FogHorn February 15 , 2018  -  Steven R. King, Ph.D. - Hunting in the Jungles for Medicine 

 

He has been actively involved in international debates and discussions focusing on collaboration with indigenous peoples, the conservation of biological diversity, Intellectual property rights and global human health care needs. He has also served on the board of Healing Forest Conservancy, an NGO focused on developing innovative sharing mechanisms. Prior to Jaguar Health, Napo Pharmaceuticals and Shaman Pharmaceuticals  Steven worked as Chief Botanist for Latin America for the nature Conservancy in Washington DC. Before Joining the Nature Conservancy he worked at the National Academy of Sciences as part of the Committee on Managing Global Genetic Resources where he focused on managing the genetic resources of tree species. He also held positions at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and The New York Botanical Garden. He earned his Ph.D. in Biology at City University of New York.Jaguar Health embraces the “triple bottom line” goals of enhancing financial return by addressing global health needs in its development strategy and environmental sustainability in sourcing its lead product, which is harvested from rain forests. Their premier product is the drug Mytesi derived from the latex sap of the Croton lechleri tree which is widespread and abundant in Central and South America. 
The sap is red and called Dragon’s Blood in its raw state. It is harvested much like maple syrup, collected in drama and shipped to India water it is proofed and processed into Mytesi, an organic anti diarrhea drug. Mites is the first drug approved by the FDA for AIDS diarrhea. Its active ingredient(s) cannot be made in the lab. It can be taken every day with no ill effects. It blocks chloride transport across the gut wall. It has proved itself very effective against Cholera in Dhaka Hospital trials. This is a wonderful finding as most Cholera deaths happen in the first 24 hours from liquid loss. This drug was discovered in the Amazon rain forest where it has long been used by the locals, an ethnobotanical/ethonmedical triumph! It was a long and expensive process for the drug to be tested and certified for marketing, the first organic drug to succeed. The next goal is to develop a version best for chemo therapy diarrhea and a drug for short bowel syndrome syndrome. Additionally they are looking at it for animal applications.

The trees are being cultivated in situ maintaining biodiversity rather than a mono crop orchard of them. They are actually being cultivated in National Parks to which then are native and thus people are able to make an income out of the Parks, integrating benefits to community uses. This is an aim of Healthy Forest Conservancy to creat the dialog during which biodiversity and traditional knowledge identify sources of drugs. He has looked at 2,300 plants for their drug potential. Developing a “drug" is very expensive, it is quicker and cheaper to market it as a “dietary supplement” and quicker to get it to the people in need. The local governments are helping to promote growth of Croton lechleri instead of coca cultivation.

When researching in the field he uses a disease focus, for example he asks them how they treat a person with the classic symptoms of hepatitis which he describes perhaps aided with photos. He does work with the general population but more with healers and doctors in the field. Folk and home remedies are valuable sources of clues as are ancient texts from the Greeks and Romans for clues of phytomedicine.

Steven  presented the example of Iawasca used by indigenous peoples for healing psychological problems, to bring rain and to induce a high like LSD but more powerful. They use it to plumb their own psyches - BE CAREFUL! Phytomedicine marketers are taking these compounds and potential drugs to Europe and the US. “Fair Trade” can be expensive to achieve but he is optimistic about the value to indigenous peoples, citing successes in Amazonian Peru and Ecuador. This raised a Garden Club question; can we bring them here and grow them? He said it was a climatic problem as they are largely from the rain forest which would have to be created here in greenhouses perhaps.