opoponax (Commiphora erythraea)
IPO scientific research network has taken part in the International Congress “Dermatological Care for All: Common Diseases for Neglected People”, carried out in Addis Ababa and Makelle, Ethiopia, from 24 to 27 November 2009. The event, come at its third edition, has been organized by the National Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty (NIHMP), in collaboration with the Tigray Regional Health Bureau (THB), the University of Mekelle, the Italian Development Cooperation, the International Society of Dermatology (ISD) and the International Institute of Social, Medical, and Anthropological Sciences (IISMAS).
The project “Managing dry land natural gum and aromatic resin production to integrate pastoralists' sustainable economic benefits with desertification control and biodiversity conservation ”, finalized in 2008 with the establishment of several aromatic resins processing and selling cooperatives, is nowadays revealing new opportunities for local communities. Thanks to the scientific studies directed by InfarmaZone Association from Perugia, some researches, assigned to several Italian Universities laboratories, are now in progress in order to evaluate therapeutic properties of Agarsu balsam (Commiphora erythraea) essential oil, an aromatic resin growing in the Horn of Africa arid brush. Each laboratory involved is working on part of the research, publishing the results obtained step by step on open source journals, in order to protect local communities from possible natural resources exploitation by unscrupulous pharmaceutical industries. Tests have been carried out on several viral strains, bacteria and fungi. From the first analyses, the Agarsu essential oil has resulted to be an effective inhibitor of plant pathogen fungi growth. Moreover, it results to be very effective against flu virus, with potential properties to be tested on H1N1. .
The first year of the project “Community Herbal Care: an outpatients’ clinic with galenical laboratory for children skin health” is closing: every activity foreseen in the year 2008-2009 has been successfully accomplished. Beyond the results in terms of diseases treated and medical visits delivered, the construction of the galenical lab for herbal medicines production has been realized. Herbal remedies created for the treatment of dermatological diseases prevailing in the area have been scientifically proved, demonstrating an high percentage of efficacy. Furthermore the harvesting and drying process of the officinal plants cultivated in the nursery , just near the lab, is ongoing.