cellulose. Penfosans are those
hemicelluloses, such as araban and xylan, that yield pentoses on hydrolysis
(Tootill,
1984; Sharp, 1990).
There are three basic processes that can be used to obtain glucose from cellulose:
(1) Dilute acid hydrolysis, yielding only ca. 50% of the potential glucose as well
as
seriously degrading the lignin; (2) Concentrated acid using H,S0, or HCI and giving
a 85-90% conversion. The process has the serious disadvantages of high material
costs and in the lignin molecules being seriously affected. Alternatively, HF
offers
prospects of minimal feed-stock pre-treatment, with more than 90% conversion and
undamaged lignin. This has the disadvantage that HF is expensive and highly toxic;
and (3) Enzyme treatment, yielding pure glucose and undamaged lignin, but with
only 50-60% conversion and with the feed-stock usually requiring expensive pre-
Phytochemicals 313
10. ALKALOIDS
Alkaloids occur widely throughout the plant kingdom, especially among the
angiosperms. Alkaloids have been isolated from the roots, seeds, leaves, or bark of
some members of at least 40% of the plant families, with the Amyrilidaceae,
Buxaceae, Compositae, Euphorbiaceae, Leguminosae, Liliaceae, Papaveraceae,
Ranunculaceae and Solanaceae being particularly rich sources.
314
Chapter 15
TABLE 23. Commercial uses of some alkaloids (Petterson et al., 1991, reproduced by
kind permission of the
Royal Society of Chemistry; ‘fide Skorupa and Assis, 1998)
morphine analgesic
Rubiaceae
psychotring" emetic
Many alkaloids are toxic, and even minute quantities produce characteristic
physiological effects (see Chapters 8 and 17), a number of which are important
sources of medicinal drugs (Table 23). Alkaloids have also been found among some
members of most groups of the lower plants apart from the algae. Their precise
function is not fully understood. Some may protect plants from animal predation.
Others are believed to be involved in nitrogen metabolism, while others may be the
stored end products of nitrogen metabolism (Tootill, 1984; Sharp, 1990; Duffus and
Duffus, 1991).
Phytochemicals 315
A high grade silica for the glass and ceramics industries can be obtained from the
ash of rice hulls. The ash is also used in a cement that is more acid-resistant
than
Portland cement. When the hulls are heated to 700°C an amorphous silica is obtained
that is suitable for reduction to solar grade silicon for solar cells (Grubben ef
al.,
1996).
Chapter 16
Medicinal plants are defined as those used for human and veterinary application
in traditional medicines, galenicals and herbal tisanes, phyto-pharmaceuticals, new
drugs, intermediates for drug manufacture, industrial and pharmaceutical auxiliary
products, and for health foods. The efficacy of many plants currently used in
traditional herbal medicine are often lacking in reliable clinical evidence. Other
plants formerly regarded as official, ie. recognised and listed in national
pharmacopoeia, have either been superseded by other products or, in the light of
research, found wanting and discarded. Finally, there are those plants or their
chemical analogues that are currently under investigation to provide new medically
proven pharmaceutical products.
The following terms refer to some of the uses and therapeutic applications of
medicinal plants: (1) Pharmacy (from the Ancient Egyptian pharmaki and Ancient
Greek pharmagia) is the term applied to the art of preparing and compounding
medicines, or to the place where medicines are dispensed; (2) Pharmacology is the
science of drugs, including their composition, uses and effects; (3) Pharmacognosy
is
that branch of pharmacology dealing with crude, natural drugs, including medicinal
plants; (4) Aromatherapy is a form of therapy in which body disorders are treated
by
massage with aromatic oils which, apart from their perfume, have strong anti-
bacterial properties, often with antispasmodic or spasmolytic, stimulatory,
cicatrizant,
antifermentative and hormonal properties; (5) Homeopathy is a system of medical
treatment based on the use of minute quantities of remedies that in large
quantities
produce effects similar to the disease being treated; and (6) Naturopathy is a
system
of therapy that relies exclusively on natural remedies, such as sunlight, clean
fresh
air, organically-grown foods and massage (see Chiej, 1984 for further discussion).
The histories of the development of both human and veterinary herbal medicines
is dealt with in some detail. It is by understanding the past history that the
present
can be better understood, even though the therapeutic value of many early remedies
have still to be thoroughly investigated and their efficacy evaluated. It is, for
example,
317
318 Chapter 16
Archaeological evidence for the actual use of plants for healing purposes before
the advent of writing must be largely conjectural. The earliest written evidence of
medicinal plants is believed to be the Samerian cuneiform writings on clay tablets
from Mesopotamia and dated ca. 3400 BC. However, the evidence of successful signs
of healing following trepan surgery carried out during the Neolithic and dated
between 5100 and 4900 BC suggests an earlier knowledge of anaesthetics (or
intoxicants?) and antibiotics (Schultes, 1960; Duin and Sutcliffe, 1992; Rudgley,
1998).
Human and Veterinary Medicinal Plants 319
From Ancient Egypt there are, among others, the three medical papyri of Georg
Ebers and P. Hearst dated ca. 1550 BC and P. Edwin Smith of ca. 1500 BC. The
Ebers Papyrus alone provides 842 prescriptions containing 328 different ingredients
that are not obviously founded on sorcery. These papyri are of particular interest,
especially in the light of the comment by Manniche (1989) that no complete ancient
Egyptian herbal (as distinct from medical lore) exists today, although some
fragments
dating from the 2nd century AD still survive, It was such papyri that showed the
Early Egyptians’ appreciation of the mould Penicillium. The stature of this ancient
Egyptian medical lore is evident from the fact that it was the acclaimed medical
skills
of Imhotep (died 2648 BC), vizier to the Pharaoh Zoser, that in 535 BC led to
Imhotep being granted the status of a god. He was later adopted by the Greeks as
the
god Asklepios and identified with the Roman god of medicine Aesculapius (Bottcher,
1959; Duin and Sutcliffe, 1992; Batanouny, 1999).
The 13th century BC Mycenaean Linear B tablets, a form of early Greek, recorded
the use of such spices as Crocus sativus (saffron), Cuminum cyminum (cumin), etc.
and provide a link with the plant lore of classical Greek. It was from this
knowledge
of Western Asia and the pre-Hellenic civilisations that the herbals of ancient
Greece
evolved. Thus, in ca. 750 BC, Homer is reported as being the first to distinguish
between good and bad drugs, i.e. poisons. In his De historia plantarum (Enquiry
into
Plants), Theophrastus (ca. 370-287 BC) organised the current botanical lore
according to habit, recognising some 480 plants, including Conium maculatum, the
poisonous hemlock that was reputed responsible for killing Socrates in 399 BC. Some
700 species and slightly more than 1000 drugs were recognised by the Greek hebalist
Pedanus Dioscorides in his De materia medica of 77 AD, who classified the plants as
to whether they were pot roots, pot herbs, fruits, trees and shrubs, and arranged
the
drugs wherein according to their physiological reaction in thé body. Riddle (1985)
examined the herbal lore of Dioscorides in relation to our present-day
pharmacognostic knowledge and noted that a number were of medicinal value. The
historic importance of Dioscorides work cannot be ignored because, until the 16th
century, it was the most widely used, copied, extended and translated work on
medicinal plants. Not only was his work translated and absorbed into Arabic
traditional medicine, later Latin renditions from both Arabic and Greek sources
strongly influenced European Renaissance medical traditions and thereby set the
scene for modern pharmacognosy and, less obviously, botany. Although a gifted
physician, the often cited contribution of Galen of Pergamum (129-post 210 AD) to
pharmacognosy and dietics was largely confined to earlier works with some personal
contributions. During the 5th century AD missionary expeditions of Buddhist monks
from China to India and of Indian monks to China, together with commercial
relations with Arabia, all contributed to a wider distribution of medical and
herbal
lore throughout the known world (Davis and Heywood, 1963; Stearn, 1976; Riddle,
19885, 1996; Hoizey and Hoizey, 1993; Scarborough, 1996).
320 Chapter 16
The translation of herbal lore into Anglo-Saxon during the 10th to 12th centuries
from 4th and Sth century Latin compilations can be traced back through Gaius
Plinius Secondus (23-79 AD) and his encyclopaedic Naturalis Historia, especially
books xx-xxxii, to the 4th century BC Greek rhizotomist Diokles of Karystos,
regarded as the first author of a systematic herbal. Following the Norman Conquest
the more erudite Anglo-Saxon herbals were ignored and replaced by Latin
translations of earlier works. Indeed, for much of the Middle Ages (ca. 1000-1400
AD), Buropean scholars contributed little beyond copying or attempting to decode
the
herbals of the Classical Period and in the process perpetuated a web of errors,
misinterpretations and superstitions. From the Middle Ages up to the last century
little encouragement was given to observation or research and any outspoken
criticism was regarded as heresy and exposed the author to the wrath of the church.
During the early 11th century it was the noted herbalist of the Arab world, the
Persian Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and his voluminous Canon of Medicine that was to
became the authoritative work during the Middle Ages throughout both the Moslem
and Christian worlds. The only original English work during the Middle Ages was
written in the mid-13th century by the cleric Bartholomus Anglicus. His 19 books of
De Proprietatibus Verum ran to at least 14 editions before 1500 AD, and were
translated into English, French, Spanish and Dutch. The first printed English
herbal
was the small, anonymous quarto volume printed by Richard Banckes in 1525 and
known as Banckes's Herbal, also running into a number of editions (Rohde, 1922;
Vriend, 1984; Blackwell, 1990; Mabey, 1991).
The evolution of the printed herbals in Europe during the late 15th to 17th
centuries is discussed by Arber (1912), who defined a herbal "as a book containing
the names and descriptions of herbs, or plants in general, with their properties
and
virtues. The word is believed to have been derived from a inediaeval Latin
adjective
‘herbalis', the subjunctive 'liber' being understood. It is thus exactly comparable
in
origin with the word ‘manual’ in the sense of a handbook."
The most important English herbal is John Gerard's Historie of Plants, first
published in 1597 but seldom quoted, being replaced by Thomas Johnson's enlarged
and amended edition of 1633, of which a second and much superior edition was
published in 1636. Better known as Gerard's Herbal, it was this latter version that
long continued to be the standard work for English students, Other works of this
period include John Parkinson's Theatrum Botanicum of 1640 and a rather fanciful
work by the apothecary and astrologer Nicholas Culpeper published in 1652, which
he later repudiated in subsequent editions as incorrect and unauthorised. Some
doubt
must be assumed concerning Culpeper’s credibility as an author for he had earlier
incurred the wrath of the College of Physicians with the publication in 1649 of his
Physical Directory in which he linked herbal lore with astrology, and was an
unauthorised translation of their London Dispensary.
It was a new breed of commercial herbalists during the 17th and 18th centuries
who, willy-nilly, attributed a plant's physical manifestation with its medicinal
Human and Veterinary Medicinal Plants 321
In India there are three schools of medicine: (1) The Ayurveda (i.e. science of
life) school of traditional medicine as passed down by the Lord Brahma, dates back
to
the Vedic period, ca. 1500-600 BC. It is based on the premise that the five basic
322 Chapter 16
elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether constitute the body organs, mind and
soul.
It was largely an oral tradition with a strong religious orientation. There are few
written records and these are virtually impossible to date with an even remote
degree
of accuracy. Four Sanskrit books, the sacred Vedas (Sanskrit verda = knowledge),
are
the sole survivors, The Ayurvedic medicinal lore is based on two works
supplementing the sacred Vedas, the Charaka Samhita of 600 BC (Handa (1998)
suggests 3000 BC). These deal with medical and pharmacognostic matters, and the
Sushruta Samhita, concerned with surgery; the first two works are mentioned in the
carly Vedic scriptures, such as the Atharvaveda, Rugveda and Yajurveda; (2) The
Siddha school of medicine is practised in the Tamil Nadu region of southern India
and is variously considered as being either earlier or contemporary with Ayurveda;
and (3) The Unani-Tibb school is based on the teachings of the Grecian physicians
Hippocrates (ca. 460-370 BC) and Galen (ca. 130-200 AD) - 'Unani' is the Arabic
corruption of onian'. Their teachings were further developed by the Arabs who, by
the early Middle Ages, had become a world centre for medical and veterinary
knowledge. For example, by the 12th century 12 general treatises on camel diseases
had already been written. It was the Arabs who were responsible for bringing their
medicinal lore to both India and Africa with the introduction of Islam (Duin and
Sutcliffe, 1992; Anjaria, 1996; Schillhorn van Veen, 1996).
The early New World ethnographic records are largely associated with the Maya,
Aztec, Inca and other advanced civilisations of Mesoamerica, and are relatively
recent. The Mayan pre-Hispanic codices or screenfold books, for example, date from
ca. 1250-1521 AD. The Aztec cultures are largely recorded by their Spanish
conquerors, noted chroniclers being the Franciscan priest Fray Bernardino de
Sahagiin with his comprehensive Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva Espana,
and the physician to the King of Spain, Dr Francisco Hernandez who, between 1570-
1575, published his Nova plantarum, animalium et mineralium mexicanorum
historia. The earliest New World herbal to be translated from Latin was that of the
Seville physician Nicholas Monardes (1568), who wrote Joyfull Newes out of the
New-Found Worlde (Rohde, 1922; Kreig, 1965; Cotton, 1996).
Umbelliferae and Compositae respectively, also regional surveys, e.g. Oliver (1960)
for Nigeria and Oliver-Bever (1986) for West Africa.
Of the 250,000 flowering plants in the world only ca. 5-10% have been studied
either chemically or for their physiological activity. Mendelsohn and Balick (1995,
1997) have estimated that the flora of the world's forests, which represent
approximately one half of the world's flowering plants, contain ca. 355 drugs, of
which a mere 12.5% have so far been discovered.
For centuries there were only three major drugs, opium, digitalis and quinine,
with alcohol sometimes considered as a fourth, Quinine, from the bark of Cinchona
officinalis, is reputed to have been used in 1638 by the Countess of Chinchon
(hence
the generic name), second wife of the Viceroy of Peru, the bark appearing in Europe
in ca. 1645 and cited in the London Pharmacopaeia of 1677.
In West Africa some 7349 species were recorded by Keay (1954, 1958) and
Hepper (1963, 1972). Many of these plants are used in traditional medicine and the
active phytochemical compounds for the majority of them were examined by Oliver-
Bever (1986), with only 9.6% of unknown quality. Since most medicinal plants are
reputed to cure several, often unrelated disorders, their efficacy in most cases
must be
considered doubtful. Burkill (1985, 1994), for example, recorded over 200 species
being used against venereal diseases, yet West Africa certainly doesn't warrant a
clean bill of health for those diseases. This does not imply that all herbal
medicines
should be disregarded, but until clinical trials can be carried out their efficacy
remains unconfirmed (Kreig, 1965; WHO, 1976; Zin and Weiss, 1980; Marticorema
324 Chapter 16
and Quezada, 1985; Kochhar and Singh, 1989; Waterman, 1989; Lewington, 1990;
Cox and Ballick, 1994; Ibrahim, 1996; McCorkle ef al., 1996; Sheldon et al,, 1997).
Some pharmaceuticals are obtained exclusively from wild sources, including such
widely used drugs as cascara sagrada from the bark of the North American Rhamnus
purshiana, uva ursi from the circumpolar Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (bearberry, uva-
ursi) and used in the UK since the 13th century, physostigmine from Physostigma
venenosum, and gentian violet from Gentiana spp. Others are obtained from both
wild and cultivated sources, the better known include ginseng from Panax ginseng
and P. quinquefolius, senna from Senna alexandrina (syn. Cassia senna, C.
acutifolia and Senna acutifolia), reserpine from Rauvolfia vomitoria, R. serpentina
and R. tetraphylla, and nux vomica from Strychnos nux-vomica.
The milky juice from the unripe fruit of Carica papaya (pawpaw, papaya) is the
source of the enzymes papain and chymopapain and the polysaccharide pectin.
Papain is widely used as a meat tenderiser, the usual food grade papain being
capable
of dissolving about 35 times its own weight of lean meat; it is deactivated by
cooking.
Its action is similar to the ferments of the gastric and pancreatic juices, hence
its use
in invalid diets. Papain is also used medically to prevent adhesions, and in very
low
concentrations for digestion remedies; it can also be used in cleansing fluids for
soft
contact lenses. Chymopapain is used to dissolve discs in the treatment of prolapsed
intervertebral discs. Pectin has been used in the place of blood as a transfusion
fluid
Human and Veterinary Medicinal Plants 325
The lower plants must not be ignored. The dried sclerotia (ergot) of the fungus
Claviceps purpurea (ergot), provides the phamaceutical alkaloids ergometrinine,
ergotoxine and ergotamine. The antibiotic penicillin is obtained from the mould
Penicillium notatum, streptomycin from the soil bacterium Streptomyces griseus,
with aureomycin and other tetracyclines also from soil organisms. The lichen Usnea
barbata is commercially utilised in Scandinavia as a source of the antibiotic usnic
acid. Among the marine red algae Digenia simplex and Chondria spp. have also been
successfully exploited in Asia for their anthelmintic properties, and extracts of
Constantinea simplex used against the herpes simplex virus (Kreig, 1965; Brown,
1977; Launert, 1981; Fenical, 1983).
The history of the common aspirin well illustrates the struggle to purify a
somewhat hazardous herbal remedy and the apparently poor communications between
scientists, while at the same time correcting some misconceptions regarding the
origin of aspirin. The of the analgesic and antipyretic properties of the powdered
bark
of Salix alba (white willow) was known to Hippocrates in the Sth century BC and
recorded by Dioscorides in his De materia medica of 77 AD. It was ‘rediscovered’ in
1758 by the Rev. Edward Stone and initially ignored. It was in the 1820s that the
Swiss pharmacist Johann S.F.Pagenstecher first extracted salicylic acid (then known
as spirsiure; ‘spir’ for Spirea, ‘siure’ from the German for acid) from Filipendula
ulmaria, syn. Spirea ulmaria (meadowsweet), a drug with pain-killing properties but
having unfortunate severe side-effects on the stomach lining. In 1895 the German
chemist Felix Hoffman managed to eliminate these side-effects by converting the
salicylic acid to 2-O-acetylsalicylic acid, a substance that not only acted as an
analgesic but also as an antipyretic and anti-inflammatory. Four years later
Hoffman
and his colicague Heinrich Dreser developed acetylsalicyate, better known as
aspirin
(a' for ‘acetyl’, 'spir' for ‘Spirea), which was then patented by the drug company
Bayer in the following year.
It was in 1826 that two Italians discovered that the active ingredient of the bark
of
Salix alba was salicin which a French chemist purified 3 years later. In 1839,
another
Italian chemist prepared salicylic acid from salicin. Thus the active ingredient in
aspirin could from henceforth be obtained from both the willow and meadowsweet,
although it is not clear whether Hoffman was aware of this alternative source.
Today
it is obtained synthetically by the action of ethanoic anhydride on salicylic acid;
US
production in 1981 amounted to 18 000 tonnes. Salicylic acid is also used in the
manufacture of dyes, liniments and rust-resisting fluids.
now extracted from the distilled bark of Betula lenta (sweet birch) (Hill, 1952;
Sharp,
1990; Duin and Sutcliffe, 1992; Mabberley, 1997).
Placing a new drug on the market is an expensive process following the initial
collection it will take 9-12 years of preclinical and clinical trials before
acceptance,
and at a cost of ca. $125 million per successful drug. Even before any
investigations
can begin, it is now essential to establish who can purchase and who can sell the
genetic plant material. Initially drug companies will compete in identifying
potential
drugs, since the first to succeed will thereby obtain rights over other
competitors. Yet
by so doing, the allocation of exclusive rights to a drug company to screen a
forest
will limit the number of screens that the company can employ and consequently the
number of active ingredients likely to be discovered. It therefore follows that
open
competition will encourage a wider screening and thus increase the number of active
ingredients discovered (Baerheim Svendsen, 1984 cited by Tyler, 1986; Heywood,
1990).
Human and Veterinary Medicinal Plants 327
The screening of plants with known active ingredients can be expected to have a
greater chance of yielding useful drugs than a blanket screening process. Although
there are ca. 500 screening processes that can be used to test new drugs, a major
drug
company is only likely to use 50-75 screens (Macksad et al., 1970; Sims, 1981;
Fourie et al., 1992).
Fourie et al. (1992) describe how, after a potential plant has been identified,
collected, dried and milled, it is exhaustively extracted with dichloro-methane-
methanol to ensure maximum removal of all the soluble compounds regardless of any
conventions regarding the use of the plant in traditional medicine. The removal of
unwanted tars and macromolecules prior to the initial pharmacological screening is
achieved using an open gelica gel column, through which they are unable to pass.
Any pharmaceutical activity identified in the crude extract is then likely to show
enhanced activity on testing, while the fractions obtained after careful
combinations
are well suited to further testing. A number of basic pharmaceutical screening
tests
are available in the pharmacological programme. These are: (1) General
toxicological
and central nervous system effects (Irwin screen); (2) Analgesic, anti-
inflammatory,
anti-hypersensitive, anti-ulcer, narcotic analgesic, anti-metrazol (anti-
convulsant),
anti-depressant, anti-arthythmic and diuretic tests; and (3) Anti-microbial/ anti-
fungal activity tests. In addition to the above the structural determinations of
purified
compounds are carried out.
In the past the lack of simple bioassay procedures have inhibited the screening for
physiological activities and in the identification of active constituents by
fractionation. For bioassays exposing brine shrimp (Artemia salina) to varying
concentrations of the test material to obtain an LDs, value (median lethal dose -
the
328 Chapter 16
dose at which a toxic substance will kill 50% of the brine shrimps) is a
convenient,
rapid, reliable and inexpensive method. Preliminary development trials with the
potalo-disk assay for observing the inhibition of crown gall tumours induced by
Agrobacterium tumefaciens appears promising for testing certain kinds of anti-
tumour activity.
Providing adequate supplies of raw material for drug production can be a problem
Plant-cell-culture techniques can now be used to bulk up sparse raw material and
produce large quantities of undifferentiated plant cells, However, the apparently
homogeneous populations of cells are, in fact, quite heterogeneous regarding their
ability to biosynthesise and accumulate desired secondary constituents. (Barz and
Ellis, 1981 cited by Tyler, 1986). Selection procedures are necessary to obtain
high-
yielding subpopulations. Al present the method is only economically feasible for
costly and unique plant products such as diosgenin from Dioscorea deltoidea,
serpentine from Catharanihus roseus, and ubiquinone-10 from Nicotiana tabacum
(Tyler, 1986).
Genetic engineered micro-organisms are now being successfully used for the
commercial production of various enzymes, hormones, antibodies, vaccines, etc.
Recently Dr Miuguel Goez of Cinvestav, [rapuato, Mexico developed the world's first
vaccine-carrying banana for use against cholera, enabling the vaccine to be used in
remote areas and thereby dramatically reducing the cost of traditional jabs and the
need for refrigerated vaccine (BBC Tomorrow's World, 3 May 1966). Bananas,
however, do have the disadvantage of a short shelf life. Hopefully research in
Holland
may be able to overcome this problem by substituting honey from GM vaccine-
carrying crops. Another recent technique developed by Canadian researchers is to
insert GAD protein from the pancreas into the DNA of the potato to provide
protection against type 1 diabetes in mice since they have the same pancreas
structure
and immune response as humans. It is hoped the technique can be adapted for human
use. There is also the possibility of producing other GM plants for treating a
variety
of auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis
(Pincock,
1997).
23 Marketing Pharmaceuticals
availability and the cost of harvesting; (4) Storage losses coupled with problems
in
marketing and their affect on growers/harvesters, middlemen and the pharmaceutical
standards. When the cost of research and development by the top 20 drug companies
in the world over the past 15 years is divided by the number of genuinely new
compounds discovered and marketed, the cost of developing each new compound is
between $750 million and $2000 million (Office of Technology Assessment, 1983;
Horrobin and Lapinskas, 1998).
In the United States the development costs for a new drug product is almost
prohibitively high, in the region of $50-100 million. It is lower in Germany where
a
docirine of reasonable certainty based on the clinical experience of general
practitioners supplemented by literature evidence and manufacturer's data, is
substituted for strict clinical trials. These extreme examples among the developed
countries illustrate the inhibiting influence of a lack of interest and strict
federal
regulations in the United States and the more realistic government regulations
prevailing in Germany. Problems with the introduction of oraflex and thalidomide
have demonstrated that neither regime is foolproof.
Physicians for animals were officially recognised in China according to the Zhouli
(Rites of Zhou) during the 11th century BC and their ancient tradition of herbal
veterinary medicine continues fo be practised to the present day. In Ancient Egypt
the
priests of the lion goddess Sekhmet practised both human and veterinary medicine,
the latter with special regard to the sacrificial bulls. Indeed, the Kahun
veterinary
papyrus written in ca. 185 BC, and discovered by Flinders Petrie in 1889, is
unequivocally a religious publication. Many of the beliefs and practices of
Sekhmet's
priestly healers even appear to have been handed down to the Dinka pastoralists now
living in the Nile Valley of southern Sudan (Smith, 1976; Hoizey and Hoizey, 1993;
Lin and Panzer 1994; Schwabe, 1996).
330 Chapter 16
In Rome an equarius medicus (horse doctor) was recognised by the end of the 1st
century BC; certainly a mulomedicus (mule doctor) and a medicus veterinarius,
medicvus iumentarius or medicus pecuarius (livestock doctor) are attested for the
late-Roman empire. Although emphasis was placed on the care horses and other
Equidae, other domestic animals were also included. This is evident from the three
books of De re rustica by Marcus Terentius Varro, who lived from 116-27 BC, book 5
of Virgil's Georgics of ca. 29 BC and, in the 1st century AD, of Renatus Flavius
Vegetius's Digestorum artis mulomedicine libri, and books 6-9 of Lucius Tunes
Moderatus Columella's De re rustica of ca. 60-65 AD. Veterinary medicine was and
remained throughout ancient antiquity primarily a matter of empirical practice.
