DRUG DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY IN WES

非洲中西部拥有世界上最大的潮湿赤道森林， 大陆，事实上是第二大连续热带雨林， 世界（300万平方公里）。该地区的物种丰富度， 它作为植物特有种中心的重要性使其成为一个关键的全球中心 保护生物多样性。这是一个具有巨大潜力的独特领域， 药物开发的新分子先导来源。森林是 目前面临的主要威胁，包括来自 不断增长的人口和伐木的破坏性做法， 其他商业行业。 该ICBG建议证明可持续药物开发是一个 作为收入来源的可行替代办法 for local本地communities社区.该计划将鼓励社区保护 自己的资源。我们的研究设计强调开发 治疗疟疾和利什曼病等热带疾病的药物， 高质量、价格合理的草药。我们也在寻找新的 抗艾滋病毒、抗癌和中枢神经系统药物，以及作物保护剂。 ICBG的策略是使用来自野外民族植物学的数据， 民族医学调查，加上文献中的生化信息， 制定一份优先调查的植物清单。这样的专注， 在我们早期的工作中， 发现活性先导化合物 我们在喀麦隆建立了一个50公顷的生物多样性地块， 在喀麦隆和尼日利亚的独特植被中， 以获得长期的生物清单和生态 动力学数据在目前的资金中，提议在尼日利亚建立一个50公顷的地块 周期一个数据库将把生物化学、民族植物学、经济和 生态数据，使ICBG能够确定长期可持续性， 长期收获有潜在价值的植物。培训、能力建设 并将在各个方面提供基础设施改进 项目在初始供资周期建立的网络将 确保该项目成为一个可持续的项目， 独立于这个群体成长。

West-central Africa contains the largest moist equatorial forest on the continent, indeed the second largest continuous tropical rain-forest in the world (3 million square km). The species richness of this region and its importance as a center for plant endemism makes it a key global center for biodiversity conservation. It is a unique area with great potential as a source of new molecular leads for drug development. The forest is currently facing major threats, including increased pressure from a growing human population and the destructive practices of logging and other commercial industry. This ICBG proposes to demonstrate that sustainable drug development is a viable alternative to such destructive activities as a source of income for local communities. This plan will encourage communities to protect their own resources. Our research design emphasizes the development of drugs for tropical diseases such as malaria and leishmaniasis as well as high-quality, affordable herbal medicines. We are also searching for new anti-HIV, anti-cancer and CNS drugs, as well as crop protection agents. The ICBG strategy is to use data from field ethnobotanical and ethnomedical surveys, plus biochemical information from the literature, to develop a prioritized list of plants for investigation. Such focus has been shown in our earlier work to markedly enhance the probability of discovering active lead compounds. We have established a 50-ha biodiversity plot in Cameroon as well as a network of 1-ha plots throughout Cameroon and Nigeria in unique vegetative zones in order to obtain long-term biological inventory and ecological dynamics data. A 50-ha plot in Nigeria is proposed in the present funding cycle. A database will link biochemical, ethnobotanical, economic and ecological data to allow the ICBG to determine the sustainability of long- term harvest of potentially valuable plants. Training, capacity building and infrastructure enhancement will be provided in all aspects of the project. The networks developed during the initial funding cycle will ensure that this project becomes a sustainable program which can operate and grow independently of this Group.