The Lamiaceae family of plants have much to offer in the way of anticancer purposes.

While we are sharing final papers for this term, how about my Botany paper on the Mint family and how it has been proven to show anticancer properties? Also ungraded.

The Lamiaceae family of plants have much to offer in the way of anticancer purposes.

Kaire Downin, American College of Healthcare Sciences

Botany 501 Summer 2015

Abstract

Several studies showing many species of plants from the family Lamiacea have shown positive results as to their effectiveness in reducing cancer cells and helping to improve immune system function while treating for cancer in vitro and in vivo studies. Yet, many doctors do not utilize or understand the work of these complementary treatments. The Lamiaceae family of plants have much to offer in the way of anticancer purposes.

Introduction

Treating cancer is a difficult undertaking, often requiring harsh chemicals and long, expensive treatments. Scientists, doctors, and patients are welcoming to the possibilities that more effective complementary treatments are becoming more understood and available. These treatments can lessen the time needed to treat cancer with chemotherapy and in some cases, negate the need for chemotherapy all together. This paper will analyze existing research results showing that the Lamiaceae family of plants have much to offer in the way of anticancer properties and how they can be used to treat multiple cancers.

The Lamiaceae family has around 236 genera and between 6,900 and 7,200 species. The specimens tend to be aromatic and are frequently grown in home gardens for culinary uses, most familiarly basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, lavender, and oregano (Raja, 2012).  Structurally, The Lamiaceae family have stems that are square and leaves that are simple and grow opposite of each other. This family is highly aromatic with a high essential and volatile oil content which is responsible not only for the strong smells that the fresh plant produces but also its antimicrobial and antifungal properties (Bozin, Mimica-Dukic, Simin, & Anackov, 2006). The irregular flowers are 5 calyx toothed and display 2 lobes on the upper lip while having 3 lobes on the bottom.

Methods

Search terms “frequently used medicinal plants of Lamiaceae” was entered into Google and returned 228,000 results. The same terms in Google Scholar resulted in 18,600 results. The same terms used in the ACHS database library system revealed 110,000.

Search terms “anticancer properties in Lamiaceae” resulted 5,160 hits on Google Scholar, 12,500 on the ACHS library database, and 141,000 results on Google.

In order to determine which studies were useable for this review, the publications must be peer reviewed journals and the study must be focused on the Lamiaceae family and it’s use with anticancer purposes. Access to the full text also must be available, this ruled out several which didn’t have free access. Many of the results on the first page of each search had common listings. Most of the studies used for this review came from the first page of the search results.

Results

            Teucrium is a genus out of the family Lamiaceae and is commonly known as Germander. This group of plants has about 100 species, mainly from the Mediterranean. They are used in landscaping as a perineal shrub and have fragrant flowers (The Taunton Press, 2015). Teucrium has a long history of many species being useful in pharmacy around the world. The International Journal of Molecular Sciences published a study in 2011 that evaluated some species of Teucrium as potential antiproliferative and antioxidant agents with in vitro experiments with the human colon cancer cell line and extracts from nine species of the plant. The used the colon cancer cells because of the scientific evidence of the Teucrium having positive results on healing other digestive tract disease. The results indicated that four of the nine species (name species) tested had a strong antiproliferative effect and should be considered for further research. These extracts are a viable source of natural polyphenolic compounds (Stankovic, et al., 2011). Polyphenols are micronutrients in our diets that if consumed in enough amounts based on bioavailability, can have preventative effects on cancer and other degenerative diseases (Manach, Scalbert, Morand, Rémésy, & Jiménez, 2004).  

            Bangalore University sought out to identify and research the medicinal values of plants in the Lamiaceae family that grew in Karnataka, India. 109 plants have been identified from the Lamiaceae family which have medicinal qualities, ten of which were selected for the research review. (list plants) The researchers put together a table which lists the medicinal values shown in other research. The plants listed which have a history of anticancer, antiproliferative, or antioxidant properties were

·         Anisomeles indica which “inhibit inflammatory mediators and tumor cell proliferation,” and is used for “antimetastatic effects on human breast cancer cells.”

·         Hyptis suaveolens which has essential oil with antioxidant properties and enough results as an appetite increaser and anti-nausea to make it helpful as a complementary treatment along with other treatments that often cause digestive problems.

·         Leonotis nepetaefolia having biological activities including anticancer properties

This study concluded with acknowledging the rich amount of biologically active compounds that promote many therapeutic values (S.M.Venkateshappa & K.P.Sreenath, 2013).

Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine published a study in 2014 that evaluated anticancer properties of plants in the Lamiaceae family, among others, commonly used in folk medicine in India. Extracts of Lavendula bipinnata were made and experiments were performed using cancer cell lines obtained from the National Center of Cell Science. Results revealed that L. bipinnata demonstrated significant anticancer and moderate cytotoxic properties to several  cell lines. It was concluded that the plants used in the study, including L. bipinnata should be considered for further research in order to develop new anticancer drugs and that the current research suggests the validation of the continuing use of the existing natural treatments that include these plants in the ingredients (Shaikh, Pund, Dawane, & Iliyas, 2014).

The Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research published a research article in 2013 about the medicinal qualities of Salvia, a genus of Lamiaceae with about 960 species. Eleven species were selected for the study that grow in Iran and were collected in their habitat. They were screened for cytotoxic activity and antimicrobial activity using extracts from the plants and then tested in three human cancer cell lines, two were leukemia lines and one was breast cancer. They were all shown to be affective against the cancer cell lines at different rates, the strongest being S. limbata, S. hypoleuca and S. aethiopis. At the end of the study, it was S. santolinifolia and S. eremophila that were considered to be “the most interesting bioactive plants in this study,” and recommended for further investigation of their active constituents (Omidreza Firuzi, 2013).

Papers have also been published out of Brazil showing the anticancer activity of Hyptis mutabilis, commonly referred to as common bushmint. This paper focuses on the anticancer activity from water extracts on mice with tumors. No adverse conditions were encountered during the experiment and there was antitumor activity displayed towards sarcoma tumors in the mice (Ximenes, Melo, Magalhães, Souza, & Albuquerque, 2012).

Discussion

            According to the results of a survey sent out to members of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2010, one of the barriers to doctors utilizing herbs and supplements in the treatment of cancer is their lack of knowledge. This survey revealed less than 40% of oncologists initiating conversations with their patients about the use and benefits of herbs and supplements while treating cancer (Lee, et al., 2014). Other potential complications that physicians report is that the herbs and supplements are managed by the patients while the doctors are managing the treatments. Some reported successful herbs that are used during cancer treatment in pediatric units are St. John’s Wort for depression, Ginger for nausea as well as Echinacea for immune system support (Quimby, 2007). Even though there are oncologists that find using herbs to treat the symptoms that are associated with the side effects of cancer treatments can be seen as a step in the right direction, there are available herbs that actually treat the cancer directly as we have seen through this summary research. It is recommended that oncologist have access to and are required to take continuing education classes on how to best utilize these less expensive and less destructive complementary treatments to help lessen the time of treatment and induce healing of cancers in the human population.

Conclusion and recommendation

It is clear from the multiple studies over many years that plants in the Lamiaceae family are effect agents of anticancer activity and have the potential to be used in anticancer drugs and technology.  After all the reports are in, it is also clear that there is room for improving the research to understand dosage and length of treatments. Many of these articles have used extracts that were produced with chemicals and not just the water extracts like the simple and common teas and infusions that are often used in folk or traditional medicine. There was no discussion on the risks or contraindications of using these compounds and most of the studies referred to being ready for more extensive research to determine these things.

            Publishing these findings in journals commonly read by oncologists and making the information available through workshops and classes for continuing education could expose the people who are working with the patients to a broader variety of treatments. Cancer treatments are costly and often put people in a large amount of debt and many only gain a few months from the destructive chemotherapy sessions. Complementary treatments that are proven to be effective should be employed by these doctors and patients in order to help save them money and time. When dealing with destructive and often terminal illnesses like Cancer, often people are not in the mind frame to do their own research and find these solutions. It is time we demand more from the medical community and put a stop to the price gouging practices of pharmaceutical technology and take advantage of the many options in plant medicine that are easily available and affordable to administer.

             

References

Bozin, B., Mimica-Dukic, N., Simin, N., & Anackov, a. G. (2006). Characterization of the Volatile Composition of Essential Oils of Some Lamiaceae Spices and the Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of the Entire Oils. Journal of Agriculture and Food Industry, 1822-1828. doi:10.1021/jf051922u

Manach, C., Scalbert, A., Morand, C., Rémésy, C., & Jiménez, a. L. (2004). Polyphenols: food sources and bioavailability. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 727-747.

Omidreza Firuzi, R. M. (2013). Cytotoxic, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities and Phenolic Contents of Eleven Salvia Species from Iran. Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 801-810.

Raja, R. R. (2012). Medicinally Potential Plants of Labiatae (Lamiaceae) Family: An Overview. Research Journal of Medicinal Plant, 203-216.

