2011 EDITION

“More intensive farming
and the scientific
management of
agricultural products,
especially medicinal
products, is my vision
of growth driven
by agriculture in
Cameroon.”
Justine germo
Nzweundji
CAMEROON
Plant biotechnoloy
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a relatively common
enlargement of the prostate that affects men over 50. It
not only causes discomfort, but also can lead to severe
medical complications if left untreated.
One of the treatments for BPH used in developed
countries is extracted from the bark of Prunus africana or
pygeum, a wild evergreen tree that grows in the mountainous
regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Traditionally used for
firewood and timber, the plant’s bark is mainly used by the
pharmaceutical industry
Current methods of harvesting and processing Prunus
bark are still rudimentary and it is very difficult to get Prunus
seeds to germinate. Moreover, several species depend on
Prunus africana for their existence, which raises a real risk
of reducing the natural biodiversity of Africa’s mountainous
regions.
Justine Nzweundji, 33, is a doctoral student in plant biology
at the University of Yaounde, Cameroon, and a senior
technician at the Institute of Medical Research and Study
of Medicinal Plants, where she works on the tissue culture
of plants with medicinal value. Her research could help
lower the risk of eroding biodiversity in the region as well as
reduce poverty in rural communities.
HOST INSTITUTION:
Department of Environmental Sciences,
University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
HOST INSTITUTION:
Center for Tropical Agriculture,
University of Florida, Homestead,
USA
As part of her fellowship, Justine
Nzweundji plans to develop techniques to
propagate large quantities of disease-free
clones of genetically uniform plant material
that can be made available for commercial
exploitation. She hopes to obtain the
best results for the conservation and propagation
of plant embryos containing the
highest concentration of the active components
sought by the pharmaceutical
industry. These components could then
be produced in vitro as an alternative to
harvesting the bark. She plans to share her
knowledge with local farmers, NgOs and
commercial enterprises in Cameroon and
in other countries interested in the sustainable
exploitation of Prunus africana.
UZbEKISTAN
Nilufar
Plant biochemistry and pharmacology Mamadalieva
Eighty percent of the world’s population
uses medicinal plants as the sole
source of therapeutic treatments. A
number of treatments, including anticancer
drugs, are derived from biologically
active molecules extracted from
plants. Yet only 10% of the world’s flora
has been assessed for medical use,
which means there is a vast reservoir of
molecular diversity in plants waiting to
be explored.
With a PhD in plant chemistry, Nilufar
Mamadalieva, 35, has worked at the
Institute of Chemistry of Plant Substances
in Tashkent, Uzbekistan since
2001. She has dedicated her research
to the study of biologically active compounds
from native plant species.
Through her fellowship, Nilufar plans to extract molecules
from samples of the native plants of Uzbekistan
and to test each compound’s ability to inhibit the
proliferation of cancer cells using cultured mammalian
stem cells. She will use analytical techniques such as
nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), a spectrometry
technique, to identify which protein in the cancer cell
is inhibited by their activity. She will then evaluate the
effectiveness of the anticancer activity of the isolated
plant compounds.
When she returns to Uzbekistan, Nilufar Mamadalieva
intends to continue her research by launching preclinical
and toxicological studies using the new compounds.
She also hopes to share her experiences with
her colleagues and to act as a role model for young
scientists in her country.
“Plants are an incredible
resource that offers an
opportunity to develop
new natural drug treatments
to fight cancer and other
diseases.”