There were prejudices against the action and status of ancient veterinarians,
stemming from the lack of any theoretical or philosophical development of animal
medicine and other factors, such as the treatment of animals being considered
undignified, while some philosophers considered the subject trivial or even
disagreeable. A similar view was expressed by Publius Vegetius Renatus (ff. 450-500
AD) in his Artis veternariae, sive mulomedicinae libri quatuor, first printed in
Basle
in 1528 (Smith, 1976; Bodson, 1996). In the UK a similar professional disdain for
veterinary medicine prevailed. The only early English herbal to devote a chapter to
herbs useful for animals was that of W. Coles, The Art of Simpling and published in
1656 (Rohde, 1922).
In India the three major traditional schools of human medicine, Ayurveda, Siddha
and Unani-Tibb, were also involved in veterinary medicine. Although the Vedic
scriptures made reference to veterinary medicine, the Shalihotra, in the late Vedic
period was the first Sanskrit book entirely devoted to the subject. The first
Ayurveda
Human and Veterinary Medicinal Plants 331
veterinary clinics were established during the 3rd century BC. Among the Sanskrit
scripts associated with the period are the Aswa Chikitsa and the Gaja Chikitsa on
equine and bovine medicine, respectively (Anjaria, 1996).
A number of regional and national studies have already been made, including
India (FAO, 1984a), Thailand (FAO, 1984b), Nepal (FAO, 1984c), Pakistan (FAO,
1986b), Sri Lanka (FAQ, 1991a), Indonesia (FAO, 1991b), Philippines (FAO, 1992),
and Africa (McCorkle and Mathias-Mundy, 1992). However, traditional veterinary
herbal medicine is not the prerogative of the developing countries. The ancient
custom of the shepherds of the Cévennes region of France hanging a bouquet of herbs
from the roof of sheep pens persists to this day, some 26 plant species are
currently or
traditionally used in the bouquets to combat dermatological problems in livestock
and
people (Brisebarre, 1996). Yet, despite the wide-spread prevalence of animal herbal
lore I am unaware of any popular modern herbals on the subject, apart from
publications intended for organic farmers.
Chapter 17
Throughout the plant kingdom plants are subjected to mammalian herbivory, and
insect and fungal infestations. During the course of evolution, they have produced
a
number of secondary compounds that are not directly involved with the basic
metabolism but, by chance, serve with varying degrees of efficacy to enhance,
reduce
or destroy the plant's palatability to phytophagous members of the animal kingdom.
All angiosperms tend to accumulate concentrations of at least one type of secondary
compound, whether it be alkaloid, flavonoid or terpenoid, but rarely concentrations
of
different classes of secondary compounds. Such defensive phytochemicals offer an
explanation of what Feeny (1975) cited by Harborne (1988) considered a conspicuous
non-event as to how the plant kingdom had managed to survive and dominate the
earth against the predations of the numerically greatly superior phytophagous
insects.
Cruciferae members, for example, commonly contain a glucosinolate-myriosinase
system that principally acts as a defence against herbivore insects (Blau ef al.,
1978;
Chew, 1988). Yet another group of secondary compounds are responsible for disease
resistance (see Section 4),
The effect of plant toxins are governed by a number of factors. The quantity of
toxic principle present or absent can depend on climatic or soil conditions, stage
of
plant growth and genetic constitution. Even with such variables, the effect of the
toxin may vary with the breed, health and susceptibility of the recipient, and
quantity
ingested. See also Chapters 8 and 10 for further discussion on human and livestock
toxins.
L VERTEBRATE TOXINS
333
334 Chapter 17
rangeland floras of western North America and Australia evolved before the arrival
of
large herbivores, it follows that the toxins must have developed primarily in
response
to insect herbivory. For instance, the concentrations of pyrrolizidine alkaloids
present
in Senecio spp. are at their maximum at the bud stage of growth; in S. riddellii
It is fortunate that while many toxins offer protection against insect predators,
they are not all toxic to mammals, otherwise there would be no grazing livestock!
Molyneux and Ralphs (1992) conclude: (1) Plant toxins confer a compelitive
advantage to the plant by providing protection against insect predation or plant
pathogens; livestock poisoning is coincidental; (2) Increased or decreased
palatability
to livestock is poorly correlated with the presence of toxins; and (3) Because
insects
are specifically targeted, either by concentrations of toxins in a particular
location in
the plant or by production at concentrations sufficient to intoxicate the insects,
livestock poisoning can be avoided by careful management. Since most plant
communities will include some toxic species it is inevitable that livestock will be
exposed to such plants. Toxicity follows ingestion and its effect will depend upon
the
quantity and rapidity with which it is eaten, the risk being greatly increased
during
times of dearth. Local immunity to toxicity can sometimes be acquired,
alternatively
the animals learn which plants to avoid. In southern Africa, for example, locally
bred
cattle are reputed to be unaffected by Moraea spp. (tulps) although the plants are
definitely lethal to introduced and hungry cattle.
The ingestion by grazing livestock of toxic plants are a source of obvious direct
economic loss to the grazier through death, emaciation, poor growth, abortion,
impaired reproductive efficiency or birth defects. An example of the latter are
ewes
grazing Veratrum album (white false hellebore) in the upland pastures of Eurasia
giving birth to lambs with a single, central eye. This is possibly the inspiration
for the
one-eyed god Polyphemus in Homer's Odyssey, who captured and was later blinded
by the escaping Ulysses. The plant has been used in Europe since the 1st century to
control rodents and plant pests. The active principles are the extremely toxic
veratrum alkaloids. Veratrine and other alkaloids act as a sedative and depressant
of
the heart and nervous system, and are used for treating high blood pressure
(Blackwell, 1990; James et al., 1992; Macpherson, 1995; Mabberley, 1997).
The intensity of toxicity may also vary within a species. For instance, in some
areas Acacia georginae (Georgina gidya) are toxic while in other areas they are
non-
toxic and may be safely browsed. The toxicity is attributed by some to the amount
of
fluorine in the soil and the differing abilities of the plants to take up the
fluorine and
Plant Toxins and their Applications 335
Although it is often assumed that ruminants are resistant to the toxic activity of
many substances commonly found in plants, what is non-toxic to one ruminant is not
necessarily non-toxic to others, Verdcourt and Trump (1969) cite the example of the
giraffe in the Nairobi National Park, Kenya habitually eating the foliage of
Elaeodendron buchananii with impunity, foliage that is known to be fatal to other
ruminants, especially sheep. While there is no doubt that rumen fermentation
uniquely confers immunity to the grazing animal, in at least one compound, S-
methylcysteine sulphoxide, the rumen fermentation actually enhances the toxicity
through the synthesis of a highly active metabolism (Duffus and Duffus, 1991).
Contact poisons, such as Dieffenbachia spp. (dumb cane) and Euphorbia spp.
contain an irritant sap, the toxic latex of the latter causing skin allergies, it
is also
used to stupefy fish. Contact dermatitis can be caused by the transfer of an
allergenic
substances from the plant to the skin. The classic example is Rhus radicans (poison
ivy), where the 3-n pentadecycatechnol urishiol promotes dermatitis in over 350,000
cases annually in the US alone. Similarly, the furanocoumarins present in Heracleum
montegazzianum (giant hogweed) and Ruta graveolens (rue) cause photodermatitis,
sensitising the skin to ultraviolet radiation and giving rise to severe blistering
in areas
exposed to sunlight (Blackwell, 1990; Mabberley, 1997; Cooper and Johnson, 1998).
11 Homicide Poisons
Phytochemicals acting as homicide poisons may be administered deliberately with
poisons can be a very fine one. Trial by ordeal poison subjects the accused to
doses of
toxic substances in order to determine guilt or innocence, and it often depends on
the
skill of administering witch doctor, shaman, etc. in controlling the dose, as well
as
whether guilt has been prejudged by the administer, as to whether the defendant is
deemed not guilty and lives or is guilty and dies. The axiom of the Renaissance
physician, the Swiss Phillipus Paracelsus ca. 1493-1541, ‘Sola dosis facit venenum’
(Only the dose makes the poison) is particularly apposite when referring to ordeal
and
accidental poisoning.
The earliest records of the use of plant toxins for arrow and spear poisons date
from the Rig Veda of ca. 1200 BC, although doubtless they date back into pre-
history.
They continue to be used by traditional hunters today. Some of the phytochemicals
involved are shown in Table 24.
TABLE 24. Plant toxins used as arrow poisons (Cotton, 1995, reproduced by kind
permission of John Wiley &
Sons)
13 Fish Poisons
TABLE 25. Plant toxins used as fish poisons (Cotton, 1996, reproduced by kind
permission of John Wiley &
Sons)
respiration at gills
Toxic alkaloids
Cardiac glycosides
Tannins
Cyanogenic glycosides
Ichthyoctherol
asphyxiation
Compositae
Needham (1984) reports that in China the use of Buddleja lindleyana to stupefy
fish was recorded as early as the 6th century BC in the Tzu-f Pén T'shao Ching (The
Classical Pharmacopoeia of Tzu-I), and cited in the Pén Tshao Kang Mu (The Great
Pharmacopoeia) of 1596 AD, which is a compendium of plants recorded in the
Chinese literature since antiquity, The seeds of Illicium anisasum (Japanese anise)
were similarly used to stupefy fish. Slow-moving small rivers or pools are usually
required in order that the toxins remain sufficiently concentrated to function
properly.
338 Chapter 17
It should be noted that the indiscriminate use of piscicides may seriously deplete
the
reserves of fish in the area since they will destroy all age classes.
The only plant piscicide recorded for the British Isles is Euphorbia hybernica
(Irish spurge); the local fishermen in Kerry and West Cork throw the crushed herb
into the water. The saponins present in the milky latex destroy the gill tissue and
the
dead salmon and trout are then caught floating on the surface (Vickery, 1995;
Mabberley, 1997).
2. INVERTEBRATE TOXINS
The successful use of pathogens for insect control is dependent upon the biology
and characteristics of both the host insects and parasitic micro-organisms and the
suitability of environment conditions for infection. The advantages of
microbiological
control are: (1) Pathogens are harmless and non-toxic to other forms of life; (2)
The
relatively high degree of specificity of most pathogens tends to protect beneficial
insects; (3) Many pathogens are compatible with many insecticides; (4) They are
relatively inexpensive; (5) They are highly variable in their application. Some
micro-
organisms may bring about permanent control, others may be used as sprays or dusts;
Plant Toxins and their Applications 339
(6) The apparent slowness by which susceptible insects develop resistance; and (7)
Only doses are often necessary for control.
The disadvantages are: (1) Careful and correct timing of the application in
relation to the incubation period of the disease; (2) There is a relatively marked
specificity; and (3) A danger of introducing the micro-organisms to new areas where
they may become uncontrollable (Hall, 1964).
2.1 Molluscicides
The cut herbage of the composite herb Ambrosia maritima, syn. A. senegalensis
(damsissa) has been found effective in Egypt. It has the great advantage of already
growing along the muddy banks of the irrigation canals and, at concentrations of
1000 ppm, harmless to fish. The active ingredients are the sesquiterpene lactones
ambrosin and damsin (Verdcourt and Trump, 1969; Hostettmann and Marston,
1987; Kloos and McCullough, 1987; Lugt, 1987; Mott, 1987; Hall and Walker, 1991;
Wickens, 1998).
I am unaware of any similar work on molluscides in the temperate regions for the
control of Trematoda (liver fluke) affecting domestic livestock, or for the control
of
garden snails..
340 Chapter 17
2.2 Insecticides
It has been estimated that approximately one-third of the world’s food crops are
either damaged or destroyed by insects during crop growth, harvest and storage. In
many of the developing countries the losses are even higher. Crop pest control is,
therefore, a major economic necessity. The use of plants to destroy or deter
insects
have a long history. While their early use may be suspected, early documented
evidence is sparse. From ancient Egypt the Ebers papyrus of ca. 1550 BC refers to
the
use of /nula sp. (fleabane) to repel fleas. The earliest Chinese references to
plant-
based pesticides are to be found in Chou Li (Records of the Rites of Chou), with
parts
dating from the beginning of the Chou dynasty (1030-221 BC). It provides
descriptions of the duties of government officials during the Chou dynasty, and
includes herbal remedies for insect pests using Chrysanthemum indicum, Glycyrrhiza
glabra, Hlicium sp. (Chinese anise) and Melia azedarach, and for insect fumigants
using. Chrysanthemum indicum and Illicium sp., as well as herbal remedies for the
control of human internal parasites, e.g. [llicium sp. but whether the latter is
that used
as an insecticide or a different species is not clear. All the available
information on
indigenous plant pesticides has now been gathered together in a compendium on
Chinese indigenous agricultural drug plants (Needham, 1986; Manniche, 1989).
Jacobson (1982) recognises six groups of plants that are physiologically active to
insects. They are: (1) Plants attractive to insects. This ability can be utilised
by
growing companion crops that are attractive to beneficial insects or attract
harmful
insects away from the crop. Thus, Tropaeolum majus (nasturtium) will attract aphids
away from broccoli, while ornamentals such as Convolvulus tricolor, Fagopyrum
esculentum (buckwheat) and Limnanthes douglasii (poached egg plant) will attract
such beneficial insects as hoverflies and ladybirds that feed on aphids; (2) Plants
repellent to insects. Crop losses from caterpillars in sorghum, wheat and maize
have
been dramatically reduced from 80% to 5% by interplanting with Melinis minutiflora
(molasses grass) as a companion crop; it is a native of tropical Africa but has now
been introduced throughout the tropics. Molasses grass acts by continuously
producing the aromatic compound dimethyl nonatriene, which repels female
butterflies and moths, thereby reducing the number of eggs laid; it also attracts
predatory wasps that feed on any caterpillars; (3) Plants toxic to insects, such as
rotenone from the roots of Derris, Lonchocarpus and Tephrosia, pyrethrin I and II,
cinerin I and II, and jasmolin I and IT from Tanacetum cinerariifolium, and
nicotine
from Nicotiana spp.; (4) Plant produced insect morphogenetic agents, known as
Juvenile hormones (JH), that inhibit or abnormally accelerate normal insect growth
and development, e.g. the hormones cyasterone and ecdysterone isolated from Ajuga
remota produce abnormal head growth in the larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda (fall
armyworm) and Pectinophora gossypiella (pink bollworm); (5) Plants that sterilise
insects. The vapours of calamus oil from Acorus calamas (calamas, sweet flag), for
example, can cause sterility in male Musca domestica (house fly), the female
Plant Toxins and their Applications 341
22.1 Derris
Commercial derris is obtained from the legume lianas Derris elliptica (derris
root, tuba-root) and D. ferrugiana, in which the rotenone is present in the roots
at
concentrations of ca. 7%. The insecticide is extracted by grinding the dried root
to a
powder to produce derris dust, which can then be either applied directly to the
plant,
or as a liquid extract containing 40% rotenone. Derris is toxic to animals,
including
fish, as well as insects; the toxic properties disappearing within a few days of
application (Purseglove, 1987; Robbins, 1995).
222 Pyrethrum
Water extraction of the crushed seed has been successfully used in the developing
countries. The seed from two mature trees, i.e. 20-30 kg, can normally treat 1 ha.
The
emulsion from ca. 500 gm of kernels steeped in 10 1 of water overnight providing
the
necessary concentration. Commercial formulations are now available for the control
of a wide range of insect pests for food and feed crops.
Neem oil from Azadirachta indica is a powerful germicide, and can be used
topically to control skin-attacking insects such as lice and as a fungicide for
athlete's
foot and ringworm, It is also used for the control of aflatoxin in nuts and seeds,
and
in the control of soil nematodes, the 'bilharzia snail’, and as an insect
repellent.
Nematode control can also be obtained by scattering chopped neem seeds over the
soil
surface. Neem oil is also used commercially in cosmetics, including toothpaste and
soap. Because of the tremendous interest by buyers in neem for its chemical and
pharmaceutical products the price of seed has risen quite dramatically. So much so
that many local farmers can no longer afford to purchase seed (National Research
Council, 1992; Robbins, 1995).
3. HERBICIDES
Herbicides are used for the control of weeds, which are commonly defined as 'a
plant out of place. In the past their control has been either through cultivation
and
management practices or chemical herbicides. More recently the use of fungal
pathogens as bioherbicides has become increasingly popular. See Table 26 for
examples.
TABLE 26. Bioherbicides (Subba Rao and Kauskik, 1989; Watson, 1989; Holliday, 1990)
vetch)
Phragmidium violaceum Rubus spp. (blackberries) range - Australia
31 Allelopathy
Plant metabolites produced by higher plants may find their way into other
organisms, where they may play a major or minor role in a multiplicity of important
physiological processes. They often attract or repel, nourish or poison browsing
insects and other herbivores; they may also stimulate or suppress the growth of
micro-
organisms. Some may reduce competition (and indirectly lessen the fire hazard) by
interfering with the regulatory function of other higher plants within their
immediate
vicinity, sometimes stimulating growth, sometimes stopping growth altogether. The
plant products producing the latter effect are termed phytotoxins. The negative
effect
of one plant on another by means of chemical products released into the environment
is termed allelopathy, implicating either those belonging to the same species, i.e.
auto-allelopathy or auto-toxicity, e.g. Parthenium argentatum and Pinus spp., or
for
different species, e.g. Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Gutierrezia sarothrae and Juglans
regia. Allelopathy may also be indicated if one plant inhibits the growth of a
second
plant or micro-organism that itself is essential to the growth of a third plant
(Muller
and Chou, 1972; Tootill, 1984; Harborne, 1988). Allelopathy is clearly not only of
interest to ecologists, it is also of concern to the agriculturist, horticulturist,
forester
and agroforester. See Chapter 5 for further discussion,
Allelopathy has proved successful for the control of the obligate parasites Striga
lutea, syn. S. asiatica and S. hermontheca (witchweed), which can so drastically
reduce the yields of maize, millets, sorghum, upland rice and sugarcane, and S.
gesnerioides, which attacks Vigna unguiculata (cowpea) and occasionally tobacco.
The witchweed obtains its nutrients by means of haustoria attached to the host
plant's
root system, causing stunting, wilting and even death of the host plant. While no
totally resistant cultivars of the cereals have been identified, absolute
resistance has
been found among the cowpea. Formerly cowpeas were grown as a catch crop to act
as host to the witchweed and ploughed in as a green manure before the witchweed
could produce seeds. High yielding, resistant cultivars of cowpea are now being
bred
that can be used as trap crops.
The assessment of resistance in field or crop trials usually take 10-15 weeks but,
by using in vitro techniques, such tests can now be completed in 2-3 weeks. Two
distinct resistance mechanisms to S. gesnerioides have been discovered. Either the
cowpea root in the vicinity of the invading haustoria become necrotic within 2-3
days
and the parasite dies, or the haustoria form but fail to develop, causing minimal
damage to the cowpea host, which then grows and yields normally (Lane, 1992).
Strains of Oryza sativa (rice) have also been discovered that have an allelopathic
action against the aquatic weeds Ammannia sp. (purple redstem), Cyperus difformis,
Echinochloa crus-galli, Heteranthera limosa (duck salad) and Trianthema
portulacastrum. One rice cultivar, Taichung native 1, has even been found to have
an
allelopathic effect against all these weeds except C. difformis (Olofsdotier et al.
1997).
4. FUNGICIDES
While some existing metabolites prohibit or inhibit pre- and post-infection stages,
phytoalexins are chemical compounds that are only produced de novo or are activated
by the host plant when they come into contact with a pathogenic fungus in
hypersensitive living tissue. While the physiological, ultrastructural and
pathological
aspects of phytoalexin synthesis are not yet fully understood, they represent a
major
development in physiological plant pathology. The first phytoalexin to be
identified
was the phenolic compound pisatin in pod tissue of Pisum sativum innoculated with
Monilinia fructicola (brown rot fungus).
The ability of the fungus to parasitise a species is also partly related to the
ability
of the fungus to deal with the phytoalexin. Thus, the degree of resistance shown by
Ipomoea baratas (sweet potato) to attack by the fungus Ceratostomella is correlated
346 Chapter 17
with the concentration of the terpenoid ipomeamarone in the plant tissues. While
the
phytoalexins are most active in inhibiting pathogenic fungi, they are also able to
react
to bacterial and viral infections. They can also be formed abiotically under stress
conditions, including temperature shock and wounding (Tootill, 1984; Harborne,
19€3).
PRE-INFECTIONAL COMPOUNDS
POST-INFECTIONAL COMPOUNDS
enzyme system
Anti-fungal activity is not confined to the higher plants, some strains of the
fungus Alternaria solani (early potato blight) produce a highly phytotoxic
antibiotic,
alternaric acid, which may be used as a fungicide (Brian ef al., 1952).
Chapter 18
These are an ancient group of plants which, according to the Five Kingdoms
classification, include the Filicinophyta (ferns), Sphenophyta (horsetails),
Lycophyta
(lycopods) and Psilophyta (whisk ferns). They are represented by between 12,000 and
15,000 species, and are most widely distributed in the tropics (Schultes and
Hofmann,
1992).
1.1 Ferns
Ferns are used for a wide range of purposes throughout the world, including food
(starchy rhizomes and fronds), flavourings, fats, oils, fragrances, dyes, fibres,
medicine, and various religious/magic purposes. Ethnobotanical and anthropological
studies have shown that some play an essential role among primitive societies. For
example, the Chicobo Indians of Amazonian Bolivia utilise 16 species of ferns, a
number of which are used in decoctions for treating such ailments as appendicitis,
theumatism and diarrhoea. Similarly, in Sarawak 30 different species are used by
two
small indigenous communities for food (fronds), medicine, fibre, and in various
religious/magic ceremonies and properties (May, 1978; Boom, 1985; Christensen,
1997).
347
348 Chapter 18
In rice fields the fern is capable of fixing 50-150 kg N ha” in 1-4 months, and
under ideal conditions more than 10 kg N ha' day', making it a major green manure
and, in economic terms, the most valuable fern in the world; it may also be used as
a
stock feed. Draining the fallow paddy fields kills the Azolla and releases the
nitrogen.
The technique was first developed in China during the 1960s using the indigenous A.
pinnata var. imbricata, syn. A. imbricata. The recent introduction of the more
cold-
tolerant A. filiculoides from South America has allowed the rice-Azolla cultivation
cropping system to be extended to northern and north-eastern China
Azolla’s ability to reproduce itself rapidly has both advantages and disadvantages.
Thus, the capability of the tropical Asian A. pinnata for doubling its own weight
in 7
days would be considered disadvantageous in blocking waterways, yet its ability to
smother the water surface helps to control mosquitoes (Bumpkin and Placenta, 1982;
Sprint and Sprint, 1990; Mabberley, 1997).
A number of ferns may be used for food. For instance, the young shoots of
Diplazium esculentum, syn. Athyrium esculentum, are widely used for food in SE
Asia, and attempts have even been made to bring the fern into cultivation. The
fronds
of Ceratopteris pteridoides from tropical America are also edible, while C.
thalictroides is much cultivated in the flooded rice-fields of tropical Asia as a
spring
vegetable. The rhizomes of Blechnum indicum (bungwall) were formerly a traditional
food of the Aborigines of northern Australia. The pith of the tree-ferns, Cyathea
spp.
are also eaten. In North America the steamed crosier fronds of Martteuccia
struthiopteris (ostrich fern) are traditionally eaten as a spring vegetable in the
Maritime Provinces of Canada and in Maine. Unlike bracken the fronds of Osmunda
cinnamomea (cinnamon fern, fiddleheads) are not carcinogenic. Popular demand has
lead to frozen and canned fronds being commercially marketed. However, attempts at
cultivation have proved unsuccesstul due to difficulties with large scale
propagation;
the use of tissue culture for the mass production of sporophytes is now being
investigated.
Ferns are also used in the brewing industry, e.g. Osmunda regalis (royal fern) in
the brewing Celtic heather ale, where the presence of a thiaminase in the spores
destroys the vitamin B, and consequently the activity of the yeast, thereby
stopping
the fermentation process (Copeland, 1942; May, 1978; Aderkas, 1984; Mabberley,
1997).
consumption is not advisable due to the presence of the carcinogenic shikimic acid.
Warabi starch is extracted from the rhizomes and were formerly eaten by the Maori
and North Amerindians. and the liquorice flavour of the rhizomes formerly used for
flavouring tobacco.
Bracken also contains the enzyme thiaminase, which can cause vitamin B;
deficiency (thiamine deficiency) and eventually death when the bracken is eaten by
horses. In cattle bacterial activity in the rumen apparently neutralises the
thiaminase
activity and, although vitamin B, deficiency is not the culprit, cattle eating
bracken
can die of an unknown chemical cause, with symptoms resembling aplastic anaemia
in humans. Although bracken spores are known to be carcinogenic to rodents, the
risk to humans is still under investigation. Bracken fronds were formerly used” for
bedding, thatch, packing, padding, fuel, tinder, compost, etc. The young fronds are
also the source of an olive-green dye. In addition, both the growing plant and the
litter are allelopathic (Hedrick, 1972; Brouk, 1975; Saunders, 1976; Launert, 1981;
Caulton er al., 1995; Mabey, 1996; Mabberley, 1997).
The fronds of the Asplenium acrobryum complex (New Guinea salt fern) were
formerly an important source of a vegetable salt rich in Ca", K* and CI for the
inhabitants of the salt-deficient inland areas of Papua New Guinea, The reason why
this particular species was selected when other equally salt-rich species of
Asplenium
were ignored is unclear. (Croft and Leach, 1985).