S.M.Venkateshappa, & K.P.Sreenath. (2013). POTENTIAL MEDICINAL PLANTS OF LAMIACEAE. American International Journal of Research in Formal, Applied & Natural Sciences, 82-87.

Shaikh, R., Pund, M., Dawane, A., & Iliyas, S. (2014). Evaluation of Anticancer, Antioxidant, and Possible Antiinflammatory Properties of Selected Medicinal Plants Used in Indian Traditional Medication. Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, 253-257.

Stankovic, M. S., Curcic, M. G., Zizic, J. B., Topuzovic, M. D., Solujic, S. R., & Markovic, S. D. (2011). Teucrium Plant Species as Natural Sources of Novel Anticancer Compounds: Antiproliferative, Proapoptotic and Antioxidant Properties. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 4190-4205. doi:10.3390/ijms12074190

The Taunton Press. (2015). Genus: Teucrium. Retrieved from Fine Gardening: http://www.finegardening.com/teucrium

Ximenes, R. M., Melo, A. M., Magalhães, L. P., Souza, I. A., & Albuquerque, J. F. (2012). Antitumor Activity of Leaves from Hyptis mutabilis (A. Rich.) Briq. (Lamiaceae) in Mice Bearing Tumor. Dataset Papers in Pharmacology. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.7167/2013/169357

Final paper about GMO's and placental cells and other stuff you never wanted to know about

This paper was inspired by Robin Lim's letter expressing concern about increased placental deformities in her practice. You can find her letter here.  But once I got into the research, there was nothing that could put it all together, the info was either inaccessible or not there at all. But what I did find was equally disturbing. This paper is not being put out there in any way to prove anything, but to make you think and show some possible correlations that should have further research. In order to do that kind of research, data must be collected for it, and especially where placentas are concerned, that data is not quite available or what is available is largely incomplete as so many placentas are discarded with no more than a glance to check for specific things. I expect many people will read this and give me a lot of criticism, and that is fine. I want to know where I missed the mark. I don't understand this as much as I would like. So if anyone wants to use this start and take off with it and prove something, by all means, go for it. So here it is... This is after submission, before grading.

Genetically modified foods and associated chemicals are possible causes of the increase in placental abnormalities in humans.

A meta analysis of data surrounding the use of GM crops and glyphosate

Kaire downin, american college of healthcare science,

Summer 2015 anatomy and physiology 501

Abstract

             In a time where food is scarce in many areas of the world, scientist have employed the use of genetically modifying plants for food in a way that they can be resistant to chemicals meant to protect them from other weeds and insects from destroying thee much needed crops. This much interference with the natural make of plants and the addition of these toxic chemicals used to protect them has created a bigger problem than hunger when the bodies of our children and generations afterwards are effected genetically and physically starting from the development of placentas to the ability to reproduce later in life. This paper seeks to prove correlations to the use of glyphosate and Round-up products on genetically modified plants with the abnormalities that birth workers are finding in placentas. In the process of reviewing studies, other concerns are revealed such as the human reproduction rate drops in countries with high GM Soy production and the incidence of birth defects, genetic abnormalities and Celiac’s Disease.

Introduction

In May of 2009, Robin Lim, creator of the Bumi Sehat Birth Clinic in Bali and winner of the 2011 Hero of the Year Award, sent an email to a group of natural birth activists, doctors, writers and people concerned about some of the conditions she was witnessing in mothers who were giving birth at her birth clinic, conditions that used to be rare but were now becoming more common and life threatening. She was encountering anomalies such as retained placenta, velamentous umbilical cord insertion and short cords, decreases in Wharton's jelly, and still births due to cord malfunctions and destruction in late stages of gestation. Lim goes on to site 3 contributions to affected placentas being “malnutrition, pollution (including Roundup) and GMO soy,” (Lim, 2011). The implications for her concern could affect the way food is produced. Many studies have been performed that show direct malfunctions and malformations of the body as a result of GMO crops and chemicals. The purpose of this study is to identify how GMO and the chemicals associated with these crops are sources that may cause placental abnormalities and increase the risk to birthing mothers and babies.

Methods

Upon running searches through American College of Healthcare Science research data base, using these terms produced these numbers of results:

·         Genetically modified organism fetal development:  About 1,920,000 results (most of these results had to do with genetically modifying for reproduction , not the intake of foods. )

·          GMO foods fetal development: About 144,000 results

·         Genetically modified food fetal development:  About 1,310,000 results

With so many results, filtering for a common factor, which seemed to be GM Soy, seemed like a way to narrow some down. The next search was on Google Scholar using the terms “GMO Soy and placental abnormalities” which yielded about 3,590 results. None of the results had any direct scientific study to placental development in-utero.

