Grischa Brokamp

Trade in Palm Products in North-Western South America

More than 200 scientific publications and Internet sources dealing with trade in palm products in north-western South America are reviewed. We focus on value chains, trade volumes, prices, and recent developments for some of the most important raw materials derived from native palms. Trade in palm products takes place at local, regional, national, and international levels. For local communities and individual households palm products may play a key role as the most important or only source of cash income. Most of these palm products are inadequately or not at all captured in trade statistics at the local and regional economic levels. Only products such as vegetable ivory and palm heart are monitored statistically, mainly because they are exported. Most raw materials derived from palms are extracted from the wild, and mainly by destructive harvesting. Reduced availability and rising prices on local and regional markets reflect incipient resource depletion. Only in vegetable ivory more or less sustainable wild harvesting methods prevail. Palm heart is increasingly being harvested from orchards and non-sustainable exploitation of wild populations is loosing ground. The international market for native palm oils and pulp (esp. Euterpe oleracea or açaí) is currently served almost exclusively from Brazil. Due to low oil contents and high production costs palm oils are currently used mainly for cosmetics. Based on their content of protein, starch, tocols, and carotenoids palm fruits have high nutritional value and represent a considerable potential for the development of functional foods, food supplements and animal fodder. Palms could undoubtedly play a more important role in the socio-economic development of north-western South America. Sustainability and marketing potential of palm products are negatively affected by the low income obtained by primary producers which often represents no more than 0.01–3% of the retail value. Poor governance, insecurity of land tenure and unequal sharing of profits endanger a sustainable long-term development of these valuable resources.ResumenSe revisan más de 200 publicaciones científicas y fuentes en Internet relacionadas con el comercio de productos de palmas en el noroeste de América del Sur. Nos enfocamos en las cadenas de valor, los volúmenes del comercio, los precios y el desarrollo reciente de algunas de las materias primas más importantes derivadas de las palmas. El comercio de productos de palmas se lleva a cabo a nivel local, regional, nacional e internacional. Para las comunidades locales y las familias individuales los productos de las palmas pueden desempeñar un papel clave como la fuente más importante o única de ingreso de dinero en efectivo, y esta importancia no se refleja adecuadamente en estadisticas oficiales. Los productos de las palmas se registran inadecuadamente en las estadísticas del comercio a nivel económico local y regional. Solamente los productos de palmas como el marfil vegetal y el meollo de palma son las que se monitorean estadísticamente debido principalmente a que son de exportación. La mayoría de las materias primas derivadas de las palmas se extraen de la naturaleza, principalmente por cosecha destructiva. La menor disponibilidad y el aumento de los precios en los mercados locales y regionales reflejan el agotamiento incipiente de los recursos. En el marfil vegetal prevalecen en mayor o menor medida técnicas de cosecha sostenible. Cada vez con mayor frecuencia el palmito se está cosechando de los huertos y la explotación no-sostenible de las poblaciones silvestres está perdiendo terreno. En la actualidad, el mercado internacional del aceite de palma nativa y la pulpa (especialmente Euterpe oleracea u açaí) está surtido casi exclusivamente por Brasil. Debido al contenido bajo de aceite y a los altos costos de producción, actualmente los aceites de palma se utilizan principalmente para cosméticos. Los frutos de las palmas tienen un alto valor nutricional (proteínas, almidón, tocols, carotenoides) y tienen un gran potencial para el desarrollo de alimentos funcionales, complementos alimenticios así como forraje para animales. Las palmas podrían desempeñar indudablemente un papel más importante en el desarrollo socio-económico del noroeste de América del Sur. La sostenibilidad y la comercialización potencial de los productos de las palmas son afectadas negativamente por los bajos ingresos obtenidos por los productores primarios de las materias primas (tipicamente 0.01 a 3% del precio de venta). La deficiente gestión gubernamental, la inseguridad de la tenencia de la tierra y la distribución desigual de los beneficios ponen en peligro el desarrollo sostentable a largo plazo de estos recursos valiosos.