A number of medicinal and cosmetic properties are also recognised. For example,
the dried rhizomes of Dryopteris filix-mas and D. dilatata are among the oldest
known vermifuges, especially against tapeworm, although their use requires careful
medical supervision since they are highly toxic, containing the phloroglucinol
derivatives kosidin, protokosin and kosin; their use has now been superseded by
quinacrine. The green rhizomes also contain ca. 6% by weight of vegetable fat. The
fern was also apparently used in Ancient China for silk reeling. The cosmopolitan
Adiantum capillus-veneris (maidenhair fern) is listed as official in a number of
European pharmacopoeias. It is used for flavouring decoctions, infusions, fluid
extracts and tinctures, especially the ‘cure-all’ medicine ‘Sirop de Capillaire’,
the
flavour being due to tannic and gallic acids and traces of an essential oil. The
dried
fronds were used in the Isles of Arran as a tea substitute. The delicate leaf tips
of
Dryopteris cristata, syn. Lastrea cristata are a source of a fragrant oil which is
used
in the Black Forest to perfume the soap ‘Fougére’ (Hedrick, 1972; May, 1978;
Launert, 1981; Mabberley, 1997; Dagne, 1998).
The metamorphosis steroid a-ecdysone has been isolated from several species of
Osmunda, Polypodium and Pteridium aquilinum, micro quantities of which leads to
precocious metamorphosis in insect larvae, resulting in extremely abnormal growth
and development, and even death. The extract has a potential as an insecticide
(Jacobson, 1982).
The fibres from the cinnamon fern are used as an orchid-growing medium, while
in Japan the hairs surrounding the young fronds are mixed with wool to make a
textile for raincoats. The fibrous black petioles of Pityrogramma triangularis
(goldenback fern) are utilised by the northwestern Amerindians in basketry (May,
1978; Mabberley, 1997).
1.2 Horsetails
While alkaloids, including nicotine are present in horsetails, their toxicity, like
that of bracken, is due to the enzyme thiaminase breaking down the vitamin
thiamine in the browsing animal and leading to a vitamin B, deficiency in horses.
Medical applications include a possible treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
1.3 Lycopods
Although especially abundant in the fossil record of the Carboniferous, the
Lycophyta today are represented by only six genera and are of very little economic
importance.
Useful Ferns, Bryophytes, Fungi, Bacteria and Viruses 351
The genus Lycopodium (club mosses) contains 40 tropical and temperate species,
some of which are exceptional among the pteridophytes in that they contain
alkaloids.
Some are cultivated as ornamentals, and in the Philippines they are grown in
hanging
baskets; others are used for stuffing upholstery and for making baskets, bags and
fishing nets. The spores of L. alpinum (alpine clubmoss) are used to dye wool
yellow,
while the very fine, bright yellow spores of L. clavatum (stag's horn moss), known
as
lycopodium powder, were a former constituent of the ‘flash powder" used in
fireworks
and stage lighting, and by pharmacists as vegetable sulphur for coating pills and
condoms, although it is reported that the latter use may cause allergic granulosis
in
some users. The spores of the stag’s horn moss are also rich in vegetable fat,
containing 50% lycopodium oleic glyceride (Brightman and Nicholson, 1966; May,
1978; Mabberley, 1997).
The subcosmopolitan genus Huperzia with ca. 300 species, like Lypopodium,
species, contains lycopodium alkaloids; both huperzine A and huperizine B being
present in H. serrata. The two alkaloids possess an anti-acetylcholine (anticholine
esterase) activity, and in China the use of huperzine A is approved for the
treatment
of dementia and memory impairment (Xiao and Peng, 1998).
The genus Selaginella, with ca. 700 species, is widely distributed through the
tropical and subtropics; there are also a few temperate species. S. kraussiana and
S.
willdenowii are cultivated as ornamentals, while the tufted and poikilohydrous S.
lepidophylla (rose of Jericho), distributed from southern USA to Peru, is sold as a
curiosity; as well as being used in local medicine (Mabberley, 1997).
14 Whisk Ferns
The phylum Psilophyta, although richly represented in the fossil record of the
Devonian, is today represented by only two genera and, as far as I am aware. are of
little economic importance.
The genus Psilotum has two tropical and subtropical species, of which the widely
distributed terrestrial or epiphytic P. nudum has been cultivated as an ornamental
in
Japan for 400 years (Mabberley, 1997).
2. HORNWORTS
are capable of rapid growth, rapidly filling shallow waters and where they
eventually
decay and become offensive. While Nitella spp. are good oxygenating plants they are
not recommended for aquaria due to their rampant growth (Perry, 196; Tootill, 1984;
Glime and Saxena, 1991).
The mosses and liverworts together with the homworts were formerly placed
together in the Bryophyta. Under the Five Kingdoms classification they are placed
in
separate phyla, Bryophyta (mosses), Hepatophyta (liverworts) and Anthocerophyta
(hornworts), the latter is briefly discussed in Section 2 above.
Even so, mosses and liverworts do have an environmental value, including: (1) As
bioindicators of air and water pollution, soil pH and nutrients, and climatic
conditions; (2) SO, sensitive species act as indicators of acid rain, while
resistant
species act as sponges, intercepting the SO, and converting it into harmless
sulphates;
(3) For erosion control by absorbing water, thereby controlling run-off and river
flow.
Sphagnum, for example, can hold up to 30 times its own weight of water; (4) By
trapping minerals supplied by the rain and leachates from the canopy, retain
minerals
that would otherwise be leached from the soil; (4) In arctic, subarctic and alpine
ecosystems the Sphagnum species in association with Cyanobacteria are capable of
fixing nitrogen; (6) Provide nest material for birds, rodents, etc.; and (7)
Provide food
for a wide range of insects, birds and mammals.
31 Mosses
The Bryophyta are widely distributed and represented by ca. 800 genera and ca.
13,000 species. They are relatively small plants, their short stature being due to
the
absence of lignification, with the largest upright forms up to 80 cm tall, although
some aquatic species can be more than 1 m long.
In China gallnuts are produced on the leaves of Rhus javanica (Chinese sumac)
parasitised by the gall aphid Schilechtendalia chinensis. The aphids overwinter
cocooned on a number of mosses, especially Plagiomnium spp. Rich in tannin, the
gallnuts are used in tanning, the dyeing of blue silk, and in medicine. Such is the
importance of the gallnuts that aphid production is encouraged by cultivating the
mosses.
In prehistoric times Polytrichum commune (hair moss) provided a fine fibre that
could be used for clothing and other purposes. The large and vigorous aquatic moss
Fontinalis antipyretica (willow moss) was formerly used in the walls of houses in
Lapland as a non-inflammable insulating material; a number of other species were
similarly used (Dimbleby, 1978; Brightman and Nicholson, 1966; Glime and Saxena,
1991).
3.1.1 Sphagnum
move to find suitable waste products, such as bark, coconut fibre, cocoa pod shell,
etc.
as acceptable horticultural alternatives.
The ability of peat to absorb minerals has been used as an effective filtering and
adsorption agent for the treatment of waste water and factory effluents containing
acid and toxic heavy metals. The peat can then be burnt to recover the heavy metal
ions, such as Ag, Cu, Cd, Hg, Fe, Sb, and Pb. Peat is also used in the treatment of
waste oils, detergents, dyes, micro-organisms, air pollution control, rubber
reclamation, cigarette filters, sugar refining and as a source of active carbon,
which
is widely used in the chemical industry as a catalyst,
During World War I the absorbent properties of Sphagnum spp. were extensively
used in surgical dressings but less so in World War II; they are still so used in
China
today. Its absorptive powers are put to further use in feeding baby pigs, the
milled
Sphagnum being an ideal binder for the iron and vitamins required by anaemic
piglets.
In the construction industry peat slabs may be used in the insulation of housing
and refrigerators. Peat mixed with concrete and hydraulically pressed to form
peaftcrete has a potential as a cheap, easily sawn and nailed construction material
where mechanical strength is not a criterion. It can be cast and moulded into any
shape and is already being used for garden rockeries, Peatwood from dried, pressed
and heat-moulded Sphagnum blended with a phenolic resin can be used provide an
attractive, lightweight, readily produced material for the construction industry;
the
ultra-light peatfoam based on peatmoss and foamed resin may also have a potential.
A synthetic cork, peatcork, can be obtained from the coarse peat fraction. Finally,
peat may also be used for the manufacture of wrapping paper and pasteboard (Sharp,
1990; Glime and Saxena, 1991).
3.2 Liverworts
The Hepatophyta, contain ca. 400 genera and 5000 species. They are relatively
simple land plants, small and leafy (leafy liverworts) to large, lobed and
thalloid-like
thallose liverworts). As a group they appear to be of little economic interest.
The aquatic Jungermannia vulcanicola and Scapania undulata have the ability to
accumulate heavy metals, They are consequently considered useful for monitoring
heavy metal pollution. Like the mosses Polytrichum and Sphagnum, it has also been
suggested that Jungermannia vulcanicola, could be cultivated near ferruginous
springs for iron ore production! The mineral-tolerant species such as Solenostoma
crenulatum, etc, have a potential for geobotanical prospecting, while other
liverworts
have been suggested for use as bioindicators of atmospheric pollution.
The Doctrine of Signatures influenced the early medical use of the liverish-
looking Marchantia polymorpha for treating liver complaints, and the rosette-
forming Riccia for treating ringworm, despite both lacking in effectiveness.
Observations that herbarium specimens of liverworts are seldom eaten by insects has
Useful Ferns, Bryophytes, Fungi, Bacteria and Viruses 355
4. FUNGI
The Fungi, as defined in the Five Kingdoms classification, are a distinct kingdom
of saprobic (organisms using dead organic materials for food and commonly causing
its decay, on timber, corals, sea grasses, etc.), symbiotic (in lichens), or
parasitic
eukaryotic organisms. They are believed to contain between 30,000 and 100,000
species. In view of their abundance in the tropics and the paucity of their
collection,
the total may even be as high as 2 million (Schultes and Hofmann, 1992).
Lichens, formerly classified separately, are also now included in the Fungi.
Certain primitive fungi, such as the chytrids, that possess motile stages in their
life
cycle are now placed in a separate kingdom, the Protoctista, although some
authorities prefer to split the Protoctista into Chromista and Protozoa. The most
comprehensive classification of the fungi is that of Hawksworth et al. (1995) who
recognises the phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota and Zygomycota.
This predates the latest version of the Five Kingdom classification of Margulis and
Schwartz (1998) who refer the Chytridiomycota to the Protoctista. The former Fungi
Imperfecti, which have no known sexual state, are referred to an artificial
assemblage
known as mitosporic fungi. Where such mitosporic fungi can be correlated with the
teleomorphs, i.e. sexual state, in the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, they are
termed
anamorphs or anomorphic states of those groups. While it is probably that many more
teleomorph/anamorph state connections will be established, a permanent residue of
mitosporic fungi will remain, However, it is possible that in the future advances
in
molecular technology may enable the residue to be placed with the groups of
teleomorphic fungi from which they were derived (Hawksworth et al., 1995).
The name mushroom refers to the usually umbrella-shaped edible fruiting body of
members of the Agaricales. The term may also be used in the wider sense for any
macroscopic fungal fruiting body. The designation toadstool is essentially
synonymous with mushroom in both the narrow and broad senses but with the
implication of toxicity. No account has been taken in the differentiation between
mushrooms and toadstools of the large number of fungi that are too leathery to be
edible, even though they are not poisonous. According to The grete herball of 1526,
an anonymous translation from the French and cited by Ramsbottom (1960) “Fungi
ben mussherons .... There be wo maners of them, one maner is deedly and sleeth
them that eatheth of them and be called tode stoles, and the other doeth not”. The
356 Chapter 18
Middle English use of tode, i.e. toad, is based on the mediaeval belief the toad
was
poisonous.
The fruiting bodies of quite a large number of mushrooms sensu lato are eaten by
people world-wide, either as a vegetable or condiment, boiled, fried or pickled,
but
rarely eaten raw. Despite their abundance, there is the general belief in the UK
that
very few of the many edible wild fungi available are safe to eat, which has
resulted in
the terms ‘mushroom’ and ‘toadstool’ being used to emphasise edible and poisonous
fungi respectively. In addition to Agaricus spp. the major edible fungi include
Lepista
saeva, syn. Tricholoma personatum (blewit), Macrolepiota procera (parasol
mushroom), Morchella spp. (morel) and Fistulina hepatica (ox-tongue, lange de
boeuf, poor man's beefsteak), the latter being one of the few bracket fungi eaten
by
man. Although rarely eaten in the UK, Lycoperdon spp. (puffballs) are edible when
young, when the gleba is solid, as is also Langermannia gigantea, syn. Lycoperdon
giganticum (giant puffball). Coprinus atramentarius (common ink cap) is edible
when young but must never be consumed in a meal accompanied by alcohol as it will
cause vomiting and palpitations. This is due to the presence of disulphiram
(tetracthylthiouram disulphide), which is used as the drug Antabuse to treat
alcoholism. Disulphiram was originally discovered independently of the fungus and
it
was only later that it was also found to be present in the fungus (Lange and Hora,
1965; Pegler, 1990; Hawksworth ef al., 1995)
In general fungi contain 90% water and are rich in protein but poor in fats. The
carbohydrates are mainly in the form of chitin in the cell walls. Vitamin C is
present
in Agaricus bisporus, syn. Psalliota bispora (cultivated mushroom), Boletus edulis
(cep, penny bun boletus or steinpilz) and Cantharellus cibarius (chanterelle, horn
of
plenty); the cep and chanterelle also contain vitamin D, negligible quantities of
which
are also present in the cultivated mushroom. Vitamin K has been detected in the
latter and vitamin E in the cep.
Few fungal fructifications are cultivated. This is because the mycelia (mycorrhiza)
of most fungi occur in a symbiotic association with the roots of living plants.
Almost
all the commercially cultivated mushrooms are non-mycorrhizal fungi and mainly
members of the Basidiomycota. Among the commonly cultivated fungi are Agaricus
Useful Ferns, Bryophytes, Fungi, Bacteria and Viruses 357
bisporus (cultivated mushroom), which has been grown in France since the 17th
century, A. bitorquis (pavement mushroom), Agrocybe aegerita, syn. Pholiota
aegerita (southern poplar mushroom), Coprinus fimentarius, Kuehneromyces
mutabilis, syn. Pholiota mutabilis (two-tone pholiota), Pleurotus eryngii
associated
with the roots of Eryngium campestre (eryngo) and Stropharia rugoso-annulata (king
stropharia). In the Far East Lentinus edodes (Japanese wood mushroom, shii-take)
accounts for over 20% by value of the global mushroom production. Other cultivated
mushrooms include Auricularia auricula-judae (Jew’s ear), Flammulina velutipes
(velvet shank), Pholiota nameko (slime mushroom), Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster
mushroom), Tremella fuciformis and Volvariella spp. Volvariella bresadolae is
grown in the Philippines on rice, wheat or sorghum straw, V. volvacea (paddy straw
mushroom) is similarly cultivated in China, Indochina, Malaysia, Philippines, also
in
Madagascar and Africa, and V. volvacea var. heimii in Madagascar.
Forming a non-fruiting, resting stage, sclerotia are firm and frequently rounded
masses of hyphal tissue, with or without host tissue; some are edible. In Australia
the
underground sclerotium of Polyporus myliitae, syn. Mylitta australis (blackfellows’
bread) is among the world’s largest sclerotia. The densely compacted and
agglutinated mass is up to 20-30 cm in diameter and weighing 4 kg or more; it is
eaten by the Aborigines. Other edible examples eaten in times of food scarcity are
the
subterranean sclerotia of P. indigenus and P. saporema from Amazonia; they weigh
over 3 kg, half of which consists of carbohydrates. The sclerotium of Pleurotus
tuber-
regium is similarly caten in Nigeria. Other sclerotia, such as the dark, club-
shaped
structures of Claviceps purpurea (ergot) found in the ears of cereals and grasses
are
highly toxic, producing the serious physiological disease known as ergotism in both
humans and livestock (Brouk, 1975; Prance, 1984; Hawsworth er al., 1995).
Some 37 fungal taxa from around the world are recognised as hallucinogenic, 19
of which belong to Central American taxa of the genus Psilocybe. The genera
Amanita and Psilocybe are discussed here (Schultes and Hofmann, 1992). See also
Chapter 20 for further discussion on hallucinogenic plants and their recreational
and
symbolic use,
agaric owes its vernacular name to the former 13th century use of the sliced cap
soaked in milk as a fly trap. The allegedly lethal affect on flies is due to the
ibotenic
acid present which, in humans breaks down into the active hallucinogen muscimole,
which is biologically interesting in that the active principle is atypically
excreted
unmetabolised. Reports regarding the neurotoxic alkaloid muscarine also being
present have proved erroneous.
The fly agaric is probably man’s oldest hallucinogen, and is possibly represented
in ancient India as the legendary god-narcotic Soma, where the Vedic deity Indra
used Soma as the source of his strength; it is believed that the sacred drink of
the
Soma cult was derived from the tly agaric. The fungus is used by Finno-Ugrian
tribes
of north-eastern Siberia as a masticatory and shamanistic inebriant. Two small
fructifications are dried and chewed until soft, and then swallowed; the
intoxication is
strong enough to last an entire day. Its habitual use completely shatters the
nervous
system, so much so that its trade was made a penal offence by Russian law. The
magico-religious cult of the fly agaric is believed to have been carried by ancient
Asiatic migrants to the New World (Brouk, 1975; Rambelli, 1985; Blackwell, 1990;
Schultes and Hofmann, 1992).
The related A. phalloides (death cap), A. verna (spring amanita) and A. virosa
(destroying angel) are noteworthy for their extreme cytopathological toxicity, 50 g
of
fresh mushroom being lethal to adult humans. They rank as the world’s major cause
of death from eating poisonous mushrooms. A. phalloides is the most dangerous
fungus known and is responsible for over 90% of deaths due to fungi. The two
alkaloids responsible in A. phalloides, and probably in the others, are the nerve
and
gastro-enterological toxin amanitin and the liver toxin phalloidin. The symptoms
are
graphically described by Ramsbottom (1949).
The range of fungi used by the shamans is dependent on the season, weather and
specific usage. Pairs of fungi are used in the religious rites; the similar Finno-
Ugrian
tribal use of a pair of Amanita muscaria fructifications has already been noted
above.
The active ingredient is the indole alkaloid psilocybine, the phosphoric acid ester
of
psilocine, of which only traces usually occur; both compounds can be synthesised.
So
far, present evidence indicates that it is only in Mexico that psilocybine-
containing
mushrooms are used in native ceremonies. Although the archaeological evidence
suggests sacred mushroom cults may also have existed as far south as Peru, there is
Useful Ferns, Bryophytes, Fungi, Bacteria and Viruses 359
43 Other Macro-Fungi
The fruit bodies of the bracket fungus Fomes fomentarius (tinder fungus) are the
source of the soft, corky material known as amadou, formerly used as tinder and now
used for drying fishermen's flies. The earliest historical use of amadou appears to
be
its presence in the belt pouch of the Neolithic Iceman’ of Hauslabjoch, Austria,
The
related F. officinalis (female, white or purging agaric) was formerly a noted
universal
panacea (Pegler, 1990; Spindler, 1994; Hawksworth et al., 1995).
4.4 Yeasts
The yeasts are not a formal taxonomic unit but a growth form exhibited by a
range of unrelated unicellular fungi that reproduce asexually by budding and have
the
ability to ferment carbohydrates. It was Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) who was the
first
to establish that the yeasts from the grape skin were living, single-celled
organisms.
Some 590 species of yeasts are recognised by Barnett er al. (1990), yet only the
appropriate strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's or brewer's yeasts) are
commonly used by the food industry (see Chapter 9), the potential of other and
often
more versatile yeasts have rarely been exploited.
360 Chapter 18
Yeasts may be used for various purposes in addition to their traditional roles in
baking and alcohol fermentation (see Chapter 9), breaking down glucose into ethanol
(ethyl alcohol) and CO,. For alcohol fermentation the yeasts are sometimes assisted
by other saccharifying moulds. In addition to ethanol the yeasts may also be used
for:
(1) Producing lactic acid, ethanoic (acetic) acid, gluconic acid, glutamic acid and
many other amino-acids; (2) Producing protein from alkanes (paraffins - aliphatic
hydrocarbons) and paper-pulp waste; (3) Producing various alditols, such as
glycerol
or D-glucitol; and (4) As sources of enzymes such as B-D-fructofuranosidase and
lipase.
Chemists have also used yeasts for producing novel carbon-carbon bonds,
optically active compounds such as methyl-diols from aldehydes, secondary alcohol
derivatives used in chiral building blocks for synthesising natural products, and
biologically active molecules such as prostaglandins (a group of related
unsaturated
hydroxylated fatty acids occurring in mammalian organs, tissues and secretions).
There is also a potential for the further exploitation of yeasts in synthesising
precursors of important natural products as well as for much simpler processes,
c.g.
removing contaminating compounds such as a sugar of a particular configuration
from a racemic acid mixture. Enantio-selectivity, i.e. selectivity of isomers
differing
in their configuration at a chiral atom, can also be improved by using a mutant
that
lacks an unwanted enzyme.
The use of yeasts for baking and brewing has been practised since early Biblical
times where, in the case of leaven bread, the practice is recorded of keeping back
a
piece of fermented dough to initiate a later fermentation. The commercial
production
of, for example, bread yeast, is nearly always grown through several stages under
laboratory conditions on a solution of molasses and water. A small quantity of a
pure
yeast culture is first grown in a sterilised and purified molasses solution to
which is
added ammonium salts and phosphates. Within 24 h the culture is transferred to a
larger container and more molasses solution and salts are added, and then aerated
in
order to minimise alcohol production. The process is repeated four or five times,
using larger and larger containers until ca. 5 tonnes of a fermenting liquid known
as
Useful Ferns, Bryophytes, Fungi, Bacteria and Viruses 361
the mother or seed yeast is obtained. The mother yeast is divided into three
separate
tanks, which are used to feed fresh ferments until the initial 5 tonnes has
increased to
45 tonnes. The yeast growth is then arrested as a suspension of yeast cells in a
liquid
residue of molasses solution, after which it is washed and separated in high speed
centrifugal separators. The white, thick and creamy yeast at the bottom of the
separators is then filtered and stored at 2°C until the excess water can be
extracted by
a rotary vacuum filter, after which it is compressed, extruded and packed in blocks
readily for marketing (Moldenke and Moldenke, 1952; David, 1978).
A considerable quantity of single cell proteins (SCP) in the form of baker's yeast
are produced commercially using starch products; SCP, mostly prepared by using
methanol as the feedstock, is also used for animal feed. It is doubtful, however,
whether starch-derived SCP can compete economically with, for example, soya
proteins, Even if the starch-derived SCP was competitive with soya meal, other more
obvious raw materials are available, including waste waters, bran, cellulose waste,
molasses, etc.
Fermentation processes are also used to improve the flavour of vegetables, spices,
beverage materials, etc, Two basic types of fermentation processes are recognised:
(1)
By the use of the plant's own enzymes, c.g. the enzyme fermentation of the
polyphenol derivatives of catechin and gallic acid present in the leaves of
Camellia
sinensis (tea) to produce o-guinones, which polymerise to produce coloured
astringent condensation products on brewing, and the enzyme fermentation of the
glucosides present in the capsules of the South American orchid Vanilla planifolia
to
yield vanillin, the source of the fragrance and flavour of vanilla, which is widely
used
in the food and perfume industries. A less commercially desirable vanillin is also
produced as a by-product of the wood pulp industry; (2). Fermentation by bacteria
and
yeasts, as used in the processing of the 'beans' of Theobroma cacao (cocoa). That
well-known standby of Chinese-American cuisine, soy sauce, is obtained by the
fermentation of soya beans, rice and cereal, principally by Aspergillus oryzae and
Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, syn, Z. soja. The enormous quantity of citric acid
required by the soft drinks industry is also obtained by fermentation, by the
action of
Aspergillus niger on sugar (Brouk, 1975; Purseglove, 1985, 1987; Sharp, 1990).
Other industrial uses of yeasts include the development of strains of Trichoderma
reesei for the fermentation of hemicellulose and lignin to yield ethanol. Plastics,
362 Chapter 18
which are usually a product of the petrochemical industry, can also be obtained
from
fermentation processes. The enzymes required for the production of alkene oxides
for
polymerisation to yield plastics, can be synthesised from alkene by the lichen
Cladonia, syn. Cladoniomyces, the fungus Oudemansiella mucida and the bacteria
Flavobacterium spp. Fermentation of starch or sugar by the fungus Aurcobasidium
pullulans, syn. Pullularia pullulans is used in the production of the derived
plastic
pullulan, which resembles styrene in gloss, hardness and transparency but with much
greater elasticity. Since such compounds do not require a plasticiser, they are
especially safe for food packaging. An alternative source of imported y-linolenic
acid
(GLA) from Oenothera biennis (evening primrose) has been developed in Japan
using strains of Mortierella sp. in a liquid culture medium for the commercial
production of a lipid rich in y-linolenic acid (Suzuki, 1988; Subba Rao and
Kaushik,
1989; Robbins, 1995).
Although in the past the bacteria have been largely favoured by industry for the
biodegradation of lignocellulose and other waste products, there is now an
increasing
interest in the use of fungi, especially the various white rot fungi for treating
such
waste (Hawksworth ef al., 1995).
Fungi provide the largest group of plant pathogens, although only ca. 8% of the
6000 genera are responsible. The term mould is used to describe those micro-fungi
that produce a distinct mycelium or spore mass, i.e. mildew, often resembling a
velvety pad on the surface of its host. Among the micro-fungi are members of the
Erysiphaceae (powdery mildews), Uredinales (rust fungi) and Ustilaginales (smut
fungi). The powdery mildews differ from the downy mildews Peronosporaceae
(downy mildews) of the Oomycota, in that they are chiefly superficial and unlike
the
downy mildews do not penetrate the inner tissue.