Results

            The earliest study selected from the results was in 2002 and was about the feeding of glyphosate (GLYP) tolerant soybeans to mice and the resulting development through prenatal to adults. GLYP tolerant soy beans are the “Round-up Ready” brand made by Monsanto Corporation. The use of glyphosate is for weed control on major crops (S. R. Padgette, et al., 1995). In this study, scientists fed a transgenic soybean or non-transgenic soybean diet to groups of pregnant female mice and during their lactation period. The male mice born to these females were continuously fed on the same diet until certain intervals of age and then culled and their testes were dissected. The researchers also did multigenerational experiments in the same way, using adult males from the original group born to the mothers fed the diet to breed new stock. The results showed no difference in litter size, body weights, percentages of testicular cell populations, or macromolecular cell growth between mice fed the transgenic diet and the non-transgenic diets (Brake & Evenson, 2003). However, this study had no reference to the health or structure of the placentas created during the gestation of the female mice fed the diets.  

            A French Study from 2005 tested the Differential effects of GLYP and Roundup on human placental cells. GLYP and Roundup were prepared in a lab at the dilutions approved for agricultural use and used to test reactions with human placental cell cultures at different concentrations for either one hour, 18 hours, 24 hours, or 48 hours. The examinations included extracting the RNA and measuring aromatase activity with radioimmunoassay. Human placental tissue from full term placentas obtained from non-smoking women were used for the test which showed measurements of microsomal aromatase activity and other measurements of reductase activity. The results were different between the GLYP alone and the Roundup product which adds adjuvants to the solution. Even at 10 times lower the suggested agriculture use, the Roundup treated cells had reduced cell viability twice more than glyphosate alone. This study concludes that GLYP is a “disrupter of mammalian cytochrome P450 aromatase activity from concentrations 100 times lower than the recommended use in agriculture.”  Cytochrome P450 aromatase is the enzyme responsible for estrogen synthesis (SIMPSON, et al., 2013).  Cytochrome P450 aromatase is also responsible for sexual differentiation of neural structures, specifically the development of the central nervous system and sexual behavior and function (Lephart, 1996). The researchers on this team suggest that reproductive problems are a concern when exposure to GLYP occurs, even at lower than suggested use for agriculture levels (Sophie Richard, Sipahutar, Benachour, & Seralini, 2005).

Another study shows that the adjuvants in Roundup increase the toxicity of the GLYP after an experiment with oyster larvae where toxicity was induced using Roundup at 1/20^th the amount of GLYP needed to produce the same toxic results (Mottier, et al., 2013).

            In Canada, the blood of 30 pregnant women and 39 non-pregnant women was analyzed to evaluate the correlation between mother and fetal exposure to GLYP and the levels in their bodies in 2011. GLYP has several metabolite toxins associated with it and can be traced in blood samples. In this experiment, they were looking for GLYP and its metabolite, aminomethyl phosphoric acid (AMPA), another herbicide called gluphosinate (GLUF), and its metabolite 3-methylphosphinicopropionic acid 3 (3-MPPA), and Cry1Ab Protein (a Bt Toxin).  The non-pregnant women were found to have GLYP (5%) and GLUF (18%) in their serum samples where pregnant women were not found not have it. This might be because some of these subjects had not been exposed to the GMO foods that contain these chemicals. The researchers express concerns and point out other findings in previous animal studies which they acknowledge use much higher levels of GLYP to test fetal development with results that show skeletal retardation in developing rats (Dallegrave, et al., 2003) and harm to human placental and umbilical cells (Sophie Richard, Sipahutar, Benachour, & Seralini, 2005; Benachour & Séralini, 2009). However, 3-MPPA were detected in 67% of the non-pregnant women and 100% of the pregnant women and the umbilical cords of their fetuses. Cry1Ab was found in the blood samples of 93% of mothers, 80% of fetuses and 69% of non-pregnant women. Furthermore, this toxin has been shown to be present in livestock fed on plants that have been treated with GLUF making it possible that people could have further contamination through meat consumption (Aris & Leblanc, 2011). This study was the first of its kind to detect pesticides associated with modified foods in women and their fetuses. It was not noted if the babies born to the women in the study experienced any trauma at birth, the cesarean rate, any placental abnormalities or fetal deaths.

