Medical ethnobotany and anti-cancer properties of Vitex rotundifolia L.F.

Abstract

Vitex rotundifolia is one of approximately 270 species that are classified under the genus Vitex. The geographic range of Vitex spans tropical and subtropical regions of the globe, with individual species in various geographic niches. Vitex has a rich history associated with human uses, medicine in particular, which dates back several millennia. It is becoming increasingly more evident in the scientific arena that natural product drug research, combined with ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology, is a highly efficient methodology for pursuing therapeutic resources, whether for complementary and alternative remedies or other biomedical applications. With this increased awareness comes the issue of intellectual property rights. Due to the poor ethics of a few researchers in the past, or simply their ill attempt to clearly state the actual odds of a profitable outcome, researchers interested in ethnopharmacological drug research have an increased number of obstacles to overcome. This project addressed the issue of intellectual property rights with the formation of an agreement with the Rongelap Atoll Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. It states that any profitable resources derived from plants collected on the Rongelap and Ailinginae Atolls for chemical analysis would be distributed back to the people of Rongelap Atoll. Thus far, DCM extracts, and fractions thereafter, of Vitex rotundifolia have displayed the ability to inhibit phosphorylation activity of MAP kinase. Vitex rotundifolia exhibits cancer chemotherapeutic potential, and isolation of the responsible active constituent should be further investigated.