The micro-fungi are also responsible for a number of human diseases, e.g.
Candida spp. for thrush, and Microsporum spp. for ringworm. Fungal spores,
especially those of Aspergillus, Penicillium, are among those responsible for cases
of
allergic alveolitis, i.e. respiratory diseases, examples of which include farmer’s
lung,
cheese-maker’s lung and mushroom-worker’s lung. Other fungi contain mycotoxins
that contaminate food and food products consumed by humans and animals, and
render them poisonous and sometimes carcinogenic, e.g. Penicillium icelandicum is
the causative agent of yellow rice, a known carcinogenic of rodents and possibly of
humans (Holliday, 1989; Bailey, 1990; Postgate, 1992; Hawksworth er al., 1995).
In China, Taiwan and Japan the aquatic perennial grass Zizania latifolia
(Manchurian wild rice) is cultivated for the greatly enlarged and succulent culms
infected by the smut fungus Ustilago esculenta. The culms are cooked and eaten as a
vegetable; they are marketed fresh, frozen or canned (Brouk, 1975; Terrell and
Batra,
1982; Postgate, 1992; Hawksworth et al, 1995). See Section 5 for bacterial
inoculums, and Chapter 9 for fermented foods.
In the Far Bast pure cultures or mixtures of moulds as well as yeasts are
traditionally used as starters to aid alcoholic fermentation processes by
hydrolysing
the starch into sugars. For example, the yeast Candida sake and a pure culture of
Aspergillus oryzae are used for fermenting rice for the alcoholic beverage sake,
while
a mixed starter would be used in the fermentation of soya for tempeh. In China the
starters, known as kyoku-shi and in Japan as koji, contain in addition to the
yeasts
species of Absidi, Aspergillus, Monascus, Mucor, Penicillium and Rhizopus.
A number of predatory and parasitic fungi that attack and help control nematodes
have been found among the Fungi and the fungal-like organs of members of the
Chytridiomycota, syn. Chytridiomycetes, and Oomycota, syn. Oomycetes which, in
the Five Kingdom classification are both referred to the Protoctista,
Aphelenchoides besseyi, the nematode responsible for white tip (Drechsler, 1934;
Webster, 1972).
The University of Reading and the Institute for Agricultural Crop Research,
Harpenden are currently investigating the ability of the soil-borne Verticillium
chlamydosporum to suppress root-knot nematodes, the principal nematode pests of
vegetables and some field and perennial crops throughout the tropical, subtropical
and warmer temperate regions. But before such nematophagous fungi can become
available for field control use there remain considerable problems regarding their
formulation and application (Barron, 1977; Hawksworth ef al., 1995; Gowen, 1998).
4.6 Lichens
Lichens, from the Latin lichén, from Greek leikhén, licker, from leikhein, to lick
(presumably referring to their often tongue-like thallus), form a large and
successful
but curious group of an essentially obligate, stable, self-supporting association
of a
mycobiont (fungus) and a phycobiant (green alga or cyanobacteria). Their fungal and
photosynthetic parts each have a separate name, but the name by which the lichen is
known refers to the fungal partner. They are no longer regarded as members of the
Plantae, with most placed in the phylum Ascomycota of the Fungi Kingdom. There
are some 450 genera containing from 16,00 to 20,000 species (Perez-Llano, 1944;
Long, 1994 Hawksworth ef al., 1995).
Three main types of growth habit are recognised: (1) Crustose lichens growing
closely attached to the substrate; (2) Foliose lichens, generally attached loosely
to the
substrate by tufts of hyphae known as rhizinae, the thallus with lobed, leaf-like
extensions; and (3) Fruticose lichens, which are either erect and bushy or hanging
and tassel-like, attached at only one point, e.g. Usnea (Brightman and Nicholson,
1966; Tootill, 1984; Schultes and Hofmann, 1992).
Roccella tinctoria (orchil), from the Mediterranean region, was formerly used for
colouring wool, silks and wines, and for staining wood. The dye is now used by the
food industry for pickled tongue, sauces and spices. It is prepared by the slow
aerobic
fermentation of the macerated lichen with aqueous ammonia for ca. 2 weeks. The
blue orchil liquor is then extracted with water and the ammonia is driven off by
heating to yield red orchil. The red orchil is then evaporated and ground to a fine
Useful Ferns, Bryophytes, Fungi, Bacteria and Viruses 365
The lichen dyes can often be used without a mordant to produce a range of subtle,
muted colours, from yellow, brown, red, purple to violet. These lichen pigments
involve a diversity of oxygen ring compounds which are generically, if
inaccurately,
known as lichen acids. The orchil type dyes are direct dyes, which are fugitive to
the
light, and represent a complex series of orcein derivatives of natural depside
pigments, consisting of a mixture of oxy- and amino-phenoxazon or phenoxazin
formed from micro-aerophilic oxidation of orcinol-type secondary metabolites in the
presence of ammonia. The reactive Parmelia dyes are light-fast and are produced by
colourless lichen metabolites with an aldehyde group, such as the depsidone
salazinic
acid (Green, 1995; Hawksworth ef al. 1995).
Lichens are also used in the perfume industry as fixatives of other ingredients. An
unbelievable 8000-9300 tons of the oak mosses, chiefly Evernia prunastri (mousse de
chéne, stag’s horn) and Pseudevernia furfuracea, syn. Evernia furfuracea, are
collected annually in Yugoslavia, southern France and Morocco (Brightman and
Nicholson, 1966; Hale, 1983).
They also serve as a source of food and fodder. Species of Lecanora and
Sphaerothallia occupy vast tracts of barren plains and mountains of western Asia
and
northern Africa. Following long periods of drought they curl up and break loose
from
the soil. Being extremely light the winds may occasionally transport them for
considerable distances before depositing them on the ground, where they may
sometimes form layers several centimetres in depth. These lichens are believed to
be
the Biblical manna 'that fell from heaven' (Numbers, 11, 9). Even today the lichens
are gathered up by the Bedouin and, with the addition of meal, made into bread.
Bread can also be made with fermented Evernaria. prunastri and Pseudevernia
furfuracea, while in Japan the foliose Umbilicaria esculenta (iwatake, rock tripe)
is
regarded as a great delicacy. An edible jelly can be made from the fruticose
Cerraria
islandica (Iceland moss), although the plant must first be thoroughly soaked before
boiling to leach out the bitter flavour, while species of Cladonia require boiling
with
soda to remove the bitter and irritating fumaroprotocetraric acid, etc. before
eating.
Lichens may also be fermented for alcoholic beverages. The reindeer lichens
Cladonia, syn. Cladina, and Cetraria can form 15 cm or more high carpet-like
masses in the arctic and subarctic regions, and provide essential grazing, while
corticolous lichens, such as Usnea are browsed by members of the Cervidae
(reindeer,
366 Chapter 18
moose, caribou) and Bovidae (musk ox). The lichens are also harvested for domestic
stock (Perez-Llano, 1944; Moldenke and Moldenke, 1952; Brightman and Nicholson,
1966; Hale, 1983).
A number of medicinal uses have also been recorded, some have their medical
properties attributed under the Doctrine of Signatures for treating cutaneous
afflictions, but without success. As a consequence the term lichen is now applied
medically to a group of chronic skin diseases. Some contain antibiotics, e.g. usnic
acid, a yellow dibenzofuran derivative present in Cladonia arbuscula and Usnea spp.
with anti-Gram +ve bacterial and antifungal properties. The foliose Peltigera
canina
is used to treat liver complaints and formerly to treat rabies, and Cetraria
islandica is
used for lung diseases and diabetes. In lowland Amazonia Dictyonema sericeum is
regarded as powerful shaman medicine of the Auca tribe; it is also possible that it
is
hallucinogenic. Hallucinogenic lichens have also been reported from north-western
North America, although confirmation of such activity is lacking (Perez-Llano,
1944;
Brightman and Nicholson, 1966; Hale, 1983; Schultes and Hofmann, 1992;
Macpherson, 1985; Hawksworth ez al., 1995)
Squamulose desert species of Catapyrenium, Heppia, Peltula and Psora, and the
crustose Diploschistes grow appressed to the soil and effectively seal and
stabilise the
surface. I have personally observed such lichens in the Sudan resulting in no rain
run
off from otherwise loose sand dunes, where run off would otherwise have been
expected.
Other lichens can provide sensitive indicators of NO,, SO,, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn
pollution, especially SO,. This is because the mycobiant or phycobiant is sensitive
to
the pollutants, which can disrupt membranes and lead to chlorophyll breakdown. For
example, in Europe, Hypogymnia physioides dies when SQ, levels exceed 60-70 ng
m’. By using the different sensitivities of the lichens it is possible to provide a
very
sensitive monitoring of pollution levels. The measurement of metal and
radionuclides
take up has even been used to map pollution from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear
disaster. In California the colour changes in Lecanora cascadensis are used as an
indicator of copper, while Cetraria species is highly correlated with the presence
of
marble and limestone deposits (Hawksworth ef al., 1995).
5. BACTERIA
the total number. There are, for example, over 5000 strains of bacteria,
actinomycota,
plasmids and bacteriophages that are available in the UK for use in a wide range of
industrial and teaching institutes. See Dando and Young (1990) for a list of their
uses
and relevant literature references. Their taxonomy and nomenclature, documented by
Holt (1984-1989) and Holt ef al. (1994), is difficult and imperfectly understood.
In terms of distribution and numbers bacteria are the most successful of the life
forms. Many occur saprophytically in the soil and are important as decomposers in
the carbon cycle, while others are important in the nitrogen cycle, e.g. the
nitrifying
bacteria, Nitrobacter and Nitrosomonas (see Chapter 5), and denitrifying bacteria,
e.g. species of Clostridium, Micrococcus, Pseudomonas and Thiobacillus. Some are
toxic, others are pathogenic, causing bacterial diseases of plants and animals,
while
others are important in fermentation processes for the food and drinks industries
(Tootill, 1984; Holliday, 1990; Hawksworth et al., 1995).
Among the toxic bacteria are the blooms in stagnant or slow-flowing waters of the
blue-green colonial Anabaena circinalis and Microcystis aeruginosa, syn. Anacystis
cyanea, especially in nutrient-rich regions receiving sewage and drainage effluents
from settlements and agricultural lands. The bacteria contains toxic microcystins,
a
group of related cyclic heptapeptides which damage the liver and are not
inactivated
by the usual treatments of drinking water. The filamentous Oscillatoria spp., which
are usually present as mats in bottom sediments, may become detached and rise to
the
surface, where it too releases substantial amounts of microcystins, as well as
producing potent neurotoxins similar to saxitoxin found in marine algae. Other
marine Dinomastigota (dinoflagellates) of the Protoctista are responsible for red
tides,
resulting in the death of marine animals, including sea birds and farmed salmon in
UK (May, 1978; Hawksworth ef al., 1995; Bailey, 1999).
the Institute for Agricultural Crop Research, Harpenden and by the University of
Reading. Field results have revealed P. penetrans able to slowly reduce root-knot
nematode populations in continuously cultivated crops (Holliday, 1990; Postgate,
1992; Gowen, 1998).
Other bacteria can be used for the benefit of man as antibiotics. For example,
among the non-filamentous bacteria two genera are responsible for ca. 500
antibiotics, while ca. 3000 antibiotic agents are known from the Actinobacteria
(Actinomycetales). However, of the ca. 5000 antibiotics known, only ca. 100 are
marketed, They include: Streptomyces aureofaciens (tetracycline), S. erythraeus
(erythromycin), S. griseus (streptomycin), S. venezuelae (chloramphenicol, which is
now synthesised), etc. Arthrobacter simplex, syn. Corynebacterium simplex, is the
source of prednisolone, which has five times the activity of cortisone, while
genetically engineered Escherichia coli is now capable of producing insulin 100
times faster than was possible using standard animal production processes (Subba
Rao and Kaushik, 1989; Macpherson, 1995).
Nostoc commune and N. ellipsospermum are cultivated and eaten in China and in
central Asia respectively. Their culture and use as food created considerable
interest,
and in recent years has led to the culture of other highly productive members of
the
Cyanobacteria, such as species of Arthrospira, Nematonostoc, Nostoc, Phormidium
and Spirulina, especially the latter, as sources of SCPs (single cell proteins) as
a feed
supplement for poultry, the high xanthophyll content giving a good colour to egg
yolks. Because of their high cost the SCPs are not fed to ruminants, In the UK SCP
is
produced by the action of Methylophilus methylotrophus on methanol.
Dried cakes made from floating mats of Arthrospira maxima, syn. Spirulina
maxima, from Lake Texcoco in Mexico, and A. platensis, syn. S. platensis, found
growing in shallow lakes near Lake Chad in Africa, have been known and used as a
non-toxic, highly nutritious and easily digestible food by the local inhabitants
for
centuries. A. maxima was harvested for food until the Spanish conquest in the 16th
century, after which harvesting ceased, During the past two decades commercial
firms extracting soda from the lake have resumed harvesting the cyanobacteria as a
by-product, mainly for use as a SCP feed for livestock. A platensis is of local
importance as a food source as well as being the main food of Phoeniconaias minor
(lesser flamingos) in the saline lakes of the East African Rift Valley. Both
contain 62-
68% dry weight of protein.
The economics of SCP culture from organisms such as Arthrospira and Spirulina
are interesting. When cultivated in open ponds Spirulina consumes 25,000 m’ ha” of
water, more water per unit area than the 17,000 m® required for rice. But in terms
of
protein production Spirulina requires only 1000 m’ ton”, considerably less than the
7000 m* required by soya. Containing 75% protein, it has been estimated that 1 ha
of
Spirulina could yield 25.4 tonnes of protein (65% of dry weight) as compared to
4.05
tonnes from wheat and 0.4 tonnes from beef,
Useful Ferns, Bryophytes, Fungi, Bacteria and Viruses 369
Cheese from natural milk is soured using a starter. If the milk is being processed
at high temperatures the starter is Streptococcus thermophilus plus a species of
Lactobacillus such as L. delbruekii subsp. lactis; at lower temperatures the
starter
used is S. lactis subsp. cremoris or L. delbruekii subsp. lactis. When the milk
reaches
the required acidity it is curdled by the addition of rennet (an impure form of the
enzyme rennin), which curdles the soluble protein euseinogen but not the insoluble
casein, thereby separating the sour milk into curds and whey.
Some cheeses are further ripened using propanoic (propionic) acid bacteria such
as Propionibacterium freudenreichii, syn. P. shermanii, which is responsible for
the
'eye' in Emmenthaler and other cheeses, with the formation of propanoic and
ethanoic
acids and small quantities of succinic acid and CO, from the glucose. Inoculating
the
rind with the short, reddish, rod-shaped bacteria Brevibacterium erythrogenes and
B.
linens give the characteristic taste and orange colour to Limberg cheese.
Among other industrial uses is the synthesis of cyclodextrins from starch using
Bacillus macerans; the cyclodextrins are used for the encapsulation of unstable
materials. Alcaligenes eutrophus is used in the preparation of polyhydroxybutanoic
acid (PHB). In many respects the PHB resembles polypropylene and is used for
surgical sutures and encapsulating materials. The fermentation of sugar and starch
products by Bacterium subtilis, etc. may be used to produce butanoic acid (butyric
acid), the cellulose derivatives of which are used in lacquers and as moulding
plastics, and the butanoates used in flavouring and as plasticisers. The action of
Clostridium acetobutylicum on a maize meal feedstock was formerly used for the
production of butyl esters and propanone (acetone) for synthetic flavouring
essences
and perfumes, solvents, and various other chemicals (Rexen and Munck 1984; Subba
Rao and Kaushik, 1989; Sharp, 1990).
It is in the inert state, outside the host cell, that a hierarchical classification
system is currently evolving. The virus name conveys no information as to its
taxonomic position in the hierarchy, and the group name follows the virus name,
e.g.
arabis mosaic nepovirus or carnation etched ring caulimovirus. The five levels
recognised are, in descending order: particle, group, sub-group, virus, and virus
strain, A particle, for example, may be icosahedral or isometric, a straight rod, a
flexuous filament or cylindrical, i.e. bacilliform. The divisions within the
isometric
particle include the ssRNA Nepoviruses and the dsDNA Caulimoviruses, etc. See
Holloway (1990) for further information and literature references,
Viruses are the causative agent of many important diseases of man, lower animals
and plants, e.g. poliomyelitis, foot and mouth disease, tobacco mosaic and tomato
mosaic. It should be noted that strains of the tobacco mosaic virus rarely occur in
the
tomato and contrary to popular opinion they compete poorly with those of the tomato
mosaic virus. There are approximately 400 plant viruses, most of which are single-
stranded RNA (ssRNA) viruses. Symptoms include mosaic, leaf spots, and deformed
growth of certain organs. Some may be of horticultural interest, such as the broken
flower colour of certain ornamentals, e.g. the colour breaking in the tepals of
Rembrandt tulips with anthocyanins, the tulip varieties so named after a painting
by
Rembrandt showing characteristic colour breaking on early introductions, Other
viruses may not produce any disease symptoms apart from a noticeable reduction in
yield, They may be transmitted by vectors, infected seed and pollen, Viruses are
generally not found in meristematic tissue, hence the use of tissue culture (see
Chapter 6) to obtain virus-free explants.
Virus neutralisation tests are used to identify the antibody response to a virus
or,
by using a known antibody, to identify a virus, The test depends on a specific
antibody neutralising the infectivity of a virus by preventing it from binding to
the
target cell. The tests may be carried out in vivo in susceptible animals or chick
embryos or, more usually, in tissue culture.
The viroids are extremely small and circular infectious agents consisting solely of
RNA with no enveloping coat or capsid. Examples isolated from plants within which
they are able to replicate and cause characteristic disease symptoms include the
potato
spindle tuber viroid, hop stunt viroid, and avocado sunblotch viroid; they have not
been found in animals. They are not detectable as particles in infected plants, but
when placed in plants they replicate autonomously is susceptible cells and produce
a
characteristic disease syndrome (Holliday, 1990; Walker, 1991; Bailey, 1999).
Chapter 19
Useful Algae
The economic value, culture and breeding of both marine and terrestrial algae
requires a detailed knowledge of their classification and taxonomy in order to
better
understand their complex life cycles, sexual and asexual reproduction, gametophyte
and sporophyte generations, etc., subjects outside this present study, although
some of
the problems involved can be deduced from the text.
373
374 Chapter 19
L ALGAL BIOCHEMICALS
Many of the macro-algae, especially among the marine algae, present valuable
and largely undeveloped sources of important biochemicals. Among the halophilous
micro-algae a number are capable of tremendous productivity and provide useful
sources of single cell proteins and other products.
11 Phycocolloids
The four major phycocolloids for industrial application are alginate, laminarin,
agar and carrageenans. The alginates and laminarin are mainly from the Phacophyta
(brown algae) and the more or less sulphated galactans such as agar and
carrageenans
are obtained principally from the Rhodophyta (red algae) and serve the same
industrial purposes as the alginates.
Useful Algae 375
1.1.1 Alginates
The principal constituent of the phycocolloid agin forming the cell walls of the
brown algae and certain bacteria, e.g. Azotobacter vinelandii, is known as alginic
acid, a carbohydrate polymer of D-mannuronic acid and L-glucuronic acid units. It
functions as an ion exchange agent, and is present in both the free state and as
calcium and magnesium alginates in the brown algae. Both the alginic acid and
alginates are of commercial importance. The alginic acid is sufficiently acidic to
displace CO; from a carbonate; it is also insoluble in water but absorbs many times
its
own weight of water to form a slimy gel, hence its incorporation in tablets as a
disintegrating agent,
The alginates are mostly utilised for polypropylene glycol alginate (PGA). Stable
under acidic conditions, PGA is widely used to suspend the pulp in fruit drinks,
and
is used in French dressings where an ordinary alginate would be precipitated under
acid conditions. It is also used to stabilise beer foam, the addition of 50-100 ppm
being sufficient to react with the protein without any haze formation.
It was formerly used to suspend cocoa in chocolate milk drinks, for which purpose
it has now been replaced by carrageenans. It was subsequently used as an ice-cream
stabiliser and later extended into food and confectionery products as thickeners,
stabilisers and emulsifiers, especially where an oily substance is involved, such
as in
mayonnaise and sauces. It is also used in preventing water leakage from frozen fish
on thawing, and to prevent the degradation of starch. Alginates are being
increasingly
used for reconstructed foods, such as crab sticks and onion rings, and the pimiento
stuffing of olives.
waterproof tents and other canvas covers. Because they are pliable when moist, the
insoluble salts can be prepared in the manufacture of plastics, linoleum, vulcanite
fibre and imitation leather. Alginates may be used as a binding agent for fish
foods,
in insecticides and fungicides, as well as a binder for printer's ink and in
cartridge
primers.
Its emulsive ability is utilised in casein emulsion paints, while its suspending
properties are used in car polishes and paints. Copper and mercury alginates are a
useful component of underwater marine paints. The heavy metal alginates can be
dissolved in ammonia which, on evaporation produce a waterproof film that can act
as a varnish, while ammoniacal copper alginate is successfully employed for the
impregnation and preservation of wood. The reaction between crude algin and metal
ions to form insoluble alginates is utilised for descalling boilers, the scale
forming
metal ions, which react to form flocculent masses which can be blown out of the
boiler.
Alginates have also been used in the building industry to fire-proof wood, in fire-
retarding compounds formed from chemicals dissolved in sodium ammonium
alginate, for the production of non-splinter glass, as a thickener for bitumen, and
in
the production of a special cement; the waterproofing of bricks and cement has also
been suggested. They are also used in can-sealing compounds, for separating the
plates in storage batteries, and as a flux for coating welding rods and electricals
(Dickinson, 1963; Chapman and Chapman, 1980; McHugh, 1987; Indergaard and
Dstgaard, 1991).
1.1.2 Laminarin
1.1.3 Agar
It occurs in members of the red algae as a constituent of the cell walls, Agar-like
structures are also found in some of the brown algae. Extraction is by hot water.
The
preferred species for commercial agar and agarose extraction are Acanthopeltis,
Gelidiella, Gelidium, especially G. amansii and Prerocladia. In the UK agar is
obtained from Chondrus crispus (Irish moss) and Mastocarpus stellatus, syn.
Gigartina stellata, in Ireland from Gelidium elegans, syn. G. pulchellum, and G.
spinosum, syn. G. latifolium, and in Denmark from Furcellaria lumbricalis, syn. F.
fastigata. From the Arctic region near Archangelsk and in the Far East near
Vladivostok agar is obtained from Ahnfeltia plicata (landlady's wig), and in the
Black
Sea from Phyllophora nervosa. During World War II the USA produced some agar
from Gigartina versicolor, syn. G. cartilagineum.
Agars have a relatively low sulphate content. They are good gelling agents with
water, even at concentrations as low as 0.5%; the relative gel strength of agar
being
four to five times that of any other phycocolloid. For certain bacteriological and
fungal culture media they are regarded as indispensable because, after nutrient
materials have been added, even a dilute solution sets to a firm jelly upon which
the
bacteria or fungi can grow,
Agar is widely used in the food industry as a thickening agent, emulsifier and
stabiliser, particularly in confectionery, and in the canned meat and fish
industries,
especially pet foods. It is used to protect preserved cooked fish against breakage
during transport, also to prevent the blackening or detinning of the cans of
certain
fish, e.g. herrings. It is particularly valuable as a gelling agent in
confectionery,
marshmallows and candies, and may also replace gelatine in the making of jellies,
which set readily as well as being more economical. Agar is also widely used as a
thickening agent for soups and sauces, in the manufacture of ice-cream, malted
milks,
jellies, candies and pasties and as a stabiliser to give smoothness to sherbets,
ice-
creams and cheeses. However, due to its low whipping capacity, it is necessary to
add
a gum, for which purpose sodium alginate has now largely replaced agar. Agar has
also been used in the manufacture of cream cheeses, to improve the texture of
cream,
and in the making of custards, mayonnaise and icing. By tying up the free moisture
in
cake icing, the icing is prevented from adhering to the paper wrapping, doughnut
glazes are similarly prevented from cracking. It is also widely used in the
protection
of bakery products against dehydration, and as a clarifying agent for beer, coffee
and
wine.
Agar is commonly used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic preparations, including
use as a bulk-producing purgative, with its oldest use probably in emulsions with
Useful Algae 379
In industry agar is used as an emulsifying agent and for the sizing of fabrics,
with
the highest quality agar being used for silks in order not to destroy the sheen.
Japanese agar, obtained from Gelidium spp. is considered to be definitely superior
as
a sizing material to agars obtained from Chondrus or Gigartina. The poorer quality
agars are used as a coating for waterproof paper and cloth, as a high class
adhesive in
the manufacture of plywood, and as a cleaning medium for liquids. It is also used
in
the hot drawing of tungsten wire for electric lights, and in the photographic
industry
for making plates and films. Agar is also becoming increasingly important for use
as
a reagent in molecular sieve chromatography. Other uses include employment in the
finishing of leather for imparting both a gloss and stiffness.
1.1.4 Carrageenan
The name carrageenan is popularly reputed to owe its origins to the small coastal
town of Carragheen, near Waterford, although no town of that name exists. The name
is apparently derived from carraigeen, i.e. moss of the rock, which was apparently
the
name first given to Chondrus crispus at some time between 1821 and 1829 (Mitchell
and Guiry, 1983).