            Hannah Landecker from the University of California Center for Society and Genetics wrote a research paper not based on experiments with GMO foods or toxic herbicides and pesticides, but from an Epigenetic stand point of food as exposure. Taking the understanding that food becomes part of one’s environment during gestation and lifetime and has the ability to influence gene expression, Landecker explains the social scientific aspect of food shaping our health as a cause and controller of disease. These epigenetic changes that can happen, as in the genetic changes seen in the 2005 French study by Simpson, et al, can have a role in resetting or reprogramming the gene expression in individuals through nutrient exposure as early in life as in the womb. The genetic expressions are then passed down to generations afterwards due to this interaction of the molecular make up of individuals. Landecker points out that this is ingrained in our culture from a political and technical network of food production, distribution and consumption and is transgenerational giving it a strong economic influence. When food is manufactured in an engineered state and is unintentionally toxic, it becomes an environmental exposure that influences the metabolism of the people inhabiting this specific point in history where we modify food in more ways than we have ever in all the years of agriculture. People have a limited control of what they consume when engineered products are in so many food items and consumed at such a high rate. This shapes the way our future generations will be able to receive and metabolize food, as it influences the gene expression of fetuses before they are even born and passes these gene to the next generation compounding the exposures. An addition to this collection of exposures to toxic chemicals, we are also breathing, bathing and living in environments with more engineered toxins than ever before, sure to change the physiology of our bodies (Landecker, 2011).  Even though this research paper did not expressively deal with genetically modified foods and GLYP or Roundup, it explains about how our bodies process foods and the molecules within the foods to influence genes and ties together some of the surrounding research that shows that these toxins effect our genetic expressions (SIMPSON, et al., 2013). A focus of this paper was on eating foods with purpose, not just for the nutritional make up or taste, but for their reaction on the body such as helping to lower cholesterol or having an antioxidant effect. We can eat with purpose to enhance our health but when the foods we are looking to for these health changing effects are also molecularly enhanced with other toxins that effect our genes in negative ways, we are also exposing ourselves to possible changes that induce disease. Which brings me to the next study.

            In 2013, Anthony Samsel, an independent scientist from New Hampshire, along with Stephanie Seneff, a computer scientist who does work with Artificial intelligence projects in Massachusetts, set off to show the correlations between GLYP and Celiac’s Disease and other related health complications that have been on the rise at the same rate as the increased use of GMO foods and GLYP or Roundup. Their findings were evident of the connection and bring to light just how devastating environmental toxins can affect the population. In their study they show that Celiac’s Disease, whose symptoms include diarrhea, skin rashes, nausea and depression, is affecting up to 5% of the population in North America and Europe. The imbalances of gut bacteria due to the Celiac Disease are directly related to the way that GLYP interacts with the microbiome of the body. People with Celiac’s often have reproductive challenges that include infertility in males, miscarriages and birth defects like microcephaly.  There is evidence that GLYP could be disrupting the metabolizing of complex proteins, leaving behind the larger protein fragments that could be triggering autoimmune reactions leading to injury to the small intestine, which is a symptom of Celiac’s Disease. GLYP’s known reaction with CYP enzymes creates excess retinoic acid (RA) that is associated with complications in pregnancy including teratogenic effects in the fetus (Samsel & Seneff, Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases, 2013). These abnormalities include microcephaly and deformations of the skull and hindbrain underdevelopment. Other birth defects listed were cleft palate, ear malformations, polydactyly, syndactyly, and anencephaly. Also reported were in laboratory in vitro studies that showed DNA strand breaks, apoptosis, and plasma membrane damage. Rates of Celiac’s Disease, Thyroid cancer, hospitalizations for acute kidney injury, end stage renal disease death, deaths from Parkinson’s Disease, deaths due to intestinal infections, all plotted on a graph from 1990 to present compared with the GLYP use on corn, soy and wheat crops all show the same upward trend correlation (Samsel & Seneff, 2013).  Again, this research paper does not specifically address placental abnormalities but does show all the ways in which GLYP effects other body systems through exposure. If the digestive tract of people exposed to GLYP can be this disrupted, causing the inflammation, autoimmune and nutrient deficiencies mentioned in this and other studies cited in this paper, it could also be assumed that these problems will have an effect on growing healthy placentas in gestating women.  

Discussion

People have been genetically engineering food plants since the agricultural revolution began. Only now that it is being performed in labs, with the purpose of making plants resistant to chemicals, are people becoming concerned. Is it the GM foods that are dangerous or is it the chemicals that we are adding to them which is causing the problems seen in some of these studies. Can a study even identify the problems that Robin Lim has expressed concern about, or is it too late because we have seen multiple generations with exposure to the toxins reported?  Several of the above studies have been conducted after babies were born with not enough data to prove any placental structural differences in mothers who are exposed to GLYP or Roundup. However one thing remains indisputable, health problems are increasing at the same rate that GLYP and specifically, Roundup is being used over the whole world.

