Planta Med 2013; 79 - IL47
DOI: 10.1055/s-0033-1348524

Natural Products Discovery at the Missouri Botanical Garden: Supporting Discovery Programs with Botany, Ethnobotany and Conservation

W Applequist 1
  • 1William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden, P. O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166 – 0299

The Missouri Botanical Garden has participated in several major domestic and international natural products discovery programs. Involvement of botanists in land plant collections is necessary for sample identification, and ethnobotanical data may inform collection strategies or provide additional perspectives on research results. In addition, conservation-related work can contribute materially to developing-country collection programs both by preserving natural vegetation for future access and by providing a return of benefits to local communities, which is ethically and often legally required. MBG's participation in the International Cooperative Biodiversity Group program in Madagascar serves as a useful example. Results of antimalarial assays performed by the Centre National d'Application des Recherches Pharmaceutiques, a participating Malagasy research institution, can be compared to ethnobotanical data. MBG's onsite conservation facilitators work with communities near collection sites to set up conservation and sustainable development programs designed to respond to local needs and preferences. Those projects are not only responsible for the creation of new protected areas and land-use rules, but for meaningful improvements in local communities' welfare, which, among other things, increases the likelihood that future collections will be permitted.