Phytochemical, phylogenetic, and anti-inflammatory evaluation of 43 Urtica accessions (stinging nettle) based on UPLC–Q-TOF-MS metabolomic profiles

Several species of the genus Urtica (especially Urtica dioica, Urticaceae), are used medicinally to treat a variety of ailments. To better understand the chemical diversity of the genus and to compare different accessions and different taxa of Urtica, 63 leaf samples representing a broad geographical, taxonomical and morphological diversity were evaluated under controlled conditions. A molecular phylogeny for all taxa investigated was prepared to compare phytochemical similarity with phylogenetic relatedness. Metabolites were analyzed via UPLC-PDA-MS and multivariate data analyses. In total, 43 metabolites were identified, with phenolic compounds and hydroxy fatty acids as the dominant substance groups. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) provides a first structured chemotaxonomy of the genus. The molecular data present a highly resolved phylogeny with well-supported clades and subclades. U. dioica is retrieved as both para- and polyphyletic. European members of the U. dioica group and the North American subspecies share a rather similar metabolite profile and were largely retrieved as one, nearly exclusive cluster by metabolite data. This latter cluster also includes - remotely related - Urtica urens, which is pharmaceutically used in the same way as U. dioica. However, most highly supported phylogenetic clades were not retrieved in the metabolite cluster analyses. Overall, metabolite profiles indicate considerable phytochemical diversity in the genus, which largely falls into a group characterized by high contents of hydroxy fatty acids (e.g., most Andean-American taxa) and another group characterized by high contents of phenolic acids (especially the U. dioica-clade). Anti-inflammatory in vitro COX1 enzyme inhibition assays suggest that bioactivity may be predicted by gross metabolic profiling in Urtica.

Standardized data collection on trade in palm products

This study is focussed on commercial aspects of Neotropical palms, palm products, product (pre-)processing and value chains; with the aim to characterize the current trade of palm products and their likely development in the future. One of the primary objectives was the design and development of a standardized research protocol (SRP; Appendix A) as a basis for the collection of significant and interoperable data on commercialization of palm products in the countries under study (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru), across the different palm species and their products.

Now, where did all the Rhatanies go? Abundance, seed ecology, and regeneration of Krameria lappacea from the Peruvian Andes

Krameria lappacea (Dombey) Burdet & B.B.Simpson is a slow-growing shrub from Andean semi-deserts of Peru, Southern Ecuador, Northern Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia. It is an obligate root hemiparasite parasitizing a wide range of flowering plants (Brokamp et al., 2012; Simpson, 2007). The zygomorphic oil-flowers develop into large, one-seeded, glochidiate fruits typical of the genus (Simpson, 1982, 2007).

SIETE ESPECIES DE PLANTAS VASCULARES DE IMPORTANCIA ECONÓMICA EN EL PERÚ: FICHAS BOTÁNICAS

Resumen Se presenta un acercamiento general del estado de conocimiento botanico de siete especies de plantas utilizadas en el Peru. En base a literatura publicada y revision de herbarios, se presentan datos sobre la morfologia, taxonomia y variabilidad de las especies Physalis peruviana “aguaymanto”, Prosopis pallida “algarrobo”, Myrciaria dubia “camu camu”, Lepidium meyenii “maca”, Plukenetia volubilis “sacha inchi”, Caesalpinia spinosa “tara” y Smallanthus sonchifolius “yacon”; asimismo, se comentan las distribuciones geograficas, ecologia y descripcion de las areas mas adecuadas para sus cultivos, con datos sobre crecimiento, biologia floral, enfermedades y plagas. Palabras clave: Andes, Costa, Amazonia, cultivos, frutos, raices, agrobiodiversidad. Abstract A general overview about botanical knowledge status of seven plant species used in Peru is presented. Using published information and herbaria revision, we present data about the morphology, taxonomy and variability of Physalis peruviana “aguaymanto”, Prosopis pallida “algarrobo”, Myrciaria dubia “camu camu”, Lepidium meyenii “maca”, Plukenetia volubilis “sacha inchi”, Caesalpinia spinosa “tara” y Smallanthus sonchifolius “yacon”; moreover, their distribution, ecology and description of the areas most suitable for cultivation, with information about growth, floral biology, diseases and plagues are commented. Keywords: Andes, Coast, Amazonia, crops, fruits, roots, agrobiodiversity.