Building partnerships for linking biomedical science with traditional knowledge of customary medicines: a case study with two Australian Indigenous communities.

Background: Customary medicine of Australia's Indigenous peoples draws upon knowledge developed through millennia of interaction with Australia's unique flora and fauna. Many Indigenous Australians are interested in developing modern medicinal and commercial translations of traditional knowledge; however, barriers of trust and benefit sharing often thwart progress.

Methods: Using a participatory action research framework, university researchers collaborated with members of two Australian Indigenous communities to investigate selected medicinal plants and locally made bush products.

Antimicrobial activity of customary medicinal plants of the Yaegl Aboriginal community of northern New South Wales, Australia: a preliminary study.

Background: This study is a collaboration between Macquarie University researchers and the Yaegl Aboriginal Community of northern NSW, Australia to investigate the antimicrobial potential of plants used in the topical treatment of wounds, sores and skin infections. Based on previously documented medicinal applications, aqueous and aqueous ethanolic extracts of Alocasia brisbanensis, Canavalia rosea, Corymbia intermedia, Hibbertia scandens, Ipomoea brasiliensis, Lophostemon suaveolens and Syncarpia glomulifera and the aqueous extracts of Smilax australis and Smilax glyciphylla were tested against common wound pathogens, including antibiotic resistant bacterial strains.

Methods: Plant material was prepared as aqueous extractions modelled on customary preparations and using 80% aqueous ethanol.

Bioactivity and chemical characterisation of Lophostemon suaveolens--an endemic Australian Aboriginal traditional medicinal plant.

Lophostemon suaveolens is a relatively unexplored endemic medicinal plant of Australia. Extracts of fresh leaves of L. suaveolens obtained from sequential extraction with n-hexane and dichloromethane exhibited antibacterial activity in the disc diffusion and MTT microdilution assays against Streptococcus pyogenes and methicillin sensitive and resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (minimum bactericidal concentration < 63 μg/mL).

An online spatial database of Australian Indigenous Biocultural Knowledge for contemporary natural and cultural resource management.

With growing international calls for the enhanced involvement of Indigenous peoples and their biocultural knowledge in managing conservation and the sustainable use of physical environment, it is timely to review the available literature and develop cross-cultural approaches to the management of biocultural resources. Online spatial databases are becoming common tools for educating land managers about Indigenous Biocultural Knowledge (IBK), specifically to raise a broad awareness of issues, identify knowledge gaps and opportunities, and to promote collaboration. Here we describe a novel approach to the application of internet and spatial analysis tools that provide an overview of publically available documented Australian IBK (AIBK) and outline the processes used to develop the online resource.

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the Yaegl Aboriginal community in northern New South Wales, Australia.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Documentation of Australian bush medicines is of utmost importance to the preservation of this disappearing and invaluable knowledge. This collaboration between the Yaegl Aboriginal community in northern New South Wales (NSW), Australia and an academic institution, demonstrates an effective means of preserving and adding value to this information.

Materials And Methods: Questionnaire-guided interviews were performed with community Elders under a framework of participatory action research.

Improved 2-DE of microorganisms after acidic extraction.

2-DE separations of protein extracts sometimes have problems with poor resolution and streaking. This problem is particularly apparent with microorganisms, most notably those with a large cell wall. Here we describe a novel, rapid protocol for the extraction of microorganisms in acidic conditions, leading to increased resolution and 2-D gel quality.