FREE BIOPIRATED BANABA POSTER INSIDE!

Redigesting Life.

[nat] bio
Issue 1 February 2013

GENEROUS Inside Front Cover TREE

WHAT YOU DIDNT KNOW ABOUT THE BANABA

SAY WHAT?
THE SHOCKING TRUTH BEHIND BIOPIRACY
How Piracy Works with Science and Why It Should Matter to You

LUS! P
WAYS TO PREPARE A BANABA TEA!
Games + Trivias + Opinions + & More!

CONTENT
Only the latest this February! FEATURES 04 Biopiracy: Say What? How w e discover what in the world Biopiracy is 06 Behold the Banaba You will love every part of this trees body 11 Ours is Theirs? The Biopiracy of the Banaba Japan actually claimed the Banaba 12 Bio-Wonder: What is the Aftermath of Biopirated Banaba? We decipher the amount of impact to be inflicted by a biopirated organism to this day and age LEISURE 15 Have You Tried This? A comprehensive guide on how to treat yourself w ith your own banaba health drink 16 Do This! Take time to deliberate on the what you have read, answ er this test, and get yourself some free bookmarks as a reward!

Subscribe to our magazine. Turn to page 18 to find out. Avail coupons in the process.

FROM the EDITOR

ny city in Metro Manila will always have that one sidewalk sparkling with literally hundreds of camcorded movies, uploaded as a .mov file on some hardware, and illegally sold in a criminal yet compact market. Unfortunately, our love for movies and cheap items have led us to the single grossest mishap in Philippine cinema: Piracy. Yet, unbeknownst to most of us humans, there is another type of piracy that is inconspicuously circling the entire globe as of this writing. A piracy that though vague in our science vocabulary totally concerns us. It is called Biopiracy; the piracy of life, brought into action by mankinds technological advancements and driven gluttony. In this trade, we discover the crooks to be more civilized, their victims more alive than the characters portrayed by actors on the big screen. Amidst this phenomenon, [Nat] Bio also deliberated on one of the Philippines own miraclesthe Banaba tree, a remarkable organism of generous proportions, traditionally and modernly used for decades for both therapeutic and ornamental purposesonly to discover that it is also widely distributed nowadays as a biopirated product. How we came to conclusions with the topics at hand was a daunting task that required intensive research. And, in order for us not to explode under the pressure, we decided to counteract the process with experiments and games: how to make your own banaba health drink and the like. How we did it is all in this issue. And it is your job to read all about it. May the force be with you! Katrina Bonillo, Editor

Editor-in-Chief Katrina Bonillo Associate Editor Kathrine Eunice Pasco Contributing Writer Christine Rhea Lectura Contributing Writer Janssen Navarro Researcher Aaron Zoilo Talinio Researcher Benedicta Cruz Publishing Director Kriscia Bianca Pascual

BIOPIRACY: SAY WHAT?

Kathrine Eunice Pasco

BioPiracy are two words linked together. Bio means life and every living thing, while Piracy means stealing or getting a property that is not truly yours.

his is the usual reaction of the people to whom I conducted a small and independent survey to see if they are familiar with the so called BIOPIRACY. The term had been unknown to them; some Communication Arts students, a Journalism student, the nurses in the Clinic, as well as the President of the Student Council had no idea about it. I even took the chance of having a brief interview with our respected Administrator and Dean in the Graduate School, and luckily, I had an opportunity to bring up the topic. Eventually, I got the same response.

They didnt know the name Biopiracy, but when I explained it to them, they actually became familiar with it. When I interviewed Asst. Prof. Norberto Bana, he was slightly shocked for, he said, he had never heard that term until then when I asked him about it. It was almost the same with the Filipino and Science teachers of the High School Department. Well, I guess Im not the only one who found it bizarre. On the other hand, there are but a few people whom I encountered that have heard about it: a teacher in the Social Science area and another in the Natural Sciences Area. But why is it that most people havent heard about the term BIOPIRACY? Is it because it existed only recently or is it just the term that we dont know unless it is being explained that is the only

time we can comprehend the while and think, have we ever meaning behind Biopiracy. done it? Though we may not know the actual term but is it So may I introduce to all ever possible that once in our of you the BIOPIRACY life we took an organism, a BIO PIRACY are two flower from a botanical garconjoined words linked togeth- den, a seed of a plant in our er. Bio means life and every neighborhood without having living thing while Piracy means their consent? Because if yes, stealing or getting a property little do we know that in that that is not truly yours. simple gesture without hurting Therefore, it is stealing or or harming anybody we were getting an organism such as actually committing a crime, plants, micro-organism, fungus and that is stealing. It is also and animals in a particular written in the Bible of the Ten country without any permission Commandments, You shall to the real owner of the certain not steal. (Exodus 20:15) organism and bringing it to their country as if they were claiming it as their own. Hence, Biopiracy is not a good thing to do to any country for we do not fool anybody but ourselves. So lets stop for a