Part of the goal for this paper was to collect the data from when GMO crops were introduced to several countries and compare it to the rate of fetal deaths due to placental abnormalities and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) which is found to have a twofold increase in babies that are born to mothers who experienced placental abruption or placenta previa (Li & Wi, 1999). The only data that was available that suggested a similar correlation was a study from 2013 that explained that Argentina and Brazil, the world’s largest GM soy producers have been experiencing a drop in birth rates and an increase in still births and late term abortions starting at the same time the GM crops were introduced (Samsel & Seneff, Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance, 2013). It was not noted if pregnancy rates remained the same or dropped as well, and even if they did drop, with evidence showing that lack of fertility could be in relation to the use of GM crops, the only way one could show a correlation is if the rates of methods of birth control rose at the same time as birth rates dropped.  In a future study, comparing these numbers from other locales would help to determine if there is a correlation between the time that GMO crops have been in the country and the rates of fetal and infant deaths. It is also important for birth workers to carefully document the state of the placenta at the time of birth or termination so the date is available and further studies could be conducted on exactly what the consequences are from the beginning of life. 

Conclusions and Recommendations

            It is recommended that a study be conducted by collecting data of the state of placentas at birth, as well as reporting about the circumstances surrounding fetal death in a more clear and concise method with details surrounding the condition of the pregnancy and placental tissues. Only after this kind of data is available are we going to be able to tie together the possible correlations between the crops and/or GLYP and Roundup use and the destruction of human placental tissue and developmental abnormalities that are leading to fetal death and hemorrhage in mothers. In the meantime, there are plenty of studies showing the dangers of using these chemicals and the changes they are responsible for, not just in our environment but in our bodies and genetic make-up that are going to affect generations to come without any knowledge of just how much. More rigorous testing and wait periods for agricultural products with more oversight and regulations should be supported to avoid this in the future along with barring the people who have a vested interest in such companies, such as Monsanto, from having any political power or influence. Taking the profit motive out of food and medicine could tangibly help prevent some of these atrocities from happening. Monsanto has been responsible for some of the worst public experiments of the last century and the affects can be seen worldwide. With the decline of health and the decline of human birth rates, it is safe to say that the profits they have collected should be put back into the research to reverse the effects of the environmental toxins we have been exposed to.

Bibliography

Aris, A., & Leblanc, S. (2011). Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Township of Quebec, Canada. Reproductive Toxicology, 528-533.

Benachour, N., & Séralini, G.-E. (2009). Glyphosate Formulations Induce Apoptosis and Necrosis in Human Umbilical, Embryonic, and Placental Cells. Chemical Research in Toxicology, 22(1), 97-105. doi:10.1021/tx800218n

Brake, D. G., & Evenson, D. P. (2003). A generational study of glyphosate-tolerant soybeans on mouse. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 29-36. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2003.08.003

Dallegrave, E., Mantese, F. D., Coelho, R. S., Pereira, J. D., Dalsenter, P. R., & Langeloh, A. (2003). The teratogenic potential of the herbicide glyphosate-Roundup® in Wistar rats. Toxicology Letters, 142(1-2), 45-52. doi:10.1016/S0378-4274(02)00483-6

Landecker, H. (2011). Food as exposure: Nutritional epigenetics and the new metabolism. BioSocieties, 6(2), 167-194.

Lephart, E. D. (1996). A review of brain aromatase cytochrome P450. Brain Research Reviews, 22(1), 1-26. doi:10.1016/0165-0173(96)00002-1

Li, D.-K., & Wi, S. (1999). Maternal Placental Abnormality and the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. American Journal of Epidemiology, 149(7), 608-611.

Lim, R. (2011, August 15). GMO FOODS AND THE DAMAGE TO HUMAN BABIES, PLACENTAS & UMBILICAL CORDS. Retrieved from Birth of a New Earth: http://birthofanewearth.blogspot.in/2011/08/gmo-foods-and-damage-to-human-babies.html

Mottier, A., Kientz-Bouchart, V., Serpentini, A., Lebel, J. M., Jha, A. N., & Costil, K. (2013). Effects of glyphosate-based herbicides on embryo-larval development and metamorphosis in the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. Aquatic Toxicology, 128-129, 67-78. doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2012.12.002