The carrageenans produce a gelling reaction with milk proteins such as casein
380 Chapter 19
following the addition of cold milk, an action that is employed in a wide range of
dairy products, including jellies, blancmanges and instant milk puddings, and for
stabilising the suspension of cocoa in milk chocolate, while in ice-cream
carrageenan
prevents the migration of colours in multicoloured ices.
In the manufacture of cold water or casein paints, carrageenan is used to hold the
film on the surface while the casein dries; it is also used to bind briquettes of
charcoal
powder (Watt and Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962; Dickinson, 1963; Brouk, 1975; Chapman
and Chapman, 1980; Indergaard and @stgaard 1991).
Comparable sulphated polysaccharides are also found among South African species of
Aeodes and Pachymenia. Iridophycan is used in refining beer, as a stabiliser in
chocolate drinks, syrups and paint, as well as for the sizing of paper and cloth;
and
and stiffening fabrics, paper and threads, the cementing of walls and tiles, and in
the
blood cholesterol and anti-tumour activity (Brouk, 1975; Chapman and Chapman,
The minor chemical products include: (1) Mannitol, a sugar alcohol present as a
cell sap food reserve in a number of brown algae, including species of Ascophylium,
Durvillea, Ecklonia, Fucus, Laminaria, Sargassum and Turbinaria. Laminaria
saccharina (sugar wrack) can even be used as a sweetener. Although costly to
extract,
mannitol has a number of possible uses in pharmaceuticals for tablets, diabetic
foods,
etc. It is also given intravenously as an osmotic diuretic. Mannitol is used
industrially
in paints, lacquers and leather, also in the plastics industry where it is reputed
to
produce better products than those obtained from glycerol (glycerine). When
nitrated
to form nitro-mananitol, it produces a powerful explosive similar to nitro-
glycerine;
(2) Fucoidan, which is probably the calcium salt of a carbohydrate ethereal
sulphate,
is present in the intercellular mucilage of such rock weed species as Ascophyllum,
Fucus, Laminaria, Pelvetia, as well as Ecklonia radiata. It has a potential use as
a
blood anti-coagulant; (3) Fucosan obtainable from Ascophyllum and Sargassum is
used as a tanning substance; (4) Ginnanso is a Japanese adhesive extracted from
Iridaea cornucopiae and Turnerella mertensiana; (5) a-kainic acid is extracted from
Digenia simplex, Tt is marketed in Japan as a broad spectrum anthelmintic. Although
various compounds have been isolated from the seaweeds and have been shown to be
biologically active, o-kainic acid is one of the few exceptions to be utilised; (6)
Lectin, small but commercially available quantities of lectins are obtained from
Codium fragile subsp. atlanticum and Prilota plumosa; (7) Iodine is, with the
exception of the Russian Federation, obtained from brown seaweeds of the Fucales
and Laminariales. In the Russian Federation the red seaweed Phyllophora nervosa is
sufficiently abundant in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov for it to be harvested for
industrial extraction. Although a number of other red seaweeds contain considerable
quantities of iodine in their gland cells, the iodine is present as compounds and
not in
the free state (Brouk, 1975; Chapman and Chapman, 1980; Tootill, 1984; Sharp,
1990; Guiry and Blunden, 1991; Walker, 1991; Macpherson, 1995).
382 Chapter 19
13 Seaweeds for Energy
The large brown algae are readily convertible to methanol which, in turn, can be
economically converted to gasoline. Huge kelp farms are necessary to ensure the
necessary regular bulk production of raw material for commercial processing. The
development of such kelp farms for Macrocystis pyrifera and Pelagophycus porra,
syn. Pelagophora porra in Pacific USA, Durvillea antarctica in Australia, New
Zealand and South America, Ecklonia maxima, syn. E. buccinalis in South Africa,
and Laminaria japonica off Priomorye, Russian Federation, testify to the interest
now
being shown in this source of bioenergy. The possibility of raising kelp bass and
oysters in conjunction with the kelp, and the utilisation of kelp by-products for
minerals, fertilisers and animal feed, are additional attractions (Chapman and
Chapman, 1980).
2. EDIBLE ALGAE
Seaweeds are a traditional staple item of diet in China and Japan and, to a lesser
extent, in the coastal regions of Europe and North America. They may be eaten raw,
cooked or pickled, used in sauces and for thickening soups, made into sweetmeats,
and less frequently, as a condiment. The green seaweed with which the western world
is probably most familiar is Ulva capensis, syn. U. lactuca (sea lettuce), it too
is also
eaten in Japan, as is also U. pertusa.
Among the red algae Porphyra renera (noi) is the basis of the large Japanese
'nori' industry. It has a protein content of 29-35% dry weight, similar to that for
soya
beans and three- and six-fold respectively that of wheat and rice; 75% of the
protein
and carbohydrate are digestible by man. Other important food sources among the red
algae include Palmaria palmata, syn. Rhodymenia palmata (dulse), which is eaten in
Scotland, Ireland, Iceland and Kamchatka, and Porphyra umbilicalis (laver) cooked
and eaten as the renowned Welsh laver bread.
A large number of species from the brown algae, especially Laminaria japonica
(ma-kombu), L. cichorioides (chizi-kombu) and L. religiosa (hosome kombu), are
caten in Japan in soups and tisanes or powdered as a spice for soups and sauces.
Alaria esculenta (murlins) is eaten in Northern Europe and Iceland, and A.
fistulosa
by the Pacific Coast Amerindians.
More than 50% of the dry weight of seaweeds consists of carbohydrates, mainly
roughage as only a small fraction is digestible. Also present are, with some
notable
exceptions, small quantities of protein of mainly undetermined digestibility, fats
and
salts. They contain adequate quantities of K, Na, Cl and 1, although these vary
greatly
with the habitat and season. Almost certainly the scarcity of goitre in the Orient
may
be attributed to the high iodine intake from eating seaweeds. Seaweeds are also
rich
in vitamins A, B, and By,, C and E. The vitamin A content of Porphyra tenera, for
Useful Algae 383
example, ranges from 20,400 to 44,600 IU, the average value being 67 times higher
than that for eggs, and the ascorbic acid (vitamin C) content 1.5 times higher than
that of oranges. Indeed, for some Eskimo tribes the ascorbic acid accounts for more
than 50% of the human requirement (Brouk, 1975; Chapman and Chapman, 1980;
There is a long tradition for the use of seaweeds, especially members of the
Fucales and Laminariales, as animal fodder and they are still so used in a number
of
countries today, either in the fresh state or as a prepared feed. Browsing by
sheep,
cattle and horses is still practised in Scotland, Norway and Iceland. In Iceland
the
plants are washed and dried (using geothermic heat), compressed and stored for use
in the winter months, On the west coast of Scotland Pelvetia is fed to fattening
pigs,
and also fed either raw or boiled and mixed with oatmeal to calves. Alaria
fistulosa,
Fucus evanescens and Laminaria bongardiana are also mixed with meal and fed io
pigs, especially after farrowing. In the Commander Islands in the Bering Sea
seaweeds are fed to arctic foxes as part of their normal diet; mink in Ontario also
receive a seaweed ration in their feed. In Cuba Ulva spp. are added to meal and are
being fed experimentally to poultry. The seaweeds appear to be rarely used in the
tropics for animal feed, although dried Sargassum spp. are recorded as being fed to
pigs in Hong Kong.
Factories have now been established in many parts of the world for the
commercial production of a meal from dried and ground seaweeds for inclusion in the
rations fed to cattle, pigs and poultry. The increase in fertility and birth-rate
in
livestock is attributed to the presence of tocopherol, the anti-sterility vitamin
E, while
the improved colour in egg yolks is attributed to the fucoxanthin and iodine
content,
although any improvement in milk butterfat due to an increased iodine intake is
still
inconclusive. The coralline algae known as maérl (see Section 4 below), are rich in
calcium and magnesium and may be used as a mineral supplement (Chapman and
Chapman, 1980; Briand, 1991).
There is now an increasing interest in the use of fresh water algae as a source of
single cell protein (SCP) supplements for feed. Algal meal from dried fresh water
algae such as Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus obliquus, are used as a feed
supplement for poultry, the high xanthophyll content giving a good colour to egg
yolks. Because of their high production costs, however, the SCPs are not fed to
ruminants (Gohl, 1981).
384 Chapter 19
3. SEAWEED MANURE
Traditionally seaweeds have long been used for manure in the Orient and
somewhat more recently in the west. In Europe the largest users of seaweed manure
are the farmers of north-east France, where 30-40 m> ha’ are regularly applied
annually. The autumn manuring of the early potato fields is also practised in the
Scilly and Channel Islands. The large, brown algae are mainly used, the others may
also be used provided they have been washed up in sufficient quantity, especially
Ulva, which is rich in nitrogen. The shore driftweed, however, is rarely if ever,
composed solely of brown weeds and invariably contains an admixture of red and
green algae, Although relatively high in nitrogen, potash and trace elements, the
phosphorus content is low and the crops will eventually require the addition of
phosphate fertiliser. The presence of growth hormones, auxins, gibberellins and
cytokinins in the seaweeds enhance crop growth, especially when used in liquid
extracts. Salt contamination can be a problem if the seaweeds are applied directly
to
crops without giving time for the rain to wash out the salt. On the western and
northern coasts of Scotland and Ireland the pounded ashes of seaweeds, containing
2-
5% of an impure Na,COj, known as kelp was also formerly applied to the fields.
Dried meal and liquid extracts of seaweeds, or their waste products following
phycocolloid extraction, are becoming increasingly popular among horticulturists
and
agriculturists. The meal, with its delayed bacterial breakdown, is the better soil
conditioner and can be advantageously used on such crops as potatoes, asparagus,
flowers, fruit and hops, but not the cereals. The seaweed extracts are also
credited
with improving seed germination, controlling certain fungal infestations and
increasing frost hardiness and shelf life of fruit, as well as improving the
physical
properties of soil. The UK brands of liquid manure, 'Maxicrop' from Ascophy!llum
and
'Alginure' from Laminaria, are now widely used in many countries for horticultural
and glasshouse crops, while the New Zealand product 'Seagro' from imported
Norwegian Ascophyllum is primarily used for pastures and orchard crops.
4. SEAWEED CULTIVATION
In Japan, naturally seeded nets or ropes are also used for the culture of edible
species of Enteromorpha and Monostroma in a similar manner to that used for
Porphyra. Young sporophytes of Alaria, Gelidium, Laminaria, Palmaria, Ptero-
cladia and Saccorhiza species may also be successfully grown trapped in twisted
rope. In China nets were initially used but more recently the Gracilaria are
attached
to horizontal or vertically suspended ropes. Similarly, in India pieces of
Gracilaria
are inserted info a twisted, not plaited, rope which is then held horizontally
between
two stakes, In Malaysia fertile plants of Gracilaria are suspended over shallow
marine nursery tanks containing a substrate of coral, gravel or shells. The seeded
substrate are later planted out in a suitable seaweed farm. Somewhat similar
methods
have been used in Atlantic Canada, the West Indies and Brazil.
386 Chapter 19
In Chile, Gracilaria lemaneiformis has been successfully grown from small pieces
pushed into the sand, a method also used in Namibia. More recently pieces of algae
were held on the bottom by trapping under sand-filled tubes of soft polyethylene.
They grew well and had produced a well-developed underground thallus system by
the time the plastic had disintegrated (Kain, 1991).
43 Seaweed Harvesting
Collection by hand or using rudimentary tools such as hand and drag rakes were
the traditional methods, the yield being largely regulated by seasonal storms
bringing
the seaweeds to the strand line. More recently, tractor operated buck rakes and
fork-
lifts have been used to collect drift weed from the sea shore.
By 1913 the necessity for a constant supply for phycocolloid extraction had
stimulated the development of mechanised harvesting techniques. In the intertidal
zone, species such as Ascophyllum nodosum, Chondrus crispus, Fucus serratus, F.
vesciculosus, Gigartina acicularis, G. tweedii and Mastocarpus stellatus, may be
harvested by hand, using a knife or sickle to sever the stipe just above the
holdfast,
and the seaweed loaded directly onto a trailer. Where carting is not practical, the
air
bladders in the thalli of Ascophylium nodosum and Fucus vesciculatus enable the
weeds to float and to be trapped by nets or ropes and towed to a suitable loading
site.
The process may be mechanised by the use of floating barges with a cutter bar and
elevator or suction cutter to load the barge, although the method does have the
disadvantage of poor manoeuvrability and the necessity for calm seas.
Similarly, Gracilaria verrucosa, which grow in pools and channels in the lower
intertidal and shallow subtidal zones, may be harvested from boats using either
grapnels, long rakes and forks to bring the seaweed to the surface, or nets to
collect
cast weed. A more recent development has been a hooked conveyer belt attached to a
specially designed shallow draft boat.
The deep water maérl banks are formed from fragments of members of the
Corallinaceae. The coralline algae grow in shallow waters, where wave action and
strong currents break off portions of the living plants and transport them to form
extensive deposits up to 15 m thick. Formerly, banks exposed by the tide were
harvested by bucket and wheel barrow. A more recent development is the use of boats
equipped with grabs or pump dredgers.
Species such as Laminaria digitata growing in the lower intertidal and shallow
subtidal zones require a different harvesting techniques. The earliest method of
hand-
harvesting involved the use of a long-handled sickle, a method which necessitated
the
operator being able to see the weed. This was followed by the scoubidou, which had
a
hook at one end of a long steel shaft and a hand-operated cranking system at the
other, and pulled the weed up from the sea bottom. In 1963, Scuba divers were used
to cut the seaweeds with sickles, which were then sucked up into the hold of a
specially designed trawler, Divers are similarly used to harvest Gelidium spp. and
Prerocladia capillacea. 1967 saw the development of a trawler with an adaptation of
the scoubidou at the end of a jointed crane which twisted in a gimlet-like action
and
pulled the seaweed to the surface.
Slightly different techniques have to be used where only the stipe of the subtidal
Laminaria hyperborea is required for processing. Various devices have been used,
ranging from a grapnel to drag the seaweed to the surface, hooked conveyer belts,
reciprocating reaper-type cutters and suction tubes, a cutting dredge operated from
a
crane and trawl net, cutter and conveyer belt, and finally to a specialised dredger
388 Chapter 19
developed to only harvest the mature stipes. Even so, in the north of Scotland the
hand collecting of stipes from drift weed still remains a major crofter industry.
In the
Pacific, the often long-lived perennial Macrocystis pyrifera (giant kelp), is easy
to
harvest since much of its buoyant fronds lie on the surface and need only to be cut
close to the surface and removed from the sea.
Not all seaweeds are harvested for their utilisation, In recent years the
industrial
maritime countries have had to deal with macroalgal blooms, especially species of
green seaweeds such as Enteromorpha and Ulva, which either decompose in situ or
in large drifts. Such blooms are a result of pollution and consequent
eutrophication of
coastal ecosystems. Because of their nuisance value they need to be removed from
the
beaches, using bulldozers, scrapers, ensilage machines, balers or special raking
and
sifting machines; a boat-mounted conveyor belt may be used for drift weed. The
seaweeds thus harvested may be spread on fields as a soil additive, stocked in
dumps
or dehydrated for use in premixed poultry feed (Briand, 1991).
Chapter 20
Environmental Uses
The prime purpose of plant life is to create a sustainable environment for all
living organisms. Without plants life on earth would not be possible. The present
human population explosion and the increasing demands for ever higher and higher
living standards in both the developed and developing countries has placed an
almost
impossible burden on the environment. Consequently there is an ever increasing
necessity to manage the ecosystems and preserve the existing genetic diversity for
future generations.
Within the plant kingdom there are members whose primary or secondary use by
man are for improving and maintaining the environment, such as erosion control,
shade, windbreaks, hedges and green manures. Many of these plants are multipurpose
species whose use and management can not only provide the necessities of life but
also help protect the environment.
1 SOIL EROSION
389
390 Chapter 20
Erosion control can be difficult and expensive but is far preferable to the damage
caused by the lack of appropriate control methods. Control of non-cultivated land
basically involves the design and maintenance of a permanent tree, shrub and forb
cover to reduce the action of wind and water. Rapidly growing species, capable of
providing a good surface cover and able to thrive more or less unaided, are
obviously
desirable. The root system can also be important. In the sand dunes of northern
Sudan
I can recall seeing stands of the tufted perennial grass Panicum turgidum bore on 2
m high columns of sand, each column protected by a fine mesh of roots. A change in
the direction of the wind or an increase in strength had deflected the wind around
the
dense grass stools and gouged out the intervening sand, left unprotected by any
ground cover or spreading roots. For cultivated land ploughing parallel to the
contour, the construction of graded and non-graded bunds to control run off, grass
strips, windbreaks, etc. can be used. See Section 2.1 regarding shelterbelts and
windbreaks, and Skerman and Riveros (1990) for suitable tropical grasses.
11 Amenity Plants
The word amenity is from the Middle English amenite, from Old French, from
Latin amoenitas, from omoenus, pleasant delightful (Long, 1994). Amenity plants
should be both functional and aesthetically pleasing, with the emphasis on
function.
Such plants may be grown for shade, shelterbelts, windbreaks, hedges, screening for
Environmental Uses 391
ugly buildings, as street trees, provide recreational facilities, e.g. public
parks, golf
courses, etc,
Plants grown for shade, shelter and windbreaks perform distinct environmental
functions, although the actual functions are often indiscriminately applied,
sometimes
as the result of, for example, a shade plant performing a secondary function as
shelter
and/or windbreak. The desirable characteristics of plants used for windbreaks,
shelterbelts and hedges are shown in Table 28.
‘Windbreaks/shelterbelts
Stock-proof hedges
Garden hedges
small trees
Strong trunks; minimum height
usually 5 m
Capability of withstanding
considerable root competition
Non-invasive
Capability of withstanding
considerable root competition
Disease and pest resistance
Non-toxic, non-irritant
Browse tolerant, capable of
regenerating if damaged
Non-invasive
Impenetrable by livestock
Non-invasive
Impenetrable by livestock
Shade plants are used to diminish the intensity of heat or light for those plants
or
animals sheltering in the vicinity. Permanent or temporary shade trees are often
considered desirable for a number of tropical plantation crops, e.g. Gliricidia
sepium
for bananas, coffee and young cocoa. The foliage is also used as a green manure in
Sri Lanka, Windbreaks are grown to provide protection from the wind and are either
fairly narrow strips of trees and shrubs, or even a single row of leafy shrubs. A
dense
392 Chapter 20
windbreak reduces the wind speed, causing the wind to descend abruptly behind the
break and produce turbulent eddying, A more open row of trees allows some of the
wind to pass through the break so that the effects of the wind are felt further
away.
Shelterbelts are purposely planted to act as a shield and provide shelter against
the
weather, particularly the prevailing winds. The belts are generally wider and the
trees
more closely spaced than for windbreaks. Provided they are sufficiently tall and
dense
they can protect the downwind areas for distances up to 20 times the height of the
shelterbelt. A series of shelterbelts spaced every 250 m, for example, can also
provide
sheltered grazing. The more permeable shelterbelt causes less turbulence than
windbreaks and, although it has less effect on wind speed, the calming effects are
apparent for a greater distance downwind. Both windbreaks and shelter belts can
play
a vital role in controlling wind erosion (Dalal-Clayton 1981; FAO, 1988b; Arnon,
1992).
Hedges are defined as a close row of shrubs or small trees forming a fence or
boundary; they are often planted or maintained to be stock-proof. The life of a
properly maintained hedge is far longer than that of wire or rail fences but are
much
more expensive to establish. Hedges may be grown as: (1) Field boundaries to
contain
the movement of livestock; (2) Decorative hedges to provide privacy or to partition
areas within a garden; and (3) To reduce the force of the wind, acting either as
shelterbelts to provide shelter to people, livestock and homesteads, or as
windbreaks
for orchards and crops (Dalal-Clayton, 1981; Henderson, 1983).
Stock-proof hedges will take several years to establish; they also require regular
maintenance if they are not to become gappy at the base and allow stock to escape.
The traditional rural practice of layering hedges, usually Crataegus monogyna
(hawthorn), to provide an impenetrable, stock-proof hedge can be seen in many
livestock areas of the UK, although rarely seen elsewhere. However, 1 have seen
Pithecellobium dulce (Madras thorn) successfully layered in Nigeria; I also believe
a
number of other tropical species could be similarly layered. Layering certainly
provides a more effective and lasting stock-proof hedge than the more common
practice of filling any gaps with other living or dead species.
Where hedges arc not layered, either due to the unsuitability species or, more
usually, from a lack of technical knowledge, they may have to be constructed from
mixed plantings in order to provide an effective barrier. Henderson (1983)
considers
four life forms are necessary for such mixed plantings. They are: (1) Framework
plants to form the main structure of the hedge; (2) Short fillers to fill gaps at
ground
level. Such plants should be tolerant of shade and have numerous, ridged branches;
(3) Tall fillers to fill gaps in and add height to the hedge. Such plants should be
much-branched and cast little shade; and (4) Entanglers, which are preferably
prickly
climbers casting little shade, thickening the hedge and making penetration more
difficult.
In the tropics very effective, stock-proof, palisade hedges can also be made from
the close planting of truncheons of such plants as Fouguieria splendens (ocotillo),
Environmental Uses 393
columnar cacti, e.g. Stenocereus spp. and columnar Euphorbia, e.g. E. nigrispina,
etc. In Southeast Asia closely planted bamboos, e.g. Bambusa multiplex and
Thyrostachys siamensis, are used for both hedges and windbreaks; the thorny
Bambusa bambos is also commonly planted to exclude wild animals.
Finally, there are brushwood hedges made from branches of trees felled when
clearing land. These are widely used in some countries to delimit field boundaries
and
prevent trespassing by livestock. However they last for only a few years before
becoming brittle and ineffective. In the semi-arid areas such hedges are also very
effective against wind erosion, with wind-blown sand building up among the
branches, While live hedges are preferable the absence of land ownership in many
developing countries often inhibits the growing of permanent boundary hedges.
13 Urban Trees
A tree-lined border to a road can provide both shade and pleasure. In rural
Zimbabwe 1 have even seen how an avenue of vigorously transpiring evergreen
Eucalyptus trees can transform seasonally impassable soggy ground into an all-
season
road. However, care needs to be taken in the choice of species; trees favoured by
bats
or flocks of birds can be messy, and their excreta ruin the paintwork of any parked
vehicles. A straight, unbranched bole that neither obstructs vision nor interferes
with
the passage of vehicles is an obvious requirement. Strong branches that do not
break
readily are also essential. The crown should be reasonably compact, so as not to
impede high-sided vehicles or create excessive shade. Thick leathery leaves are
easier
to sweep up than thinner leaves that stick to the road surface when wet. Roots can
be
invasive of drainage pipes, etc. and cause heaving of road surfaces and pathways
and
even cause structural damage to nearby buildings The root system should
consequently be deep and compact, not shallow and widespread, neither should they
sucker, Root damage to property is fully discussed by Cutler and Richardson (1989).
The ability to withstand air pollution is also important in urban areas, and
accounts for the popularity of Platanus x hispanica (London plane) in the streets
of
London and other cities. The rain easily washes the leathery leaves clean of
pollutants, although the habit of regularly sloughing off flakes of bark is now
discounted as a cleansing action. There are disadvantages too. Some people are
allergic to the pollen and fruit debris of the London plane and the leaf hairs can
also
be an irritant; they are sometimes used by children as a form of itching powder!
394 Chapter 20
14 Ornamental Plants
Ornamental plants are grown because they are primarily aesthetically pleasing;
they are not necessarily functional in the full sense of amenity plants, They are
cultivated in public and private gardens, grown indoors in containers to decorate
the
house, office, restaurant, etc. However, the distinction between the amenity and
ornamental plants is blurred. The grass in a public park, for example, is primarily
functional, being used for both walking and recreational purposes, i.e. it is an
amenity, its aesthetic value secondary. A garden lawn may perform a similar
recreational function and/or may be designed as a foreground to beds of ornamental
plants, i.e. it serves as either an amenity and/or ornamental. Shade trees, shelter
belts,
etc. are planted in order to serve a definite purpose but there is no reason why
they
should not also be aesthetically pleasing. However, what constitutes an ornamental
plant is very much in the eye of the beholder. What one nation may regard as a weed
can be considered an ornamental by another, e.g. Calotropis procera is regarded as
a
weed of over-cultivated lands throughout Africa, yet it is sometimes cultivated as
an
ornamental in the Middle East.
Ornamentals for the cut flower market in the developed countries is now a growth
industry for the developing countries, especially Kenya, Zimbabwe, India and
Columbia, This sacrifice of agricultural land for a cash return has its
disadvantages.
The high quality standards required for export necessitate high inputs of
fertilisers,
pesticides and water, with applications estimated to be up to 10 tonnes ha’ yr,
making commercial flower growing the most polluting of all agricultural industries.
Rumours of low wages and lax pesticide health regulations abound. Falling water
tables are an additional problem (Robbins, 1995). It is a good example of how the
living standards of the developed countries impose an unnecessary strain on the
resources of developing countries,
Environmental Uses 395
2. GREEN MANURES
Green manures are quick-growing crops and other green vegetation sources that
are specifically grown either alone or with other crops for subsequent ploughing-in
or
surface mulching in order to provide humus to the soil, improve soil structure,
conserve soil moisture and, especially in the tropics, assist in reducing soil run-
off
and wind erosion. If the main crop, for example a cereal, can be undersown with a
green cover crop, such as a legume, it may even increase crop yield by improving
soil
fertility and provide a useful ground cover against soil erosion after the main
crop has
been harvested, Leguminous crops that are not allowed to seed have also been found
more effective as green manure than other green crops under semi-arid conditions.
Long-term experiments have shown that green manures are not effective in regions
with less than 375 mm rainfall and are only economically beneficial for dryland
cropping where the rainfall is more than 450-500 mm.