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BIOPIRACYPRECISELY!
The commercial development of naturally occurring biological materials, such as plant substances or genetic cell lines, by a technologically advanced country or organization without fair compensation to the peoples or nations in whose territory the materials were originally discovered. Biological theft, illegal collection of indigenous plants by corporations who patent them for their own use. Medicine & Pharmacology: the use of wild plants by international companies to develop medicines, without recompensing the countries from which they are taken. (source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/biopiracy)

Behold the Banaba!

he banaba tree stands, poised in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, its smooth and flaky bark adorned with the shadows of its purplish-lilac flowers perched atop large, elliptical leaves. Beside it, a younger banaba is easily growing, taking in both the organic and synthetic fertilizers mixed with the soil in which it is rooted. In this manner, the banaba matures well into a self-sufficient and robust tree. Both ornamental and medicinal, the banaba tree or the Queens Flower, as it is dotingly called, has proven itself a significant asset in this life. India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia have all reserved some of their lands alluvium soil for this special tree. In the Philippines, it is a natural gem that is widely distributed from the Batan Islands, Northern Luzon, Palawan, and Mindanao.

THE BANABA IS A GENEROUS TREE!

THE BANABA FLOWER The banabas, which are being cultivated in Manila because of its beauty, yields an activity that ranges from 4.4 or 5.4 units of insulin, which is more or less 70 per cent of the fruits activity. When its amazing flowers arent in bloom, the banaba tree seems rather unremarkable, but come flowering season, the vibrant blossom color transforms the dull canopy of the rainforest.

THE BANABA LEAVES With reserves of dietary fibers and minerals like magnesium and zinc, the banaba is a natural health supplement. Its yellow-orange leaves alone are considered as purgatives and diuretics; they are being utilized for the preparation of a medicinal tea that could fight off kidney ailments, diabetes, and urinary dysfunctions. When boiled in water, the leaves clear obstruction from the natural ducts of the body and induce urination. A leaf poultice is used to relieve malarial fever and can be applied on cracked feet. Its hypoglycemic effect is similar to that of insulin: it can lower a persons blood sugar. The active principle is believed to be corsolic acid, a compound that promotes glucose transport or utilization in body cells. That also makes it effective in the control of hypertension and in the reduction of cholesterol. Overweight? Then, the banaba might just be the perfect remedy to your woes. Not only is the tea a healer, but, according to sources, it also actually tastes good!

THE BANABA SEED The seed of the banaba grows easily into a seedling, and can adapt to almost any kind of soil. They are believed to have a narcotic effect and are therefore employed against aphthae, a shallow, painful type of mouth ulcer.

THE BANABA WOOD Its reddish-brown wood makes the banaba valuable for furnituremaking. With a beautiful straight grain, it is an excellent material for articles such as cabinets, picture frames, etc. Often, it is used as support for rattan. It yields an extremely small amount of insulin-like principle. Over all, it makes the banaba a useful timber tree. Considered as astringents, febrifuges, and stimulants, the banabas roots have been used for a variety of stomach ailments such as aphthous stomatitis. The roots density and prevalence makes it perfect for erosion control. In Java, Indonesia, the banaba roots have been used in the reforestation of their degraded hills. The banabas bark, which is also considered as febrifuges and stimulants, has been used for the treatment of diarrhea. Boiling the bark for drinking is proven to induce bowel movements or loosen the stool.

THE BANABA FRUIT Along with its leaves, the banabas brown ripe fruit is considered to yield the greatest amount of insulin-like principle. 20 grams of these two-week dried fruits were found to have activity equivalent to 6 to 7.7 units of insulin. Some physicians believe that this is a better remedy for diabetes mellitus than the leaves, for they have greater glucose-lowering effect.