S. R. Padgette, K. H., Eichholtz, D. A., Peschke, V. M., Nida, D. L., Taylor, N. B., & Kishore, G. M. (1995). Development, Identification, and Characterization of a Glyphosate-Tolerant Soybean Line. Alliance of Crop, Soil and Environmental Science Societies, 35(5), 1451-1461. doi:10.2135/cropsci1995.0011183X003500050032x

Samsel, A., & Seneff, S. (2013). Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance. Interdisciplinary Toxicology, 6(4), 159-184. doi:10.2478/intox-2013-0026

Samsel, A., & Seneff, S. (2013). Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases. Entropy, 1416-1463. doi:10.3390/e15041416

SIMPSON, E. R., MAHENDROO, M. S., MEANS, G. D., KILGORE, M. W., HINSHELWOOD, M. M., GRAHAM-LORENCE, S., . . . BULUN, S. E. (2013). Aromatase Cytochrome P450, The Enzyme Responsible for Estrogen Biosynthesis. Endocrine Reviews. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/edrv-15-3-342

Sophie Richard, S. M., Sipahutar, H., Benachour, N., & Seralini, G.-E. (2005). Differential Effects of Glyphosate and Roundup on Human Placental Cells and Aromatase. Environmental Health Perspectives, 113(6), 716-720.

So much to do, so little time

I feel like I have neglected my audience. I have spent a lot of time in the garden, started selling herbs at the Farmer's market, Walked at my Commencement ceremony for my BS at OSU, and have been working very hard on my Grad school work with little time left to ponder and write and share with you. This week I had an assignment that  I do want to share, it was a thoughtful one, and I was able to relate to it with information from my current reading selection, Invasive Plants Medicine, by Timothy Lee Scott. I promise to post more in the upcoming weeks as the plants grow and I do more harvesting and medicine making.

I was brought up in a Catholic family, very much indoctrinated into the church and accepting God. It never added up in my head, I have always been a child of Nature. Throughout my life, I have evolved my own understanding of what God and Nature are and how they are intertwined. I think that many of the stories and lessons and virtues that are shared among the world’s religions are universal and that many of them also contain a fair share of perversions to the original intents, put there throughout time by people wishing to have control and power over the masses. I reject those parts of religion, while finding my interpretation of the famous stories and sayings and virtues to be true and legible. I believe that God is equivalent to Nature, or the power and energy that are in all of us, shared universally through all living things. When I use the term God or Goddess, I am referring to the dichotomy of masculine and feminine qualities in the Life Force, in the Creator, and in Ourselves as the Holy Spirit, God, and Living Beings. I have no deities, no image of a humanoid ruler in the clouds, and no name to focus on. It is Namaste, in my own way, and it is the way I live and experience Life on this planet that I Love so much.

                That being said, I don’t believe that Nature is always kind or forgiving, I don’t think Humans are the top of the food chain and I don’t believe that plants and animals were put here to “do what we wish” with. The story of the Garden of Eden can be interpreted in many ways, my favorite being the interpretation shared in the book, “Ishmael,” byAuthor Daniel Quinn. I have read this book numerous times and every time I learn something new. It warns you at the beginning that it is a life altering book and you will see your life as before Ishmael and after Ishmael. It is true, once you have read it, there is no going back to understanding our lives the way we once thought we did. It is transformative and the center of that transformation comes from the interpretation of the greatest story ever told, the story of Creation. In Ishmael, you learn that the tree of Knowledge represents the knowledge of who shall live and who shall die, marking the beginning of the agricultural revolution when humans decided to take upon themselves the power to grow and monitor the food, choosing who had rights to it and exterminating anything that got in our way or holding this power. I have never been able to let go of this interpretation, it is so unarguable, it makes so much sense and has come to be the way I see truth of the history of mankind. I see myself as trying to get back to the Garden.

                The Gaia Theory maintains the idea that the Earth is self-regulating and has the power at all times to correct any harm that is being done to Her, in an attempt to achieve homeostasis, the same way all living things on this planet do in order to survive. These systems of regulation include the salinity in the ocean, our atmospheric oxygen and the surface temperatures. This is a wonderful theory that drives some scientific movements in order to try and predict what changes might occur to counter balance the effects of the inorganic changes that have been made due to human destruction of the environment.  It validates the Mother Earth theories that many Native and Natural cultures believe in, the types of ideas that conquered my mind as a child and adolescent that drove me out of the Church and into the Forest.

