When a new chemical is identified in nature, some laboratories seek ways to synthesize the drug in their laboratories. Once the botanical has been rendered into a synthetic substance, ownership can be claimed by issuing a technical or application patent. Sole rights over the distribution of this ‘new drug’ and even the proprietary rights over the treatment for particular ailments, have thusly been transferred from a botanical medicine of world heritage origins, to a ‘wholly-owned new drug’ placed in the hands of a single company. Some pharmaceutical companies continue to lobby against traditional medicines while at the same time they search the jungles and bio-prospect raw materials, attempting to copy and patent chemicals which are found within the traditional herbs. Countries such as Brazil, Peru and India are now leading the charge to help protect their indigenous intellectual property rights. Amazon Therapeutic Laboratories participates in South American congressional meetings to help find equitable solutions to this growing dilemma.
Voucher specimens of botanicals (top and below) are kept in herbarium collections in order to verify species and to note the distribution and habitat ranges of each species. This data base is also valued for ethnobotanical studies long after traditional peoples have stopped using the native plants or altered their living habits. Today, environmental and cultural pressures contribute directly to the loss of indigenous heritage. This almost always includes the loss of medicinal plants and priceless ethnobotanical data. This hard-won data has been empirically proven after centuries of diligent studies by indigenous physicians who lived in contact with the natural ambiance.
The Madre de Dios, headwaters of the Amazon: Southern Peru
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