An environmental hot spot

Duhat and ampalaya for diabetes, banaba for kidney ailments, ginger juice for sore throat, guava leaves for diarrhea. Even in the age of shopping malls and the Internet, Filipinos have not forgotten their folk medicine. New items are being discovered such as pansit-pansitan and even the noni tree, whose fruit is being marketed as a cure-all. There is ongoing research on possible cures for cancer and AIDS.

Inadequate research and product development, however, has prevented the country from extracting essential ingredients from indigenous plant species and turning these into world-class pharmaceutical products. Biochemicals from local species can also be used for cosmetics, pesticides and fertilizer. If Filipinos don't watch out, the sources of these biochemicals may soon disappear, or the patents for their commercial use may end up in the hands of foreigners.

A recent report said about 36,000 local species and biochemicals that can yield new drugs are being threatened by biopiracy and extinction. The Department of Health's Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care reported that the country has been identified as an environmental hot spot. An official of the institute said the Philippines is among 17 "megadiversity countries" where about 75 percent of the planet's terrestrial, fresh water and marine species are found. Of up to 30 million species, only about 1.4 million have been identified and catalogued.

Some lawmakers have warned that foreign scientists are now seeking patents for Philippine plants including ampalaya or bitter gourd. Biopirates are active in other countries as well, wanting exclusive claim to products such as the neem tree. The Philippines can still challenge these claims and fight biopiracy. A bigger problem, however, is the permanent loss of these plants. Apart from going after biopirates and providing more incentives to local scientific research and development, the government must start an aggressive campaign to save many species from extinction. Some of these species could hold the ingredients for miracle cures that can save millions of lives.