Crop Wastes As Potential Sources of Natural Medicine, Cosmetic Products, Pesticides, Insecticides, and Paper Products

News source: Philippine Council for Agriculture,
Forestry and Natural Resources
Research and Development
For further information, see Torres, L. D., Ortinero, C.V., and Monserate, J.J. Investigation of selected agricultural products and wastes in Region III as sources of natural products and pulp. Nueva Ecija: CLSU, 2001., 2003-02-01

Bioactive Substances from Plant Wastes

PLANT WASTES may be utilized for beneficial purposes such as medicine, cosmetic products, pesticides, or paper. Bioactive substances were extracted from parts of different plants, such as: Momordica charantia Linn., Lycopersicon esculentum Mill, Dolicos lablab Linn., Solanum melongena Linn., Allium sativum Linn., Allium ascalonicum, Corchorus olitorius Linn., Pachyrrhizus erosus Linn., Vigna sesquipedalis Linn., Allium astowskianum Linn., and Oryza sativa. The extracts were processed and evaluated for their potential uses as insecticides, medicine, or as source of pulp for papermaking.

Alkanoids, Flavonoids and Saponins

Results revealed the following:

• Alkaloids, flavonoids, and saponins were the common bioactive substances extracted from any one or all of the plant parts (seeds, leaves, stems, roots, or fruits) of the crops tested. These phytochemicals exhibited antitumor, antimutagenic, antibacterial, antifungal, antipyretic, analgesic, and cytotoxic activities.
  

Insecticidal and Medicinal Qualities

• Plant extracts from the different crops showed specific insecticidal or medicinal properties. For instance, extracts from the seeds of M. charantia showed insecticidal property against housefly. The stems, roots, and leaves of tomato cv. Apollo (L. esculentum) showed insecticidal property against brown plant hopper.
• Extracts from different crops also showed different bioactivity or properties. The saponins extracted from the leaves, stems, and roots of tomato cv. Apollo were found to contain antitumor agents.
• Paper may be produced from rice straw and vines from M. charantia.

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