Medicinal Plants of Laos: Discoveries, Conservation and Community Engagement A REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION In fulfillment of Grant Award Number 103861 5-16-2013 July 1, 2013 – December 31, 2014 Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 S. Wood St., Chicago, IL 60612 “… to further the study of medicinal/pharmacological use of wildlife products, particularly in relation to local communities.” ____________________________________________________________________________ Medicinal Plants of Laos: Discoveries, Conservation and Community Engagement Djaja D. Soejarto1,2*, Bethany G. Elkington1,2, Kongmany Sydara3, Charlotte Gyllenhaal1, Mary C. Riley1, Gregg R. Dietzman4, MouaChanh Xayvue3, Onevilay Souliya3, Manoluck Vanthanouvong3, Bounhong Southavong3, Marian R. Kadushin1,2, Chun-Tao Che1 1Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 S. Wood St., Chicago, IL 60612, USA. 2Science and Education, The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60605, USA. 3Institute of Traditional Medicine, Ministry of Health, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. 4White Point Systems, Inc., 325 Court St., Friday Harbor, WA 98250, USA. *Corresponding author:
[email protected] ABSTRACT Medicinal plants, a type of non-timber forest product that is of great importance in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR/Laos), serve as the backbone of primary health care in the country. A database at the Institute of Traditional Medicine of the Ministry of Health of Lao PDR houses between 2,000 and 3,000 species of plants recorded to have been used to treat diseases, yet many of these species have not been thoroughly studied using modern laboratory methods.