BOUN HOONG SOUTHAVONG LAO MEDICINAL PLANTS--POTENTIAL SOURCE OF NEW MEDICINES

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Associate Program 2 will be performed by the Research Institute of Medicinal Plants (RIMP), Vientiane, Laos. RIMP maintains a network of Traditional Medicine stations in different areas of Laos, through which it will conduct field interviews among the different ethnic groups in Laos regarding use of medicinal plants. Those with uses for Malaria, viral diseases and CNS-related symptoms will be emphasized. Plants with these uses will be collected in bulk samples and extracted at the Phytochemistry Laboratory in RIMP; those with uses against viral disease and malaria will be sent to AP-3 (Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago), while those with uses against CNS-related symptoms will be sent to AP-5 (Glaxo Wellcome Research and Development). Voucher herbarium specimens of all medicinal plants will be collected as far as possible, and systematic data taken on their collection and use. Plant species identifications and medicinal uses of plants will be entered into the NAPIS data management system to assemble a database of plant uses which will act as a basis for further study of the medicinal plants of Laos. Identified species will be analyzed using printouts from the NAPRALERT database and other literature to evaluate potential toxicity and efficacy. Results of this analysis will be communicated to the scientific community through publications. Conservation status of Laos medicinal plants will be examined so that appropriate recommendations for protection of various species may be made to the Lao PDR Government. Community health promotion and promotion of children's education will be the major efforts of reciprocity for communities that collaborate with RIMP investigators; support of the network of Traditional Medicine Stations will also be part of reciprocity, as these Stations assist RIMP in maintaining contact with ethnic communities, as well as serving the health needs of those communities. Finally, human resources and infrastructure upgrading at RIMP will take place, including international training in ethnobotanical research, phytochemistry, and conservation biology.