There are other advantages and disadvantages. For example, legumes can reduce
the incidence of Gaeumannomyces graminis, syn, Ophiobolus graminis (take-all), in
cereals by fixing the soil nitrogen and thereby starving the fungus, Similarly, the
crop
residues from Melilotus sp. (sweet clover) have been successfully used to reduced
Phymatotrichopsis omnivora, syn. Phymatotrichum omnivorum (Texas root rot) in the
cotton, presumably by stimulating bacteria antagonistic to the fungus. Conversely,
ploughing in a green crop before sowing cotton or planting potatoes has increased
attack by Pythium spp. and Rhizoctonia solani, due to the decaying green vegetation
favouring the pathogens.
In the temperate regions the green manures are usually herbaceous, such as
legumes, mustard and Lolium multiflorum (Italian ryegrass). In the tropics,
especially
where agroforestry is practised, leafy branches from trees or shrubs such as
Leucaena
leucocephala (lead tree), may be used to provide a surface mulch, which can later
be
incorporated into the soil.
An unusual and widely grown green manure crop in the paddy rice fields of
China and Vietnam is the aquatic Azolla pinnata (water fern) which, in symbiosis of
the blue-green bacterium Anabaena azollae, lives on the water surface. The
bacterium is capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen equivalent to 50-80 kg ha’ in a
growing season. A secondary benefit from the growing of Azolla is that its very
rapid
growth smothers the water surface and prevents mosquitoes from breeding (Dalal-
Clayton 1981; Arnon, 1992; Mabberley, 1997).
3. AGROFORESTRY
(positive and/or negative) between the woody and non-woody components of the
system, either ecological and/or economical.
Agroforestry species have three important functions: (1) Offer protection against
the environment. For example, in the lower rainfall areas they act as wind breaks
against wind erosion, while in the higher rainfall areas they may protect terraces
and
contour ridges against water erosion; (2) Contribute to maintaining soil fertility,
either by providing foliage for mulching or through nitrogen-fixation; and (3)
Provide
food, fodder, fuel, etc. They are essentially multipurpose species and need to be
carefully selected.
Among the criteria for their selection are: (1) A root system that does not
interfere
with cultivation or compete with the crops for water and nutrients, preferably
extracting them from depth. Eucalyptus would be considered unsuitable in such
situations due to its high water uptake often depleting the water-table; (2) A
canopy
that does not produce excessive shade to the detriment of the growing crop. In some
cases branch pruning may be necessary; (3) Does not harbour crop pests and
diseases;
(4) Does not encroach vegetatively onto the growing crops, i.e. does not sucker or
produce rhizomes; (5) Easy to establish and maintain; (6) Recovers readily when cut
for fuel, fodder, etc.; and (7) Absence of any allelopathic effect on the growing
crops.
4. FIREBREAKS
The traditional method for controlling the spread of fire is by the provision and
maintenance of firebreaks devoid of combustible vegetation. However necessary, such
breaks can be environmentally unfriendly, expensive and difficult to maintain,
especially in remote regions. In some circumstances it is possible to establish
firebreaks with plants of low combustibility that will reduce the intensity of the
fire
and make it easier to control (see Chapter 5).
content will reduce the flammability of the leaves. A low ash residue will also
reduce
the time during which the leaves will continue glow after burning. Unfortunately
the
reverse is true of many Australian species of Callistemon, Eucalyptus, Leptospermum
and Melaleuca, hence the severity of their forest fires. A fibrous or flaky bark
tends to
bum readily and spread the fire to the crown. Obviously plants with a high
flammability risk must be avoided since they can lead to spot fires within the
firebreak caused by burning debris carried ahead of the main fire; (2) Species that
are
able to suppress flammable ground cover can sometimes be advantageous, although
some carefully selected, low growing vegetation is necessary in order to prevent
creating a wind tunnel effect between the trunks of the firebreak; (3) The
retention of
combustible materials, such as dead leaves, bark and other debris by some plants,
can
create a fire hazard; such species should also be avoided; and (4) The selection of
fire
tolerant plants that recover quickly after fire, possibly due to a thick bark
and/or the
ability to shoot readily from dormant buds (see Phillips, 1993 for further
details).
In Australia breaks of selected trees and shrubs for fire protection are being
considered. Such plantings, with certain reservations, follow the general
principles
for shelterbelt design for reducing wind speed, thereby reducing the speed and
intensity of the fire, as well as blocking the direct heat of the fire, filtering
or
deflecting wind-borne burning material and smoke. The effectiveness of the
protection depends on the species grown, its density and height, and the structure,
ability to suppress ground cover, orientation, location and layout of the
firebreak. A
moderate to dense cover of the shrub Eremophila gilesii (turkey bush), for example,
is
able to suppress the ground cover to such an extent that fires rarely spread
through
such areas, The relationship between allelopathy (see Chapter 5), ground cover and
fire retardant species requires further study (Hodgkinson and Griffin, 1982).
In North America low growing and readily established shrubs with fire retarding
qualities and giving a low heat output when burning are being investigated. Among
the promising shrubs for southern California is the low growing Salvia sonomensis
(creeping sage) which, once established, is able to smother the annual ground
flora,
especially grasses, thereby eliminating a potential fire hazard, Other promising
species are Atriplex gardneria (Gardner's saltbush), A. cuneata (Castlevalley
saltbush) and A. canescens (fourwing saltbush). Although the latter will grow into
2
m high, it is apparently less flammable than most chaparral species. The high salt
content of these species and their litter being important factors.
Similarly, the abundant salty litter below the canopy of Tamarix aphylla (athel, or
tamarisk) kills the surrounding vegetation, This absence of any ground vegetation,
plus the non-inflammable nature of the athel litter due to its high salt content,
makes
it a useful tree for growing as a firebreak. The succulent Furcraea foetida
(Mauritius
hemp) is cultivated as a firebreak in Sri Lanka, which suggests other members of
the
Agavaceae could be similarly used (Nord and Countryman, 1972; National Academy
of Sciences, 1980; Booth and Wickens, 1988; Mabberley (1997).
398 Chapter 20
5. POLLUTION INDICATORS AND CONTROL
Air, water and mineral pollution have always been with us, but has only become
an problem of ever increasing severity in the developed and developing countries
during the latter half of the 20th century. Poor mining and mineral extraction
techniques, increased industrialisation without adequate pollution control,
excessive
applications of agricultural inputs, etc. have all contributed to the problem.
Although
there is a greater awareness of what is involved, there is, despite the health
hazards,
an unfortunate lack of political and financial will to fully get to grips with
pollution
control.
The increase in the use of herbicides and pesticides in recent years has become an
increasing cause for concern, especially when excessively or improperly used, and
where tainted crops enter the food chain. The use of lichens in monitoring
pollution
is discussed in Chapter 18. Mabberley (1997) notes that in Poland the aquatic herb
Wolfffia arhiza is also used as a qualitative test for herbicide pollution.
51 Air Pollution
Some lichen genera, such as Usnea, are more sensitive to pollutants than others,
such as Lecanora; L. dispersa, for example, will grow in cities where other lichens
are unable to survive. The absence of lichen growth on trees, walls and buildings
can
usually be regarded as an indication of atmospheric pollution by SO, (Brightman and
Nicolson, 1966; Tootill, 1984; Glime and Saxena, 1991).
52 Water Pollution
Clean fresh water is essential for health and there are a number of plants can be
used as indicators of water quality, a facility that is of particular interest to
people
who are totally dependent on natural sources of water for themselves and their
livestock. In Israel and Sinai, for example, there are species that can be used to
indicate salt concentrations ranging from fresh water, e.g. Typha domingensis, syn,
T.
australis, and Mentha spp., to saline water, e.g. Zygophyllum spp. and Arthrocnemum
macrostachyum (Danin, 1983).
Some plants are also capable of removing impurities from water, Only two plants
are discussed here, but see Jahn (1981) for a more comprehensive treatment.
Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) has been rightly reviled as being the most
Environmental Uses 399
pernicious aquatic weed of the tropics and subtropics (see Section 10). However, in
certain circumstances it has the potential for purifying sewage pollution, and of
absorbing and accumulating extremely toxic heavy metals such as Ag, Au, Co, Cd,
Hg, Ni, Pb and Sr from waters polluted by industrial and mining operations (Cross,
1984; Kochhar and Singh, 1989).
Soil salinity is, with deforestation and desertification, a major factor affecting
land use world-wide. It is particularly prevalent in the arid and semi-arid regions
where precipitation is insufficient to leach sodium and other highly soluble salts
from
the soil. Similarly, alkaline soils are formed where the predominant calcium
carbonates and sulphates fail to be leached from the soil. The situation is further
aggravated by poorly designed and managed irrigation schemes with inadequate
drainage systems. It has been estimated that 3.8 million km” out of the ca. 49
million
km? arid and semi-arid lands of the world are saline. The estimated annual loss to
agriculture from salinity in the Indian subcontinent alone is ca. 400 km? and in
the
USA with its far more sophisticated agriculture 800-1200 km”. The reduction in crop
yields and the often permanent loss of land to agriculture is unacceptable.
Halophytic
members of the Chenopodiaceae, e.g. Atriplex, Halogeton, Haloxylon, Salsola,
Suaeda, etc. are very much in evident. Some halophytic grasses may grow so
vigorously that they are being successfully cultivated for land reclamation in some
regions, e.g. Spartina anglia in the Netherlands, Distichlis spicata in Mexico and
Leptochloa fusca (kalla grass) in India (Aronson, 1985; Bell, 1985). See Chapter 5
for further discussion on salt stress,
The ability of certain plants to adapt to a heavy metal has been accepted by
prospectors as a useful technique for identifying new mineral deposits. For
example,
in Australia the shrub Hybanthus floribundus is regarded as an indicator of nickel;
indeed, its ash can contain up to 22% nickel. In Montana Eriogonum ovalifolium is
considered an indicator of silver, and in Colorado certain species of Astragalus
indicate the presence of uranium. Among the gold accumulating plants of South
400 Chapter 20
In the UK pollen has been found to reflect the presence of copper, manganese,
lead and zinc in the soil, but not magnesium. Pollen collected by honeybees in
Australia can indicate the presence of Coelospermum decipiens, syn. Morinda
reticulata (mapoon, rotten cheesefruit), a shrub associated with selenium in the
soil.
Mining companies in North America have even been investigating the possibility of
using hives of bees for prospecting purposes. Whether this use of pollen could
become
commercially viable has yet to be determined (Crane, 1990).
The actual mechanism by which metal toxicity is overcome is not yet fully
understood, although a series of plant peptides known as phytochelatins are known
to
have the ability to chelate the toxic cations. More rarely resistance can be
attributed to
phenotypic plasticity instead of the evolution of distinct genotypes. Typha
latifolia
(bulrush, reed mace) would appear to fall in this category, although it is possible
that
Typha may have constitutive zinc-resistance (Harborne, 1988; Fitter and Hay, 1989).
6. WEEDS
A weed is the term loosely applied to any plant growing where it is not wanted by
man, and specifically to any unwanted plant growing in cultivated and grazing land
competing with crops for light, water and nutrients, thereby reducing crop yields,
hindering cultivation and harvesting operations, contaminating the desired product
and sometimes harbouring crop pests and diseases. Genetic engineering has now
brought the danger of weedicide resistance being conferred from crop plants to
weeds,
with obvious difficulties for weed control in the future,
Weeds are plants out of place, and it is because of their adverse economic effect
that weeds are considered with economic plants! However, such prejudices may be in
the eye of the beholder since they are regarded as aesthetically displeasing to the
tidy
minded.
Environmental Uses 401
While such widespread and aggressive weeds as Elymus repens, syn. Agropyron
repens (couch, twitch or witch grass), and Imperata cylindrica (lalang, lang-alang)
are unloved by both manual and mechanised cultivators, some weeds may even be
considered desirable by some subsistence farmers but not necessarily by their more
affluent counterparts. Thus, such cosmopolitan tropical weeds as Cleome gynandra,
syn. Gynandropsis gynandra (cat's whiskers), and Portulaca oleracea (purslane) may
be left among the growing crops by the subsistence farmer and harvested as required
for food or medicine.
In grazing lands weeds may replace more palatable species and even be toxic to
the herbivores, e.g. Senecio jacobaea (ragwort) and Moraea spp. When consumed by
livestock some weeds. e.g. Anthemis spp. (chamomiles) and Ranunculus spp.
(buttercups), may taint products such as milk, Other weed seeds can contaminate the
crop product. In a mustard crop, for example, the seeds of the Sinapsis arvensis
(charlock, wild mustard) are inseparable from those of Brassica juncea (brown or
oriental mustard). Similarly, seeds of Galium aparine (cleavers, goosegrass) and
Vaccaria hispanica, syn. Saponaria vaccaria (cow cockle), are inseparable from
Sinapsis alba (white or yellow mustard) and their hard and brittle seed coats can
even
cause problems during milling (Miller and West, 1956; Hemingway, 1995).
Weeds may also harbour pests and diseases, which can then spread to nearby
crops. The following example well illustrates the ramifications of mistletoe
infestation in the cocoa plantations of Ghana, especially on old, unshaded trees,
The
prevalence of cacao swollen shoot virus and other pests and diseases, e.g. the
capsids
Distantiella theobroma and Sahlbergella singularis, and the oomycot Phytophthora
palmivora (Butler's fungus), responsible for black pod disease of cocoa, are
associated with mistletoe infestation, especially by Tapinanthus bangwensis, and to
a
lesser extent by other mistletoes. The holes bored by the haustoria are almost
invariably inhabited by Cataenococcus loranthi (mistletoe mealy-bug), whose
abundant honey-dew attracts large numbers of Crematogaster ants. These ants tend
and possibly transport the mealy-bug vectors of the swollen shoot virus; it is also
possible that the spores of Butler’s fungus may be spread in the detritus used for
the
ant tents covering the mealy bugs. Unfortunately the Crematogaster ants are
antagonistic to the capsids’ principal predator, the ant Oecophylla longinoda,
making
biological control difficult. Other mistletoes affect rubber and teak plantations
in
Cameroon and Nigeria, shea butter trees in Burkina Faso, and citrus and guava in
the
Sudan. Globally, the greatest damage is caused by species of Arceuthobium (dwarf
mistletoe), especially in the coniferous plantations of the northern hemisphere
(Polhill and Wiens, 1998).
Weeds are opportunists, often invading bare ground, thereby providing protection
against erosion and often improving soil fertility during periods when the land is
not
being cultivated. Provided they can be eradicated during cultivation, such weeds
can
be considered beneficial. Other weeds can be highly invasive. For example, the
South
American and now pantropical ornamental climber Lantana camara (cherry pie) can,
402 Chapter 20
under the right conditions, form impenetrable thickets and rapidly smother and, in
extreme cases kill, tree plantations. In the UK the introduced Fallopia japonica
(Japanese knotweed) is now a major weed of gardens and waste places; its almost
indestructible root system makes it extremely difficult to eradicate.
Also from South America, the free-floating aquatic, Eichhornia crassipes (water
hyacinth) has become a major pantropical weed of waterways. Introduced as an
aquatic ornamental for a hotel garden pond in Uganda, it only took two decades from
first sighting in 1958 before severely impeding the flow of water and blocking the
passage of shipping through the Sudd region of the Nile. The water hyacinth also
chokes irrigation channels, blocks hydroelectric installations, and seriously
affects
fisheries. So far, efforts to control the water hyacinth with herbicides and other
methods have failed, primarily because the dead plants sink, decay and recycle
their
nutrients, thereby enriching the water and encouraging further growth of the weed.
Scientists are now trying to make use of this enormous plant resource for animal
fodder, paper, insulation board, fertiliser and methane gas generation, and as a
source
of leaf proteins and hormones. Its potential for water purification are discussed
in
Section 6.2 (Obeid Mubarak et al,, 1982; Kochhar and Singh, 1989). There are two
lessons to be learnt from the water hyacinth saga (and other introduced weeds). The
first is that plant quarantine arrangements must not be ignored, the second, to
look
for possible beneficial use!
Chapter 21
Social Uses
Social uses refer to those plants used by people that are not essential for
survival
but are considered socially desirable, or are of ritual or spiritual significance.
In some
cases they may even be detrimental to health, yet provide a sense of well-being,
e.g.
alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
Fumitories and masticatories are plant materials that are smoked and/or chewed,
usually for their stimulative and narcotic effects. In some cases the alkaloids
present
may affect the central nervous system, although not all contain alkaloids, such as
the
dried herbs smoked as tobacco substitutes, likewise the chewing latex chicle from
Manilkara chicle.
1.1 Fumitories
Of the fumitories tobacco is by far the best known and widely used. There are two
commercially important species of tobacco, Nicotiana rustica (Aztec or wild
tobacco)
and N. tabacum (smoking tobacco). Aztec tobacco has been cultivated in Mexico and
eastern North America from pre-Colombian times. The species is unknown in the
wild, the cultigen possibly originating in Peru as a cross between N. paniculata
and
N. undulata. Early observations by Spaniards noted the tobacco being smoked by the
Amerindians either through a forked stick or the leaves rolled in the manner of a
cigar. It was first introduced into Spain in 1519, and to the UK by Sir John
Hawkins
in 1573 where it was much popularised by Sir Walter Raleigh. The craze for smoking
had started by 1586 and was originally believed to be of medicinal benefit.
However,
in 1603 King James I issued a pamphlet entitled A Counterblast to Tobacco
proclaiming the many harmful consequences of smoking. A heavy import duty was
403
404 Chapter 21
also placed on tobacco in order to deter its use. Smoking was later banned by Pope
Urban VIII (1623-44) with offenders excommunicated, while in Russia Tsar Michael
I (1596-1645) went as far as to order the execution of second offenders. Both
measures failed to influence its use.
Tobacco is now cultivated in Russia for the alkaloid nicotine for use as an
insecticide; the cured leaves containing up to 10% nicotine. Smoking tobacco was
also cultivated in tropical America from before the arrival of Columbus and it too
is
not known in the wild, with N. otophora, N. sylvestris and N. tomentosiformis as
its
pugitive ancestors. The cured leaves contain 1.5-4% nicotine (Baker, 1964; Brouk,
1975; Mabbetley, 1997).
Tobacco quality depends very much on the weather, variety, soil and curing. Four
types of tobacco are recognised according to the method of curing the mature
leaves:
(1) Flue cured using artificial heat for drying in specially constructed barns and
producing Virginia and Amarelo tobaccos; (2) Air cured by drying on racks in the
shade at ambient temperatures for Burley (for cigarettes, pipe and chewing
tobaccos),
Maryland and cigar tobaccos; (3) Sun cured, i.e. sun dried, for Turkish and other
oriental varieties; and (4) Fire cured by direct drying over a fire to produce
Kentucky
tobacco.
The cured leaves are then fermented in heaps for 4-6 weeks, a process that results
in the disintegration of any remaining chlorophyll and the removal of any volatile
nicotine, leaving only the fixed nicotine. Liquorice paste, honey, sugar, molasses,
rum
and the fragrant seeds (which contain 2-3% coumarin) of Dipteryx odorata (Tonka
beans) cured in rum, may be used to flavour the tobacco. Buyers select according to
leaf size, thickness, colour, texture, flavour/aroma, rate of burn and processing
qualities.
Tobacco is mainly used in cigarettes, cigars and for pipe tobacco; small quantities
of chewing and snuff tobaccos are also being produced. For cigarettes old leaves
are
known as fillers and the young leaves as leaf tip; the cigarette papers are made
mainly from flax fibres. Heavy bodied and aromatic cigar-fillers form the core of
cigars, and are bound together by finer textured and more elastic cigar-binders,
with
an outer layer of the elite, thin and silky cigar-wrappers. While tobacco
consumption
has declined in the West because of an increased awareness of the health risk, it
has
increased in the East in pace with increasing populations (Brouk, 1975; Purseglove,
1987; Robbins, 1995).
12 Masticatories
Masticatories, from Late Latin masticare, Greek mastikhé, to grind the teeth, refer
to substances that are chewed to produce salivation. They have a long history. The
resin of Pistacia lentiscus (mastic), for example, has been used as a masticory at
least
since the time of Theophrastus (ca. 370-287 BC), as its Greek vernacular name
testifies (Long, 1987; Mabberley, 1997).
Social Uses 405
Chewing gum from the latex of Manilkara zapota (chicle, chiku, naseberry,
sapodilla [plum], beef apple} of Mexico and Central America was being chewed by
the Mayan people of Guatemala long before the sweetened, flavoured version was
commercialised in the late 19th century. The chicle is tasteless and contains no
alkaloids, the flavours are added later. It became famous during World II following
the arrival of US troops in Europe. The latex contains 20-40% of a gutta-percha-
like
material, which is boiled and evaporated for chewing gum. The latex from other
Manilkara species are now used as a substitute for that of M. zapota. Chewing gum
also contains 85% of a latex from the Malaysian tree Dyera costulata (jelutong);
during World War II the latex of Couma macrocarpa (sorva, lechi-caspi) from the
Upper Amazon was used as a substitute (Brouk, 1975; Briicher, 1989).
Through much of southern Asia to Oceania the half ripe and cured or fully ripe
seeds Areca catechu (betal palm) are chewed as a masticatory. The seeds are
normally sliced and mixed with various spices, such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom
(Elettaria cardamomum) and nutmeg and wrapped in the leaf of Piper betel (betel
pepper) smeared with lime. Alternatively the betel may be mixed with tobacco, with
or without additives, before wrapping. It is a mild stimulant, blackening the teeth
and
giving a red stain to saliva as well as sweetening the breath. Its use has been
known
from antiquity, being mentioned by Herodotus in 340 BC. Betel contains the alkaloid
arecoline, a mild narcotic, producing a sense of well-being and dulling the
appetite,
The seeds (cola nuts) of Cola species (cola) from tropical Africa are also chewed.
They contain 2-4% caffeine, with traces of theobromine and the glucoside kolanin,
which acts as a heart stimulant. The use of the nuts in cola drinks has now been
largely supplanted by synthetics.
In the eastern Andes the local inhabitants daily chew the dried, powdered leaves
of Erythroxylum coca (coca) mixed with unslaked lime and the alkaline ash of
Chenopodium quinoa. The users are able to maintain their blood glucose levels
despite poor diets. The leaves of £. novagranatense from lower altitudes are
similarly
used. The leaves are slightly narcotic, containing 1% cocaine and are the source of
the drug cocaine. Cocaine is a debilitating, addictive narcotic, causing euphoria,
indifference to pain and tiredness, increased alertness and sexual desire (Brouk,
1975;
Mabberley, 1997). The presence of both cocaine and nicotine in Egyptian mummies
is still an ethnobotanical mystery and suggests an early unrecorded trade between
the
Old and New Worlds. Tests for these drugs in the ancient dead from India and the
Far East may indicate a possible route.
2. NARCOTICS
Narcotics are toxic drugs that dull the senses, induce sleep and, with prolonged
use, become addictive. When used medicinally to induce sleep such drugs are
referred
to as hypnotics. It is the actual dosage that distinguishes between being a poison,
a
medicine or a narcotic (‘Sola dosis facit venenum’ of Paracelsus). In modern
society
the use of narcotics is largely recreational, while in more primitive societies
their use
may include medicinal, ritual, religious and recreational purposes (Schultes and
Hofmann, 1992; Macpherson, 1995).
21.1 Cannabis
The short and much branched cultivars are the source of the volatile psychoactive
cannabis resin exuded from glandular hairs, The resin may be smoked as a
hallucination inducing fumitory, creating a pleasurable state of mind, albeit
damaging to the health. It is also used as a snuff or chewed.
is reputed not to cause physical dependence, its abuse leads to passivity, apathy
and
inertia, effects that were first described in 2736 BC in the pharmacopoeia of the
Chinese herbalist, Emperor Shen Nung.
The crude resin known as charas is mainly produced in central Asia and is
extracted by rubbing the tops of the plants with the hands, or beating with a
cloth.
The purified resin known as marihuana, marijuana (Mexico), pot (US), dagga
(South Africa), kif (Morocco), hashish (Turkey), is obtained from the dried flower
heads of female plants. Ganja (India) is obtained from the resin-rich pressed and
dried unfertilised flower heads of female plants. It is usually smoked, often with
tobacco. A relatively mild preparation known as bhang (Hindustani), is the pounded
paste of spices and the dried leaves and flowering heads of both male and female
plants. It is consumed either as candy or as a tisane (Kirby, 1963; Brouk, 1975;
Purseglove, 1987; Schultes and Hofmann, 1992; Macpherson, 1995; Robbins, 1995;
Mabberley, 1997).
The A-9-THC has proved lethal to some insects. However, in trials with the larvae
of Arctia caja (tiger moth) and the grasshopper Zonocerus elegans, some insects
died
while others survived by storing the THC in their bodies (Harborne, 1988; Sharp,
1990; Schultes and Hofmann, 1692; Meng et al., 1998).
212 Opium
The second major hallucinogenic drug from the Old World is opium. From
among the ca. 25 alkaloids present the principal alkaloid of opium is morphine
which, with its salts, are very valuable albeit highly addictive analgesic drugs.
Opium
is produced from the dried latex harvested from the lanced immature capsules of the
cultigen Papaver somniferum subsp. somniferum (opium poppy), a process that has
remained unchanged since it was described by Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) in his
Historia Natuuralis, Opium has been used for millennia as a medicine and
recreational drug. Cultivated in the Neolithic, it is mentioned in the Sumerian
writings, and dispensed by the pharmacies of ancient Egypt and Persia.