Growing to about 40 to 60 meters in height, the banaba tree can provide a shade that is deemed only perfect for a bustling metropolis. Perhaps, you have passed by South Luzon Expressway or Alabang Town Center, or maybe you have cruised down just an ordinary road. The banaba tree thrives well with sunlight and is thus welcomed in sun-drenched places.

We can usually see them along roadsides as well as in parks and other various forms of landscape. Through this alone, we witness the significance and beauty of the banaba tree in this planet.

DID YOU KNOW?

The parts of the banaba that are utilized are

the leaves, fruits, flowers, and bark.

Every part of the banaba, from leaves,

roots, and bark contains properties that can prevent cancer. There are many varieties of Crape Myrtle in the entire planet, and the banaba is one of the most beautiful. Its scientific name is Lagerstroemia Speciosa. Speciosa in Latin means beautiful. So far, no side effect or toxic reactions have been known to be in association with the banaba.

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OURS IS

THEIRS?
The Biopiracy of the Banaba

HOW JAPAN WITH ITS

SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGICAL
ADVANCEMENTS TOOK THE
BANABA WITHOUT SWEAT

n 1980, Okinawa Itoen KK, a Japanese company that manufactures food and beverages, patented the anti-diabetic property of the banaba tree. The property has been well-known to herbolarios, who constantly used the parts of the said tree for remedy. This factor was what interested the company. Okinawa Itoen KK funded the National Institute for Science and Technology for the screening of the potential uses of the banaba, but claimed all processes, outputs, and products for their company. Neither NIST nor the researchers involved in the project received a share of the royalties that poured from the patented products. Now, banaba is being sold in Japan as a supplement to decrease sugar in the blood.

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Bio-Wonder

Christine Rhea Lectura

WHAT IS THE AFTERMATH OF BIO-PIRATED BANABA?

It can lead to biodiversity depletion - loss of biodiversity, which results to global warming and climate change that can have a drastic, harmful, negative change in our life.

mabilis ang epekto nito sa akin kaysa sa tableta o kapsula. Mabilis ang paggalaw ng bowhilippines is one of the leading el movement ko kaya mas magaan sa pacountries that is still traditionally using the natu- kiramdam at nakakatulong magpapayat ( ral way of defending or curing an ailment like Wow, Ma!). cough, Urinary Tract Infection, H e r b a l diabetes, flu, remedy has been and other fapart of our life miliar diseases. even though the Traditional power of technolmedicines also ogy takes its contains vitaplace of giving a mins like Oregreat help in our gano, which health problems has Vitamin A because we all that helps our know that not all vision specifithe natural medically our reticine has been scina, and also entifically proven Vitamin C that but surprisingly, affects our we still love to use free radicals the medicine that that causes are Mother Earths the damages gift to us. of our tissues caused by Natures ev eryday presence is existstress. Herbals could be in a form of tablets or ing every day. We might not notice it, but becapsule. They could also be extracted as a tea lieve it or not, nature is giving us a life-saving that has various positive health endowments. medicine. As they say, nature is our greatest medicine repository. We can find numerous Speaking of tea, my family has been fruits, vegetables, water, materials for shelter drinking tea for more than 10 years now, espe- and medicine. Now, what if you found out that cially my mom because according to her, those herbal medicines that you intake could Mas love ko ang uminom ng tea, dahil mas have this situation that the bio prospectors call

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Biopiracy? Honestly, when I first heard that word , I couldnt think of the right words to explain it to myself because I thought that this was a new process that just have been discovered. Well, according to my research in the internet: Biopiracy is a situation where indigenous knowledge of nature, originating with indigenous people, is used by others for profit, without permission from and with little or no compensation or recognition to the indigenous people themselves.- Wikipedia. To comprehend more about biopiracy, lets have an exemplification of that: Lets take banaba as a model in this case: Banaba is used as herbal medicine for the treatment of diabetes. Studies have shown that banaba contains corosolic acid that acts like insulin by lowering the blood sugar in the body. Corosolic acid is a triterpenoid glycoside that improves the cellular uptake of glucose. (Murakami C, et al 1993, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin) Medical Health Guide Now, what would be the effect of a biopirated banaba? When you say effect theres a relationship of affirmative and dissentient. AFFIRMITIVE SIDE OF BIOPIRATED BANABA I checked and read a lot of articles on the internet, but I think that biopiracy, or to be specific, the biopirated banaba has no favorable effect on us or