                Recently, I bought a book called, “Invasive Plant Medicine,” by Timothy Lee Scott, hoping to learn about using the ever present and abundant “invasive” plants for medicine. What I have learned from this book is so much more and is definitely along the same theories of the Gaia Theory. Scott writes about the healing properties of these opportunistic plants, not just for people to use as pharmaceutical treatments, but healing the soil, ecosystems and filling a niche where man has disrupted the Natural order of things. You find these “invasives” where ever we have walked, drove, dug, or built. We find them where our actions have removed topsoil, added acid to the rain, opened up the sunlight, exposed dirt, in areas where the biosystem is changing due to the way we are altering the habitat, even the indirect effects of air pollution, contaminates, and the ever looming problem of temperature changes in our Climate.

 He explains the perspective changes from when the plants were first introduced to North America through Europeans, when the Presidents encouraged people to plant “helpful” plants. Scott de-romanticizes the love we have for corn, grasses, and other species that are equally as invasive as the dandelion, yet we spend millions of dollars to grow it, introduce herbicides and pesticides and GMO crops to maintain, further wreaking havoc on environments, while only creating habitat and conditions that the ill conceived “weeds” thrive in. While we introduce new poisons to the planet to try and manage the undesirables, we are actually making them stronger, giving them more opportunity, while weakening the “natives.” The War on Weeds is akin to the War on Drugs, we don’t fund the truly helpful initiatives and instead, create propaganda based on non-truths, non-science based beliefs and ignore the evidence hitting us straight in the face. Money is spent on legislation, weapons, and brainwashing, meanwhile, people, animals, insects and land suffer, and we sleep through the consequences. This phenomenon is akin to the Gaia theory, the truth that Life, Earth, Nature will continue at all costs, and the more we pollute and push, the easier it will be for Mother Earth to be rid of us when we ruin the habitable space. However, the life that will come after we are gone will be rich in adaptable qualities and heal the spaces we have littered. It won’t take long. We weaken ourselves with poison, cancer creating agents, and lose the abilities to adapt while Nature is just gearing up and waiting to come in and clean it up, like weeds taking over a construction site and starting life again. 

The Gardening has begun!!

So I have almost cleared out all that mess in the garden and have started expanding my medicinal plants. I had to get some St. John's, or as Susun Weed likes to call it, St. Joan's (Hypericum perforatum) in hopes of using it not only for my family but as part of my business stock. Also planted are Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis), Vervain (Verbena officialis), Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum), Licorice (Helichrysum petiolare) which is not to be confused with Licorice Root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) thought their uses are similar, Hyssop Anise (Agastache foeniculum), Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca), Calendula (Calendula officinalis), Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) and some other culinary herbs and spices... whew... there are more, I just can't think of them all right now. 

On top of my personal gardening efforts, I have also spent this last week creating a biome survey of a local park where I like to collect herbs, you might have read my other blog about Nettles. In this park, just in a small radius, I found over 70 medicinal plants, about 40 I have been able to identify and I am working on the rest. It has been a huge learning experience about identification. Once the database is complete to the best of my knowledge, I am considering publishing it. I have a feeling it will take a few years to complete as I am hoping to expand my range. I learned so much already though, and wish I had more time to sit in the forest and really figure out the many plants there. 

New Editions, Welcome Ducks

Freshly hatched Cayuga, spent the first 24 hours
in my Daughters shirt incubating. 

It has been a while since I touched base here and that is because I have been super duper busy with school and the garden. AND DUCKS!!! We had ducks hatch on the 7th of May and we are super excited to have them as part of our family and garden. Those buggers grow so fast! They are fun to watch and the best part is they eat slugs and snails and help keep the grass down!! Here are some pics of their progression. Our Cayuga baby was the only one out of the 7 incubated that we knew were growing that hatched. So we went to a farm and brought home 2 more Khaki Campbells. These guys grow like crazy and eat about as much as they weigh every day! They are super snuggly and warm and they cry when we aren't around. They go for car rides in a basket but this week they have pretty much outgrown their basket and the guniea pig cage we were using for inside feeding and rest time. So they are moving outside more often, to the dismay of the daughter who things they should stay inside forever. We are hoping to successfully use duck diapers so they can play indoors too though. We hope they are one Drake and 2 females, but we won't know until all their feathers are in.

Here they are 2 days old

Here they are about a week old, eating lettuce
in a bowl of water in the kitchen. 

Here they are about 2 weeks old, all in a row, snuggle time in
the morning with me while Tiana was in school.

Can you believe how fast they grow!? 

This was their first swimming pool, here about 3 weeks old,
outgrown! 

In the morning when Tiana would get ready for school
they would cry real loud and wake up Olyvia
so we took them with us in the car. They liked looking out. 

This was 5/29/15. Tiana had a long day and fell
asleep watching them. That basket next to her bed is a
hamper that they sleep in at night.