4 research outputs found
Economic Valuation of Medicinal Plants in Jagoi Area, Bau, Malaysia
The use of indigenous plants based on traditional knowledge is widely known among the Bidayuh community in Sarawak.
Following a study carried out among the Bidayuh community of Jagoi area, a total of 117 species of plants with economic and
cultural significance, particularly plants with medicinal uses, were documented and collected. Of these, 60 species were recorded
for medicinal purposes while 57 species of plants were for other uses. The plant family with the most species used were
Euphorbiaceae and Moraceae (8 species each), Fabaceae (7 species), Arecaceae, Asteraceae and Dipterocarpaceae (5 species
each), followed by Piperaceae, Poaceae and Zingiberaceae (4 species each). Information was obtained by interviews with
medicine men and women, recognized as having knowledge of their culture. Information collected included the species of plants
used, their specific use, and the method of preparation or applications. In this study, the use of medicinal herbs collected from the
forest resources by local communities is an example of non-marketed and marketed direct use. During this study, market visits
were made in all local markets in Bau District during weekends. Interviews were conducted with people selling plants and herbal
products. The price of the plants and herbal products were noted. For non-marketable resources, the costs of the plants were
estimated based on the availability cost and time to get the plants. How easy or difficult it was to obtain the plants and the
number of hours spent to get them was also considered. A use and valuation survey on these plant species also revealed that the
average value per household was estimated at RM 2,961 per year. With the assumption that 10% of the total population living
around Gunung Jagoi depends on the forest area, the total estimated value of plants for the Bidayuh Jagoi community was RM
2,087,505 per year. The results of this study have provided a baseline on the economic value of the resources from the forest and
will contribute towards a better management of the area as a community heritage site. The involvement, knowledge and
reliability of the information obtained from the active Traditional Medicine Practices (TMPs) helped greatly in producing good
estimated potential values of the useful plants as well as the net revenue of the TMPs in the area selected for the study
Amomum jackliamii, A new zingiberaceae species from western Sarawak, Borneo
Amomum jackliamii, a new Zingiberaceae species is described herein. The new species is close to Amomum stenosiphon but this species has white prickly hairs towards the leaf tip at both edges of the leaf margin at the apex, adaxially surface reddish to dark green when matured. The leaves produce lemony smell and strong smell on the root when crushed white-cream flowers, the lip has a yellow centre bordered by two red lines, about 8.5 cm long, that graduall
Flemingin-type prenylated chalcones from the sarawak rainforest plant desmodium congestum
In an ongoing program to identify new anti-infective leads, an extract derived from whole plant material of Desmodium congestum collected in the Sarawak rainforest was found to have anti-MRSA activity. Bioassay-guided isolation led to the isolation of two new prenylated chalcones, 5'-O-methy1-3-hydroxyflemingin A (1) and 5'-O-methylflemingin C (2), which were closely related to the flemingins previously isolated from various Flemingia species. Chalcones 1 and 2, which were determined to be 4:6 enantiomeric mixtures by chiral HPLC, exhibited moderate activity against a panel of Gram-positive bacteria and were also cytotoxic to the HEK293 human embryonic kidney cell line