for Mother Earth because this is an illegal act of taking property of natural resources except for those involved organization that is doing this situation because they receive funds for the project, scholarships and hardware. But this is a big NO-NO! Because this is an illegal collection of bio samples in the biodiversity hotspots. Anna Zakrepeine, Creative Director at Azad Watches Inc. DISSENTIENT SIDE OF BIOPIRATED BANABA Biopiracy is happening around the world. It is applied to all animals and herbal substances. If banaba is in the process of biopiracy, it could affect our environment. Just imagine that if a biopirated banaba can lead to a high percentage of different biopirated herbs. It can lead to biodiversity depletion - loss of biodiversity, which results to global warming and climate change that can have a drastic, harmful, negative change in our life. Biopirated banaba can also affect our health if we take it in. It might fail to deliver health to us. Biopirated banaba covers more time of experimentation and can put some chemicals that does not fit in the herbs. Biopirated banaba or other herbs could be poisonous. As they say, biopiracy steals knowledge from our ancestors. The availability of the natural banaba would be decreased because the conservation of biodiversity is out of control. PREVENTION THAN CURE IS MUCH BETTER

ture could be lost if some would say YES! To biopiracy. Letranites, should say the magic NO! for biopiracy to support the life of the natural resources and the life of the people who could be the victim of biopiracy. We should not be dazzled on money to approve biopiracy. RESPECT NATURE! RESPECT LIFE!

TRENDING TOPIC

Biotechnology as a course in colleges or universities (as approved by the Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, and the Commission on Higher Education)?

For me it is good to have this kind of course because its a possible solution in some problems, especially if we talk about hunger in the Philippines. The process of Biotechnology is very useful. For example, in some products like corn, fishes, shrimps. They may get bigger by using biotechnology.
It is also be helpful in food business. Like, if the seafood is bigger than in regular size. The effect of it is improving the economy o f t h e country. - Janssen Navarro

We should not only depend on the gift of Mother Nature because natural banaba and/or other herbs or even the whole na-

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HAVE YOU

TRIED
THIS?
Banaba All the Way!

H ow To Make Banaba Capsule

1. Carefully wash the leaves. 2. Air dry the leaves. 3. Roast for about 5 minutes. You may tear the leaves into smaller sizes so that more leaves can be powdered at the same time. 4. Arrange in a blender until leaves turns into powder. 5. Sift the powder. 6. Empty gelatin capsules are available in leading drugstores. (Source: http://bea-greenleaf.blogspot.com/)

H ow To Make Banaba Leaf Tisane

1. Pick mature green banaba leaves, the ratio is 3 leaves to 6 cups of water, and chop them. 2. Mix the chopped leaves with water with the ratio of 1 part leaves per 3 parts water. Boil for 15 minutes over low heat. 3. Strain the tea to separate the tea from the solid parts. To give some twist in the flavor you can add kalamansi (calamansi), or to add some flavor squeeze lemon or add honey. (Source: http://www.herbalweightlossnews.com/)

H ow To Make Simple Banaba Tea

1. Bring 400 milliliters (1 and 1/2 cups or 12 ounces) water to a strong boil. Reduce heat to low and drop in a tea bag. 2. Keep at or below a simmer for 15 minutes. Evaporation will leave you with about 250 milliliters (1 cup or 8 ounces) of tea. 3. Pour fresh brewed tea into a cup and drink while warm. 4. Save tea bag. You should reuse each tea bag up to four times to achieve effective results. (Source: http://e-how.com/)

H ow To Make Banaba Leaf Tea

It can be taken as slimming tea. Boil one tablespoon of chopped leaves in one glass of water for few minutes, cool a bit and drink. Alternatively, the leaves can be crushed and prepared by using a tea maker. Or, place crushed leaves in mug, fill with hot water and let stand for few minutes. Banaba tea should be drunk two to three times a day. (Source: http://www.herbalweightlossnews.com/)

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DO THIS!
u o y r o i y g d s o a t l a g e r s t r o e m i a l b o w y u i v o r u n e b r l o e l s j e i y d c p p o l e s r n a c a i d e e n f t n e t a p l g i g q h s b g v r e o a e a o h c n t s i n s a r n b a b e e c p d r i a i o e i t t e i t o e n k k u t e i o u c c i o n e o s e l i i q i a b a n a b a s i l b i o p i r a c y o a
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biopiracy banaba biodiversity biotechnology Corsolic

diabetes piracy Indigenous Itoen KK Japan

Lagerstroemia NIST patent Queens Flower tea

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