In China the opium addicts smoke powder balls; in the Western World addicts
either inject liquid morphine or the synthetic alkaloid based on morphine known as
diamorphine hydrochloride (heroin), which can also taken as a snuff, The tincture
of
opium known as laudanum, obtained by dissolving opium in alcohol, was first
prepared in the mid-17th century by Thomas Sydenham, he is also credited with
prescribing Peruvian bark, i.e. quinine for treating malaria. Laudanum was, until
408 Chapter 21
modern times, a popular soporific and analgesic drug (Renfrew, 1973; Brouk, 1975;
Sharp, 1990; Duin and Sutcliffe, 1992; Mabberley, 1997).
2.1.3 Peyote
Mexico is undoubtedly the world’s richest area of plant diversity and use of
hallucinogens among aboriginal societies, with South America a close second. In
Mexico the best known hallucinogenic drug is peyote, obtained from the spineless
woolly cactus Lophophora williamsii (peyote cactus). The ritual use of peyote has
now
spread northwards through the USA to the Amerindians of Canada. The fresh or
dried aerial parts, mescal buttons, are either chewed or used a tisane prepared by
boiling in water. The active principles are non-volatile so that the buttons loose
none
of their potency during storage. Some 30 alkaloids are present, of which the active
ingredient is the alkaloid mescaline ( B-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-ethylamine),
which
is closely related to a neurotransmitter, the brain-hormone norepinephrine.
Mescaline
acts as a depressant of the central nervous system, producing kaleidoscopic
hallucinations and a feeling of weightlessness. It has even been suggested that the
use
of mescal by the shamans stimulated the strikingly bizarre artistic designs of the
early
American civilisations (Brouk, 1975; Sharp, 1990; Schultes and Hofmann, 1992;
Mabberley, 1997).
Ott (1998) discusses the effect of a number of toxic honeys, in which bees have
sequested naturally occurring secondary metabolites from floral and extrafioral
nectaries. For example, the Mayans deliberately exploited the psychoactive honey
from Turbina corymbosa (ololiuqui) for the ritual mead, balché, which was used as a
shamanic inebriant for hallucinations and visions. Elsewhere in southern Mexico the
seeds are used in Aztec ceremonies as a hallucinogenic intoxicant with reputed
analgesic properties. The active principles are ergotine alkaloids and lysergic
acid
derivatives. These were previously known from the cereal fungus Claviceps purpurea
(ergot). Ergotism, from eating flour contaminated by ergots, resulted in intense
pain
and hallucinations, a condition known as St Anthony’s fire. Although Linnaeus
(1763) in his De Raphania, wrongly attributed ergotism to the seeds of the common
black turnip-radish mixed in the grain (Schultes and Hofmann, 1992; Mabberley,
1997).
Social Uses 409
3. SOAPS, COSMETICS AND FRAGRANCES
31 Soaps
Soaps are cleansing agents manufactured in bars, granules, flakes, or liquid form
from the sodium and potassium salts of fatty acids, particularly stearic, palmitic
and
oleic acids. The vegetable oils and fats from which many soaps are prepared consist
essentially of the glyceryl esters of these acids. During manufacture vats
containing
the oils or fats are heated with dilute NaOH (less frequently KOH) solution. When
hydrolysis is completed the soap is ‘salted out” or precipitated with NaCl. The
soap is
then treated as required with perfumes and made into tablets. For example, Castile
soap is manufactured from olive oil, transparent soap from decolorised vegetable
oils,
and liquid green soap from KOH and vegetable oils.
32 Cosmetics
Cosmetics are preparations applied to either beautify or decorate the body (from
French cosmétigue, from adjective ‘of adornment’, from Greek kosmétikos, skilled in
arranging, from kosméros, well ordered, from kosmein, to arrange, from kosmos,
order). Their use dates back into antiquity. The powdered leaves of Lawsonia
inermis
(henna) are believed to have been used in Pharaonic Egypt for colouring the finger
nails red, and of Isatis tinctoria (woad) for colouring the bodies of the Ancient
Britons blue. Henna is still used today, as is the orange colouring obtained from
the
testa of Bixa orellana (annatto), the original Amerindian body paint. The Seri of
Baja
California use a range of face paint materials; they also tattoo their bodies with
the
mashed leaves of Condalia globosa mixed with the ashes of Olneya tesota
(ironwood). In some cultures it is customary to blacken the teeth using wood tar
obtained from such species as Eugenia tumida, Fagraea racemosa, Tamarindus
indica, etc., or the juice from Rothmannia macrophylla. First used by the
inhabitants
of the Sonoran Desert for dressing the hair, the liquid wax from the seeds of
Simmiondsia chinensis (jojoba) is now widely used in a number of commercial
cosmetic preparations (Manatee, 1990; Cotton, 1990; Fleeter and Mossier, 1985;
Lemons ef al., 1991; Mabberley, 1997).
410 Chapter 21
33 Fragrances
Fragrances based on essential oils (see Chapter 15) have been widely used from
the earliest times. Today they are added to such products for personal use as
perfumes, deodorants, shampoos, bath lotions, toilet soaps, toothpastes and mouth
washes, and industrially for laundry soaps, detergents, cleaning agents, air
freshness,
etc. (Coupon, 1995).
The Ancient Egyptians were famous for their scents and perfumes. Because the
distillation of alcohol was not known until the 4th century BC, the essential oil
had to
be extracted by steeping plants, flowers or shavings of fragrant wood in oil, which
is
then added to other oils or fat. The oils used included balanas oil from Balanites
aegyptiaca, moringa oil from Moringa peregrina, syn. M. aptera (the M. oleifera,
syn. M. pterygosperma cited by Manniche (1989) is a native of northern India and
Pakistan, and is not known from the wild in Egypt fide Verdcourt (1985)), olive oil
from Olea europaea, almond oil from Prunus dulcis, etc. According to Theophrastus,
Concerning Odours, balanos was the preferred oil because it was the least viscous,
followed by fresh raw olive oil and almond oil. One of the more famous of the
Egyptian perfumes was made in the Delta city of Mendes, consisting of balanos oil,
myrrh and resin from Commiphora spp. Interestingly, the order in which the
ingredients were added to the oil was extremely important since the last one to be
added imparted the most pungent scent. See Manniche (1989) for other recipes.
The origins of the present-day industry began in 1367 with the creation by the
Queen Elizabeth of Hungary of an alcoholic solution of fragrant herbs known as
‘Queen of Hungary Water’. This was followed in 1690 by the development of ‘Eau de
Cologne’ by Jean-Antoine Farina. During the 18th century commercial perfumery
houses began to appear, with producers and compounders providing the essential oils
and creating fragrance compounds for the perfumery houses. In the 19th century
developments in organic chemistry led to the synthesis of the first organic
products,
such as vanillin and benzyl aldehyde. Despite such advances, the essential oil
industry is a conservative one which does not readily lend itself to synthetic
substitutes for the better class of perfumes (Brud, 1995; Coppen, 1995).
The essential oils are the most widely used source of perfume by indigenous
societies. An example of an alternative mode is in the Sudan where the smoke from
Combretum adenogonium, syn. C. fragrans and Terminalia brownii are used by
women to scent their bodies. In West Africa sachets containing the rhizomes and
tubers of Cyperus spp. and Kyllinga spp., or their smoke, are used for scent. As an
antithesis of fragrance, in Nubian Egypt the leaves of Lawsonia inermis placed in
the
hollows of the arms act as a deodorant (Burkill, 1985; Manniche, 1989).
Social Uses 411
Plants containing volatile oils have been widely utilised in traditional medicines
to induce or stimulate menstrual flow, i.e. emmenagogues, and are known somewhat
less euphemistically as abortifacients. They bring about artificial abortion by
producing pelvic congestion through intestinal irritation; toxic doses of the
actual
volatile oil being more effective than the plant material (Tyler, 1989). The latter
include the leaves of Ruta graveolens (tue), the leaves and tips of Chrysanthemum
vulgare (tansy), Hedeoma pulegioides (American pennyroyal) and Mentha pulegium
(European pennyroyal), the tops of Juniperus sabina (savin), the fruits of
Juniperus
communis (juniper) and Petroselinum crispum (parsley), and the oleoresin of Pinus
palustris (longleaf pine).
Manniche (1989) suggests that the seeds of Apium graveolens (celery) and not
parsley were used as an emmenagogue by the Ancient Egyptians. While Lawless
(1992) also reports emmenagogue properties for celery, other literature sources,
e.g.
Launert (1981), Chiej (1984) and Mabey (1988) only mention parsley. This example
serves to illustrates how information is often handed down without the recipient
checking the primary references and plant identities, and thereby providing a major
source of conflicting information.
Tree worship and the use of leaves, flowers, etc. in religious ceremonies almost
certainly date back to prehistoric times. That useful plants should be venerated is
understandable, less understandable are the very many plants without apparent
usefulness to a community that are also associated with myths and traditions. Their
use is presumably due to their association with religious beliefs, or perhaps
because of
their resemblance to the emblem of a particular deity or even the name of a sage
associated with them, and thereby making the plant sacred. Various plant parts are
412 Chapter 21
traditionally used to counteract witchcraft or the evil eye, or burnt to drive away
mosquitoes and other pests. Scents and perfumes are used to appease the gods, while
others are believed to restore fertility, etc. (Gupta, 1971).
The Ancient Greeks associated some plants with particular gods and their godly
attributes, e.g. purification, fertility and growth. Thus wheat is sacred to
Dementer,
who taught agriculture to man, and the vine associated with Dionysus, the god of
wine and ecstasy. Victorious athletes were awarded garlands of wild olive leaves
(Olea europaea) at the Olympic Games, bay leaves (Laurus nobilis) at the Pythian
Games, and wild celery (Apium graveolens) at the Nemean Games.
Similarly, in India the traditional Hindu almanac, the Panchang, which is based
on an astrological concept of the movements of the Sun through the constellations,
has a reigning deity for each constellation together with an associated sacred tree
to
be worshipped. Plants are also believed to influence body functions, ailments and
disease, and have been linked with reputed medical properties of plants to
counteract
that influence. The root bark of Calotropis gigantea, for example, is associated
with
the constellation Sravena and the diety Vishnu, and is used to treat intermittent
fever.
While in Bali the Hindu burial ceremonies include the yellow variety of the bamboo
Schizostachyum brachycladium.
In Europe the 17th century some philosophers and herbalists still maintained that
every plant and every illness was governed by a constellation or planet and that a
disease caused by one planet could be cured by a plant belonging to an opposing
planet, or conversely, by a herb belonging to the planet responsible for the
disease.
Probably the best known of these astrological botanists was Nicolas Culpepper and
his Physicall Directory published in 1649 and his fanciful linking of herbs with
astrology. Fortunately for medicine other herbals were free of such fancies
(Vickery,
1995). See Chapter 16 for further information on herbals.
In some mythologies forked roots are attributed with human properties. Thus the
fanciful resemblance to the human form of the forked roots of the mandrake were
regarded as a talisman by the ancient Assyrians; the roots were used to ward off
evil
spirits. In early western mythology the mandrake was reputed to emit screams when
pulled from the ground, Dioscorides describes how a dog is tied by the neck to the
plant and a piece of meat thrown to the dog, causing it to lunge and uproot the
Social Uses 413
mandrake. The shrieks and groans during the uprooting plus the foul odour brought
about the demise of the dog, while the master’s ears are stopped against the sound,
which would otherwise drive him mad. Mandrake was also known as a ‘gallows man’
because it was believed to grow beneath a gallows, fertilised by the urine or semen
of
the hanged man. Such gallows men were attributed with greater powers than
In Australia myths relate how careless land owners will become blind unless
certain lands are protected from burning. As a result fragments of the rain forest
are
protected from fire and valuable fire-sensitive species, e.g. Dioscorea spp. (yams)
are
conserved, While such a protective practice has a practical function in conserving
the
yams as a food resource, some argue that the advantageous consequences of a social
practice does not necessarily explain its existence (Cotton, 1996).
Europe too has its fair share of religious and ritual plants. Floral tributes at
funerals were probably first used to mask the odour of rotting flesh. In Italy
white
chrysanthemums are a favourite funeral flower and as such are never used for indoor
decoration. In various parts of the UK Sambucus nigra (elder) was often planted
near
habitation for protection against witches; sometimes it was also associated with
fairies
and good luck (Vickery, 1995).
In Ireland ands Wales a sprig of Ulex europaeus (gorse) was traditionally hung
over the doorway or brought into the house on May Day to ward off witches and
fairies (Grigson, 1958; Lucas. 1960), On the other hand Vickery (1995) provides
examples from Ireland and the Channel Islands where it is considered unlucky to
bring gorse into the house, and from Hampshire where dragons were believed to
either live or were born in gorse flowers.
further examples). The importance of such religious and ritual use of plants to
communities cannot be ignored. People are entitled to their beliefs and
administrators
and developers should be aware of such uses and beliefs and respect them.
Most people are familiar with the changing seasons and their association with the
life cycle of wild and cultivated plants. Apart from biologists relatively few
among the
industrialised nations today correlate the changing life cycle with other
biological
events. In the UK there are a number of old country sayings that still reflect such
observations. Thus, when the lilac (Syringa vulgaris) is in flower it is a bad time
to
buy calves. This is because flowering coincides with lush pastures and rich milk
causing the calves to flower.
The so called ‘primitive societies’ may even rely on certain plants, referred to as
‘calendar plants’, for their hunting and survival. Often with conspicuous flowers,
they
serve to indicate certain important seasonal occurrences that could otherwise be
difficult to assess, such as when an animal food resource is at its best. For
example,
when Brachychiton paradoxus is flowering the Arnhem Land Aborigines know that
there are plenty of baby sharks in the sea, scrub fowl have laid their eggs, and
mudcrabs contain eggs and are at their best (Yunupinu et al., 1995).
Plants may also be used to forecast the weather. In Wales rapidly opening lilac
blossoms indicates rain falling soon; if they quickly droop and fade it is a sign
of a
warm summer, Also in the UK some people hang a piece of dried seaweed near the
door, when it gets damp it is a sign of rain (Vickery, 1995). As a child I was
taught
that rain would follow when the wind blowing through trees and shrubs reveals the
underside of leaves.
Chapter 22
The world population is now 6 billion, of whom 0.8 billion are malnourished and
1.2 billion live on a daily income of less than US$1.00. The population is
continuing
to rise and is expected to reach 11,5-12 billion by 2050, Even now many of the
undeveloped nations are doubling their populations within 20-25 years, expanding at
a faster rate than sustainable agriculture and forestry can be maintained. The
effects
of this demographic explosion is likely to be compounded by the necessity of
adapting
to the yet unknown full effects of global warming. The balance between the need to
conserve the environment and the ever increasing demand for land and water
resources will become more difficult to maintain.
415
416 Chapter 22
newspaper pulp, to the developed countries. On the other hand, the developed
countries have the capacity to provide food for export yet fail to do so because
crop
surpluses would mean lower prices for their farmers. Even if surplus food was made
available to those countries in need, the transport costs, etc. are prohibitively
high.
For example, during the Ethiopian famine in the 1980s 1 ton of wheat costing ca.
£100 at the port of lading had doubled in value by the time it had reached the port
of
A very wide range of under-utilised crops and other plant resources have been
identified and are available to suit the needs of both the developed and less
developed
nations of the world, although I fear that the economics of production will always
control what product reaches the world markets. For example, it is largely the
economics of jojoba oil production that currently restricts the crop to a
relatively
small scale acreage for the lucrative cosmetics industry, whereas large scale
cropping
would be required to provide a cheap substitute for the oil from the endangered
sperm
whale. Growers would have to accept a substantial drop in sale price to meet that
demand.
From the very beginning of human life on earth plants have been utilised by man,
and many poor people in the developing countries continue to rely on non-wood
forest products (NWFP) for their survival and/or income, while the developed
countries have tended to regard NWFP solely as objects of commerce. It is only
during the past two decades that the international organisations have fully
appreciated the scale and importance of NWFP for the rural populations of
developing countries.
Throughout history wild plants have been brought into cultivation to meet an
increasing demand for guaranteed quantity, quality and price for food and industry,
accompanied by a shift from a domestic to a plantation or industrial economy. Where
these demands cannot be met an often more profitable development in recent years
has been to produce synthetic substitutes, especially for pharmaceuticals.
Plantation
and industrial production have also resulted in the rural producers loosing their
competitive edge in the national and international markets and having to
increasingly
rely on supplying rural households and local markets, (Wickens, 1991; Killman,
1999).
No single country can be expected to produce the range of plant products that it
requires from its own internal natural resources, yet many countries still fail to
fully
utilise what they have available. India’s Green Revolution was a good example of
what can be done to provide greater self sufficiency and a better trade balance,
although the swing to monoculture and high agrochemical inputs is rapidly becoming
a cause for concern. Trade, of course, is essential, but it should be for the
mutual
advantage of both the exporting and importing countries, narrowing the currently
widening monetary gap between the developed and less developed nations. As
Mohandas Ghandhi has wisely stated “The earth has enough for everyone's needs but
not for somebody’s greed.”
At the Start of the 21st Century 417
2. GENETIC ENGINEERING
There are extravagant claims of GM crops being able to solve the world’s food
problem. This would be possible if the GM crops were suitable for the developing
countries and in the unlikely event of the subsistence farmers in these developing
countries being able to afford the cost of the seeds and chemical inputs. Even so,
there
could be potential benefits for the developing countries if, for example, suitable
low
input GM crops could be developed to solve their problems of hunger and nutrition
by
using the technology now available to increase the calorific content of starch-
storage
organs of the major starch crops and the vitamin content, etc. of others. This
would
undoubtedly be beneficial not only to the undernourished people of the developing
countries but also help reduce the indignity of famine relief. Perhaps the savings
made by the developed countries in costly relief could be used finance such
developments? It should be remembered that there are ethical problems regarding the
introduction of animal genes into food plants for those whose religions forbid the
eating of animals.
The US Corn Belt, for which the GM technology was first developed, with vast
cultivated fields and the minimum of headlands, hedges and other wildlife habitats,
certainly does not provide the most suitable environment for such investigations.
It
was left to the more environmentally conscious Europe to demonstrate that there are
dangers to some species of wildlife. The adverse effects on a single insect species
can
have unseen consequences elsewhere in the food chain. Darwin (1859) was the first
to
provide simple examples of such food chains, e.g. Trifolium pratense (red clover)
relying on pollination by the bumble bee, whose nests are destroyed by field mice
who, in turn, are eaten by cats, to which I might add the malicious rumour,
hopefully
At the Start of the 21st Century 419
untrue, that the cats are sometimes curried and served up in oriental restaurants.
A
failure in one link will have repercussions further down the chain. But, as Wilson
(1992) has pointed out, this is an over-simplification since each link in the chain
is
linked to other chains, forming a veritable mesh. Other chains will link the red
clover
with the fungus Sclerotinia trifoliorum (clover rot) and the eelworm Anguillulina
dipsaci responsible for ‘clover sickness’ (Robinson, 1947). The monitoring of the
environmental effects is clearly a highly complex and long-term investigation,
especially in the developing countries and in the species-rich tropics.
MAFF (1996) has already reported the sobering fact that 41% of the fruit and
vegetables analysed in the UK contain pesticide residues. Insecticide and pesticide
pollution of the environment are already well documented; could there be any
additional risk from growing GM crops? There are already indications that the
increase in use of glyphosate herbicides in association with glyphosate-resistant
GM
crops could have an adverse effect on wild life. Despite the manufacturer’s claims
that glyphosate has a half-life of 25 days, the results from independent scientists
range between 40 and 150 days. It has also been demonstrated that glyphosate has
adverse effects on N-fixing and other soil organisms, stunt the growth of worms and
change the microbial balance of the soil. Although the GM crops require fewer
applications than non-GM crops, they do require insecticides/pesticides designated
by
the breeder, the accumulative effect of successive applications of which on the
environment have yet to be investigated. There is no possibility of using more
environmentally friendly agrochemicals (Anonymous, 1998). How long will it take
before the pests and diseases build up a resistance to the agrochemicals. It has
happened with non-GM crops and there is no reason why the GM crops should be
the exception.
The escape of genes from GM crops into related non-GM crops and wild species
is now recognised. Cross-pollination is the obvious culprit. The ability to
identify and
destroy every GM escapee is an impossible task and will become an increasing
problem as the growing of GM crops becomes more widespread. Since the honeybee
forages over a radius of 5 km (Butler, 1959), pollen transfer by bees can be
expected
to occur over a similar range. Isolating wind pollinated GM crops is clearly an
impossible task
the attempts by organisations such as the International Crop Research Institute for
the
During the 20th century the UK’s involvement in economic botany has passed
through several stages: (1) The colonial period, developing new crops and
introducing them to the various colonics in «.der to provide a balanced supply of
raw
materials within the British Empire. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG) played
an active role in recommending, col!z-ting and introducing new plants and training
economic botanists for the colonies; (2) The doldrums of post colonialism, with the
former colonies working independently and trying to adopt a veneer of western
civilisation regardless of the costs. The individual countries were unable to
maintain
an internal balanced flow of raw materials, and their economies deteriorated.
Research at the RBG on economic plants virtually ceased; and (3) The reawakening.
As part of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy there has been increased interest
during the past two decades in alternative crops for the UK. Amongst other
activities
a new unit, the Alternative Crops Unit, was established within MAFF to investigate
alternative crops for the UK, and research on biomass as a source of energy is
being
funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (Dover, 1985; Carruthers, 1986;
Chisholm, 1994; MAFF, 1994a).
With the help of funding by OXFAM, research on economic plants at the RBG
recommenced in 1981 with the setting up of the Survey of Economic Plants for Arid
and Semi-arid Tropics (SEPASAT) which, in 1985, became the Survey of Economic
Plants for Arid and Semi-arid Lands (SEPASAL). SEPASAL, together with other
units and the Museum collections now form Kew’s Centre for Economic Botany,
recreating with modern technology Sir William Hooker's idea of “a collection that
would render great service, not only to the scientific botanist, but to the
merchant,
the manufacturer, the physician, ...... ” (Wickens, 1993). The UK Chapter of the US
parent Society for Economic Botany was founded in 1991 and goes from strength to
strength. The UK's first MSc course in Ethnobotany at the University of Canterbury,
held in conjunction with the RBG, commenced in 1998. The UK economic botanists,
whatever their disciplines, are once again active and united in a common cause.
At the Start of the 21st Century 421
4. FINIS
There are several lines of research that are likely to become increasingly
important in the future: (1) An increased search for novel biochemicals and
pharmaceuticals, especially among the marine algae; (2) An increased use of
biofuels
and their by-products. As a renewable resource the plants offer a suitable
alternative
to the world’s ever diminishing reserves of fossil fuels. According to Morris and
Ahmed (1992) not only is it possible for plants to recapture their share of the
industrial materials market that they enjoyed in the 1920s, they could also replace
at
least one-third of all such materials derived from petroleum-based stocks. The
potential is there but it will be the economics that decide; (3) A greater use of
the
Cyanobacteria as a source of food, especially in the developing countries of the
arid
and semi-arid tropics; (4) An increase in the use of genetic engineering; and (5)
Greater emphasis on reclamation and maintenance of the environment, especially in
the realm of pollutants and, in the case of heavy metals, their sequestering and
recycling.
Whatever the future globally, it is ultimately cost, supply and demand that will
control what plants will be used where and for which purposes; the more cynical may
even believe that profit alone will be the sole deciding factor.
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Yunupinu, B., Yunupinu-Marika, L., Marika, D., Marika,B, Marika, B., Marika, R. and
Wightman, G. (1995)
Rirratjinu ethnobotany: aboriginal plant use from yirrkala, Arnhem Land, Australia,
Northern Territories
Botany Bulletin 21.
Zin, J. and Weiss, C. (1980) La Salud por Medico de las Plantas Medicinales, 6th
edn., Editorial Salesiana,
Santiago, Chile.
Taxonomic Index
459
THALLOPHYTA Table 3; 30
XANTHOPHYTA sce PROTOCTISTA
ZYGOMYCOTA see FUNGL
ANTHOPHYTA (Angiosperms)
(Malvaceae) 344
A. manihot (L.) Medik. 274
Taxonomic Index
Papilionoideac) 201
Taxonomic Index
461
154,179
ASTERACEAE, sce COMPOSITAE 35
Astracantha gammifera (Lab.) Podlech
(Leguminosac-Papilionoideac) Table 18
A. microcephala (Willd.) Podlech Table 18;
78
Astragalus (Leguminosae-Papilionoidcae) 82,
335, 399, 400
A, adscendens Boiss. & Hausskn. 201, 228
A. gummifera Lab. = Astracautha gummifera
Table 18
A. microcephalus Willd. = Astracantha
microccephala Table 18, 78
Astrocaryum murumuru C. Mart. (Palmae)
Table 19. 185
A, tucuma C Mant. 185
A, vulgare C Mart. 185
Atriplex (Chenopodiaceac) 182, 221, 399
A, canescens (Pursh) Nutt. 397
A, cuneata A Nelson 397
A. gardneria D.Dietr. 397
A. halimus L. 199
A, hortensis L.. 152
A. nummularia Lindl. 13
A. polycarpa (Torr.} S$. Watson 409
A. vesicaria Howard 87
Atropa belladonna L. (Solanaceae) Table 23;
26,221,412
Attalea funifera C.Mart. (Palmae) 265, 277
A. insignis Drude 86
Auncoumea klaineana Pierre (Burseraceae) 230
Autranella congolensis (De Wild.) Chev.
{Sapotaceac) 233
Avena (Gramincac) 167
A. abyssinica A.Rich. 167
A. byzautina C.Kech 167
A. fatua 1. = A. sativa subsp. fatua 167
A.nudal. 167
Taxonomic Index
463
Taxonomic Index
CARYOPHYLLACEAE Table 4; 81
CARYOPHYLLALES 30
CARYOPIIYLLIDAE 30
Caryota urens L. (Palmae) 201, 267
Cassia italica (Mill.) Spreng. = Senna italica
(Leguminosae-Cacsalpinioideae) 74
C. vbuusifolia L. = Senna obtusifolia 205,
324, 369
C. senna L. = Senna alexandrina 324
C. sicherana DC. 253
Castanea (Fagaceae) 63, 231
Csativa L.. 290
Castanospermum (Leguminosac-Mimosoideae)
22
C. australe A.Cunn. ex Mundic 21
Castilla clastica Sessé (Moraceae) 288
Casuarina equisetifolia L. (Casuarinaceae)
224
C. glauca Sicber 344
CASUARINACEAE 48
Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don
(Apocynaceae) Table 23; 324, 328, 329
Ceiba (Bombacaceae) S1
C. acuminata (S.Watson) Rose 85
C. pentandra (L.) Gaertn. Table 16; 265, 276
Celtis (Ulmaceae) 253
C.australisL. 1
C. integrifotia Lam. 1
Cenchrus (Gramineae) 171
C. biflorus Roxb. 172
C. ciliaris L 14
Centropodia glauca (Nees) Cope (Gramineae)
76
Cepaelis ipecacuanha (Brot.) Rich. =
Psychotria ipecacuanha (Rubiaceae)
Table 23
Ceratonia siligna I. (Leguminosac-
Caesalpinioideac) Table 18; 276, 282
Cereus (Cactaceae) 51
Ceriops (Rhizophoraceae) 91
Ceroxyton (Palmac) 66, 82
Taxonomic Index
Chamaecrista (Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae)
96
Chamaedorea (Palmae) 238
C, elatior Mart. 238
Chamaerops humilis L. (Palmae) 267
CHENCPODIACEAE Table 4; 78, 80, 81, 84,
85,90, 155, 182, 399
Chenopodium (Chenopodiaceae) 172. 221
C. album L. 174
C. berlandieri Moq. subsp. nnttalliae (Saff.)
Wilson & Heiser 175
C. nutailiae Saff. = C. berlandieri subsp.
nuttalliae 175
C. pallidicaule Aellen 175
C. quinoa Willd. 105, 124, 174, 405
Chlorophora excelsa (Welw.) Benth. &
Hook f. = Milicia excelsa (Moraceae) 232
C. regia A. Chev. = Maclura regia 232
C. tinctoria (L.) Gaud. = Maclura tinctoria
292
Chondrilla juncea L.. (Compositae) Table 26
Chondrodendron tomentosum Ruiz & Pav.
(Menispermaceae) 336
Chrysanthemum (Compositae) 93, 95
C. indicum L. 340
C. vulgare (L.) Bernh. 411
Chrysophyllun maytenoides Mart. Sapotaceac)
232
Cicer arietinum L. (Leguminosag-
Papilionoideae) 181
Cinchona officinalis L.. (Rubiaceae) Table 23;
323
C. ledgeriana Bern.Moens ex Trimen Table
23
Cinnamomum (Lauraceae) 63
C. camphora (L.) ).Presl 300
C. verum J.Presl 195, 199, 301
C. zeylanicum Blume = C. verum 301
x Citroncirus webberi JW Ingram &
H.E.Moore (Rutaceae) 41
Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Mansf.
{Cucurbitaceae) 14, 130, 189, 367
465
Commelina (Commelinaceae) 84
466
Taxonomic Index
467
Taxonomic Index
E. smi
{Compositac) 54
Euphorbia (Buphorbiaceae) Table 20; 30, 80,
335,393
E, antisyphilitica Zucc. 303
E. enterophora Drake 78
E. hybermaL. 338
E. nigrispina N.E.Br. 393
EUPHORBIACEAE Table 2, 4, 25; 30, 77, 80,
90, 232, 313
Exogonium purga Wender. = Ipomoea purga
{Convolvulaceae) 286
G.verum L. 203
GARRYACEAE Table 2
Gastrolobium {Leguminosae-Papilionoideae)
222
469
Gunnera (Gunneraceae) 96
GUNNERACEAE 48
Taxonomic Index
Caesalpinioideae) 234
(Onagraceae) 91
Khaya (Meliaceae) 27
471
Macadamia (Proteaceae) 14
Maclura regia (A.Chev.) Corner (Moraceae)
232
M. tinctoria (L.) Steud. 292
Macroptilium (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae)
14
Madhuca (Sapotaceae) 185
M, butracea (Roxb.) Macbr. 185
M. latifolia (Roxb.) Macbr. 185
M. longifolia (Koenig.) Macbr. 185
M. motleyana (de Vriese) Baehni 185
Maerua crassifolia Forrsk. (Capparaceae) 253
MALPHIGIALES 30
Malus x domestica Borkh. (Rosaceae) 40, 176
MALVACEAE 51
Mandragora officinarum L. (Solanaceae) 412
Mangifera (Anacardiaccae) 63
M.indicaL. 176,224
Taxonomic Index
Narcissus (Amaryllidaceae) 95
Nephelium L. (Sapindaceae) 63
473
Opuntia (Cactaceag) 78
0. cochenillifera (L.) Mill. 226
0. ficus-indica (L.) Mill. 72
Orbignya (Palmae) 260
0, cohune (C.Mart.) Standl. Table 19
O. martiana Barb.Rodr. = QO, phalerata 185,
213
O. oleifera Burret Table 19; 185
O. phalerata C. Mart. Table 19; 87, 185, 213,
227
ORCHIDACEAE Table 4; 99
Orobanche (Scrophulariaceae) 112, 344
Oroxylum indicum (L.) Kurz (Bignoniaceac)
51
Oryza (Gramineae) 159,171
0. barthii A.Chev. 159, 172
0, glaberrima Steud. Table 7; 159, 172
©. nivara $.D.Sharma & Shastry 59
O. rufipogon Griffith 59, 159
0. sativa L. Table 7, 22; 59, 91, 159, 344,
345
Oryzopsis (Gramineae) 171
O. hymenoides (Roem. & Schult.) Ricker
84
OXALIDACEAE Table 4
Oxalis (Oxalidaceae) 221
O, tuberosa Molina 78
Taxonomic Index
475
Q.ilex L. 227
476
Taxonomic Index
Saccharum (Gramineae) 89
S. officinarum L. 14, 78, 131, 201
Salicornia (Chenopodiaceae 75
S. bigelowii Torr. 74, 260
S.europaeal. 5, 182
Salix (Salicaceae) 182, 207, 241, 258,393
S.albaL. 325
Salsola (Chenopodiaceae) 221, 399
S$. baryosma (Roem. & Schult.) Dandy = S.
imbricata 74
S. imbricata Forssk. 74
S. tetrandra Forssk. 81
Salvadora persica L. (Salvadoraceae) 74
Salvia fruticosa Mill. (Labiatae) 81
S.leucophylla Torr. 102-103
S.sclareaL. 301
S. sonomensis S.W.Greene 397
Samanea saman (Tacq.) Merr. = Albizia saman
(Leguminosae-Mimosoideac) 234
Sambucus nigra L. (Caprifoliaceae) 190, 413
Samuela carnerosana Trel. (Agavaceag) Table
16
Sansevieria (Dracaenaceae) 265
Santalum accuminatom (R.Br.) ADC.
(Santalaceae) 14
S. album L. 232, 300, 301, 303
Sapindus (Sapindaceac) 409
Taxonomic Index
477
Taxonomic Index
Theobroma (Sterculiaceae) 63
Taxonomic Index
479
U, pumila L. 182
UMBELLIFERAE Table 24, 25; 36, 323
Urena lobata L. (Malvaceae) Table 16
Uriochloa (Gramineae) 171
Urtica (Urticaceae) Table 10; 296
Z. dumosum Boiss. 80
Taxonomic Index
CONIFEROPHYTA, CYCADOPHYTA,
GINKGOPHYTA AND GNETOPHYTA
(Gymnosperms)
Nomenclature of conifers according to Farjon
(1998)
BOWENIACEAE 48
GNETOPSIDA Table 3
P. banksiana Lamb. 86
P. brutia Ten. 49
481
WELWITSCHIACEAE Table 4
Widdringtonia nodiflora (L.) Powrie
(Cupressaceae) 5
W. whytei Rendle 5
FILICINOPHYTA, LYCOPHYTA,
Taxonomic Index
LEPTOSPORANGIATAE Table 3
Lycopodium (Lycopodiaceae) 351
L. alpinum L. 351
L. clavatom L. 351
LYCOPHYTA Table 3; 347, 350
LYCOPODOPHYTA = LYCOPHYTA Table 3
POLYPODIACEAE Table 4
ANTHOCEROPHYTA (Hornworts)
BRYOPHYTA (Mosses)
imponens 353
483
HEPATOPHYTA (Liverworts)
HEPATIACEAE Table 3
HEPATOPHYTA Table 3, 95, 354, 398
(Jungermanniaceae) 354
(Jungermanniaceae) 354
FUNGI
(Classification follows Hawsworth ez af. (1995))
ASCOMYCETES = ASCOMYCOTA 36
ASCOMYCOTA Table 3; 36, 355, 356, 364
Aspergillus (Ascomycota) 362, 363
A. flavus Link 180
A. niger van Tiegh. 312, 361
A. oryzae (Ahlb.) Cohn 181, 189, 361, 363
Auricularia auricula-judae (L.) Schroet.
(Ascomycota) 357
Aureobasidium pullulans (de Bary) Arnaud
(Mitosporic Fungi) 362
BASIDIOMYCETES = BASIDIOMYCOTA 36
BASIDIOMYCOTA Table 3; 36, 355, 356
Beauveria bassiana (Bals.)Vuill. (Mitosporic
Fungi) 342
Boletus edulis Bull. ex Fr. (Basidiomycota) 356
B. granulatus L. cx Pers. = Suillus granulatus
357
Botrytis (Ascomycota) 195
B. cinerea Pers. ex Fr. 194
Bovista nigrescens Pers. ex Pers.
(Basidiomycota) 258
Taxonomic Index
Endogone (Zygomycota) 99
ERYSIPHACEAE (Ascomycota) 362
Evernia furfuracea (L.} Ach. = Pseudevernia
furfuracea (Ascomycota) 258, 365
E. prunastri (L.) Ach. 258, 365
Taxonomic Index
485
(Basidiomycota) 362
Taxonomic Index
(Basidiomycota) 357
487
and Protozoa)
CHROMISTA 355
CHYTRIDIOMYCETES =
CHYTRIDIOMYCOTA 363
CRYPTOPHYTA = CRYPTOMONADA
Table 3; 373
Bacteria Index)
Taxonomic Index
LABRINTHULOMYCOTA Table 3
Laminaria (Phaeophyta) 5, 377, 381, 384, 385
387
MYCOPHYTA 30
MYXOMYXOTA Table 3
489
BACTERIA
Acetobacter 370
A. aceti (Pasteur) Beij. 195,311
subsp. aceti 370
subsp. xylinum (A.J. Br.) Buchanan &
Gibbons 370
A. kiitzingianum (Hansen) Bergey ef al. = A,
pasteurians 370
A. melanogenus Beij. = Gluconobacter
oxydans 370
A. oxydans (Henneberg) Bergey et al. =
Gluconobacter oxydans 370
A. pasteurians (Hansen) Beij. 370
A. roseum (Asai) Vaughan = Gluconobacter
oxydans 370
A. suboxylans Kluyver & de Leeuw =
Gluconobacter oxydans 370
A. xylinum (A.J.Br.) Holland = A. aceti subsp.
xylioum 370
ACTINOBACTERIA (Eubacteria) Table 3;
366, 368
ACTINOMYCETALES = ACTINOBACTERIA
368
Taxonomic Index
Bacillus 369
B. lacta Lister = Streptococcus lactis 193
B. macerans Schardinger 371
B. megaterium de Bary 370
B. sphaericus Meyer & Neide 343
B. thuringiensis Berliner 343
B. subtilis (Ehrernberg) Cohn. 181, 205, 367,
369
BACTERIA Table 3; 30, 342, 366
BACTERIOPHYTA = BACTERIA 30
Bradyrhizobium 96
Brevibacterium erythrogenes (Lehm. &
Neumann) Breed 370
Brevibacterium linens (Wolff) Breed 370
Brucella abortus Schmidt & Weis 367
Clavibacter 367
Taxonomic Index
Clostridium 367
C. acetobutylicum C.W.McCoy eral. 371
C. propionicum Cardon & Barker 311
CORYNEBACTERIACEAE 367
Corynebacterium simplex Jensen =
Arthrobacter simplex 368
CRENARCHAEOTA (Archaea) Table 3
Curtobacteriom 367
CYANOBACTERIA (Eubacteria) Table 3; 30,
95, 206, 291, 352, 366, 367, 368, 421
CYANOPHYTA = CYANOBACTERIA 30, 95,
366
EURYARCHAEOTA Table 3
Flavobacterium 362
Frankia 96
Gluconobacter 370
G. oxydans (Henneberg) De Ley 370
LACTOBACILLACEAE 367
Lactobacillus 145, 159, 369, 370
L. acidophilus (Moro) Hansen & Mocquot
370
L. brevis (Orla-Jensen) Bergey et al. 204, 369
L. bulgaricus Orla-Jensen = L. delbrueckii
subsp. bulgaricus 370
L. detbrueckii (Leichm.) Weiss subsp.
bulgaricus (Orla-Jensen) Weiss, Schillinger
& Kandler 370
subsp. lactis (Orla-Jensen) Weiss.
Schillinger & Kandler 370
L. plantarum (Orla-Jensen) Bergey et al.
204, 205, 369
Leuconostoc (Cyanobacteria) 369
L. citrovorum (Hammer) Hucker & Pederson =
L, cremoris 369
491
Micrococcus 367
Pyrodictium 70
S. carinii 367
Taxonomic Index
Thiobacillus 367
T. ferrooxidans Temple & Colmer 371
T. thiooxidans Waksman & Joffe 371
Xanthomonas 370
X. campestris (Pammal) Dowson 370
ANIMALIA
A, mellifera 225
Arctia caja (Lepidoptera) 406
B. psenes 52
Boarmia selenaria (Lepidoptera) ~~ 343
Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera) 225
Bos grunniens mutas (Ruminantia) 214
BOVIDAL 366
Bruchidius sahlbergi (Coleoptera) bruchid 353
Bulinus (Molusca) 339
493
HEMIPTERA 228
L.lacca 226
Laspreyresia pomonella (Lepidoplera) 342
Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera) 53,
126, 342
Taxonomic Index
Chemical Index
references in bold.
acetogenins 102
acetylsalicylate 325
agarose 374,378,381
ajuganin 341
alanine Table 5
495
alcohol, indolizidine 21
aldehyde 102, 130, 131, 289, 305, 311, 360,
365
aliphatic polyol 68
alizarin 292,293
alkanes 360
allantoin 326
4-allyl-2-methoxyphenol 199
amanitin 358
ambrosin 339
amides 128
amino-nitrogen 128
amino-phenoxazon 365
aminomonoazo 293
-aminoproprionitrile Table 5
ampicillin 362
amygdalin 102
anagyring 335
anethole 246
aneurine 141
arabinogalactans 284
arabitol 309
arecoline 405
Chemcal Index
argol 203
B-asarone 281
aspartate 202
atropinesterase 221
aurcomycin 325
avermectins 343
azadirachtin 342
benzoin 302
biotin 141
bixin Table 10; 197, 292
bromelin 203,324
butadienes 261
butanoates 371
cacoaol 188
Chemical Index
cannabis 406-407
capsanthin Table 10
capsorubin Table 10
carbohydrase 159
cardol 179
castanospermine 21, 22
catechin 188, 361
catechol 288
8-cedren-13-0l
cellobiose 131
497
cephaeline Table 23
chloramphenicol 368
chymopapain 324
cinerin 340
cis-polyisoprene 287
citral 246
citrate 114
citronellol 246
CNSL, see anacardic acid
co-enzyme 141
collagen 289
concanavalin A 142
copals 285
cortisone 368
creosote 248
cryptoxanthin 218
curare 336
B-cyanoalanine Table 5
cyanocobalamin 141
cyanohydrins 102
cyasterone 340
cyclodextrin 371
cytokinin 384
damsin 339
derris 341
Chemcal Index
dibenzofuran 366
digitoxin 324
digoxin 324
dipentene 244
dipeptide 202
dyes Table 10, 18, 21; 198, 226, 268, 276, 281,
290-293, 294, 347, 354, 364, 365, 376
a-ecdysone 350
ecdysterone 340
cllagitannins 289
emetine Table 23
enzymes 16, 68, 69, 70, 92, 95, 101, 106, 111,
112,131, 132, 133, 136, 141, 144, 145,
158,159, 166, 167, 168, 170, 181, 188, 191,
192, 193, 195, 196, 200, 201, 203, 204, 206,
218, 219, 221, 222, 281, 288, 305, 306, 312,
Chemical Index
ergosterol 140
erucamide Table 21
erythritol 309
erythromycin 368
eucheuman 380
eugenol 199
euseinogen 370
f-exotoxin 343
fagopyrine 175
499
ficin 203
fibres, synthetic 12
filloerythine 175
flavan Table 27
fluorogthanate 222
folic acid 141
{B-D-fructofuranosidase 360
fucoidan 381
500
fucosan 381
fucoxanthin 383
fustic 292
galactoglucomannan 131
gamboge 290
gellan 122
geraniol 380
ginnanso 381
gliadin 157
globulin 172
B-glucanase 219
B-D-glucopyranose 377
Chemcal Index
glutelins 169
glutenin 157
glycine Table 5
glycogen 306
gossypol 187
gramine 221
guaiacol 248
gymnemins 202
Chemical Index
heliotropin 300
n-heptane
heplapeptides 367
heteropolyanion 293
histidine (Table 5, 8
homoarginine Table 5
hordenine 200
huperzine 351
hydrocellulose 312
hydrocortisone 375
hydromorphine 329
hydroxystilbenes Table 27
hyoscyamine 412
hypnean 380
501
imino-acid 68, 75
indican 292
indolizidine alkaloid 21
indoxyl 292
indospicine Table 5
interferon 111
invertase 305
ipomeamarone 346
iridophycan 380
isoflavonoids Table 25
isothujone 103
jalap 286
jasmolin 340
kolanin 405
kosidin 349
kosin 349
502
lactide 312
405, 407
lecithin 203
leghaemoglobin 101
lignosulphonates 244
lipoxygenase 168
Chemcal Index
lonchocarpin Table 25
lupanine 146
maltase 144
menthol 246
mescaline (8-(3,4,5-trimethoxyl-phenyl)-
ethylamine) 408
metformin 318
methanal (formaldehyde) 237, 304, 309
methicillin 362
Se-methylselenocysteine Table 5
methysergide 329
microcystins 367
minerals 140
miracularin 202
mitogens 142
monellins 202
morin 292
morindin 292
muscarine 358
muscazone 342
muscimole 358
mycoprotein 364
narceing 324
neostigmine 324, 337
nitrogenase 95
503
nitro-glycerine 381
nitro-mannitol 381
noscapine 324
oil (see also lipids) Table 20; 49, 74, 128, 138,
139, 152, 184, 202, 295, 296, 367, 400;
iodine value 139; saponification value 139;
drying oils Table 19; 294, 295; fixed oils,
see fatty oils; non-drying oils Table 19; 295;
semi-drying oils Table 19; 295; volatile oils
(see also essential oils) 22, 85, 200, 260,
380, 396, 411
oxaloacetic acid 89
Table 5; 145
oxy-phenoxazon 365
papaverine 324
pectase 206
380
pectose 206
peptain 203
peroxidase 168
phalloidin 358
phenoxazin 365
phloroglucinol 349
3-phosphoglyceric acid 88
phyllophoran 380
phytochelatins 400
phytogluycogen 163
Chemcal Index
phytotoxins 344
pinitol 68
pipertone 303
pisatin 345
polyacetalyenes 102
polyacrylonitrile 310
polyacrylates 287
polygodial 341
polypeptides 102
polyuronide 284
procaine 329
progesterone 411
propane 102
propanone-butyl-alcohol (acetone-butyl-alcohol)
170
protein Table 25; 67, 70, 73, 74, 101, 106, 111,
115, 127, 128, 129, 134, 136-137, 138, 141,
142, 143, 144, 146, 148, 152, 154, 157, 158,
160, 161, 163, 164, 165, 166, 168, 169, 170,
171,172, 174, 175, 178, 180, 181, 182, 183,
189, 192, 193, 196, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206,
209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217,
218, 219, 220, 224, 227, 264, 271, 284, 288,
289, 308, 309, 328, 348, 356, 360, 361, 362,
364, 368, 369, 370, 372, 374, 375, 376, 378,
379, 382, 383, 402
prothrombin 141
protokosin 349
protopectin 206
prunasine 335
psilocine 358
psilocybine 358
psychotrine Table 23
505
pterocarpan Table 27
pullulan 362
purine 102
purpurin 292
pyrogallol 288
quinacrine 349
quinidine Table 23
racemic acid
raffinose 131
rennin 370
reserpine 324
resinoids 302
ribonucleotides 348
ribose 131
245,304
tin 292
saccharine 202
sapogenin 143
saxitoxin 367
selenocystathionine Table 5
selenomethionine Table 5
semicellulose 313
serpentine 328
sesamin 187
sesamol 187
sesamolin 187
sequiteerpenoids 355
sinalbin 200
sinigrin 200
Chemcal Index
sitosterol 411
solanine 281
solanose 281
squalane 295
stachyose 131
starch Table 22; 55, 68, 69, 78, 82, 121, 128,
130, 132-135, 144, 152, 158, 159, 160, 161-
162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 170, 171, 172,
174, 178, 184, 189, 191, 192, 196, 201, 205,
206, 211, 212, 213, 216, 218, 220, 244, 276,
284, 294, 304, 305, 306-312, 347, 349, 361,
362, 363, 370, 371, 375, 376 417, 418;
catonic starch 308; ionogenic starch, 308;
modified starch 121, 135, 308, 310, 361
steviol 101
stigmasterol 411
stilbene ‘Table 27
strychnine Table 23
306, 381
sulphate turpentine
tephrosine Table 25
terpenes 102
terpines 102
Al-tetrahydrocannabinol (A-9-THC)
thaumatin 202
thebaine 324
thiocyanate 146
a-thujone 103
thujopene 299
tomatineg Table 23
B-(3,4,5-trimethoxyl-phenyl)-ethylamine, see
mescaline
tyrosine Table 5, 8
ubiquinone-10 328
urethane 311
urishiol
usnic acid
valine Table 5, 8
vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde)
veratrine 334
xylitol 313
xylose 284,312
Subject Index
properties 300
apricots Table 6
Subject Index
aspirin 325-326
95-98
511
biochemistry 4, 64, 65
capsid 401
caribou 366
513
cladodes or phylloclades 78
climate 11, 15, 16, 18, 25, 43, 44-46, 47, 69,
61,62, 71,72,75,76, 79, 81, 84, 96, 106,
154, 158, 173, 186, 214, 261, 281, 361;
climate change 57-58; humidity 12, 46, 52,
62, 67, 68,79, 82, 236; rainfall 44, 45, 46,
47,52, 57, 65, 66, 67, 68, 76, 79, 80, 84, 96,
106, 114, 169, 211, 395, 396; temperature
(see also stress, temperature) 16, 45, 46, 46,
47,52, 61, 63, 64, 66, 79, 62, 94, 96, 129,
161
300, 405
Subject Index
cytology 4, 101
515
Subject Index
evapotranspiration 44
517
fleas 340
Subject Index
519
guavas 401
gutta-percha 287
Subject Index
521
hyacinth (Hyacynthus oriemalis), day length 94,
95
Subject Index
lacewings 113
laudanum 407
523
Subject Index
melon 112
sweetener 202
miraculous fruit (Thaumatococcus daniellii),
sweetener 203
Subject Index
525
oakuam 276-277
oysters 382
peaches/nectarines Table 6;
pears Table 6;
pests Table 28; 11, 43, 49, 53, 55, 59, 60, 102,
106, 107, 114, 123, 126, 169, 175, 187, 224,
334, 338, 340, 342, 364, 396, 400, 408, 412;
527
phyllodes 78, 81
plant discases 11, 15, 43, 49, 53, 55, 58, 59, 60,
102, 123, 126, 339, 396, 400, 419
Subject Index
plasticisers Table 21
plastics Table 21
plums/prunes Table 6
reptiles 8
resurrection plants 69
rhizomes Table 22; 55, 63, 72, 78, 87, 91, 92,
199, 183, 184, 240, 278, 347, 348, 349, 350,
396, 410
Subject Index
soils 25, 43, 44, 45, 47--48, 49, 59, 66, 68, 83,
114, 169, 170, 214, 231, 281, 333; alkaline
soils 164, 399; flooded or swampy soils 55,
83,91, 92, 159; peat soils 175, 353-354,
390; saline soils 59-60, 73-74, 175; sandy
soils 84; soil fertility or nutrients 6, 87, 96,
97, 216, 221, 222, 352, 395, 396; soil micro-
organisms (see also N-fixation) 48, 325, 367,
395. 418, 419; soil minerals 43, 48, 140,
224, 334, 399- 400; soil moisture or water
43, 45, 46, 47, 52, 67, 68, 77, 81, 310; soil
temperatures 71, 73, 85, 88, 10
souari nuts (Caryocar nuciferum) 178
spittle-bugs 342
stress 16, 58, 66, 76, 92, 100, 107, 284, 346,
376; heavy metals 66; herbivory stress 333-
334; salt stress (see also halophytes) 66, 73-
76, 399; temperature stress of shock 16, 46,
66, 69-73, 96, 346; water stress (sce also
respiration, anoxia and flooding resistance)
66, 67-69, 76, 79, 80, 81, 90, 96, 284
tapeworm 349
thrips 52
533
tolerance 400
534
pharmaceuticals 324
vernalisation 94-95
Subject Index
water conservation 8
5
Subject Index
535