PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 3:29 PM by Luigi

"Katuk" in Pohnpei

From Dr Lois Englberger of the Island Food Community of Pohnpei.

As we shared with you previously, we are now carrying out a project in the village of Mand, Madolenihm, documenting the traditional food system of Pohnpei. Our team is an inter-agency one, involving Pohnpei Agriculture, College of Micronesia-FSM Land Grant, Pohnpei Department of Health, Pohnpei Historic Preservation Office, US Peace Corps, Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, as well as the Island Food Community of Pohnpei.

We were very interested last week to find out about a green leafy vegetable called "katuk". Kiped and Asipa Alpert have it growing near their house, and they explained that they had received it from the College of Micronesia-FSM Land Grant program some years ago (but evidently it was not widely distributed or promoted as our inter-agency team was not familiar with it). The Alperts explained that it can be eaten raw as a salad vegetable, or cooked. We tasted the raw oval-shaped leaves, and they were in fact quite sweet and tasty.

Jackson Phillip was involved in the Land Grant program at the time of the introduction of this vegetable. We contacted him and he remembered it well and mentioned that katuk is known for reducing blood sugar. He pointed out that it is also good for diarrhea and stomach ache.

I have now located a published leaflet on katuk by the University of Hawaii. This is the Tropical Perennial Vegetable Leaflet No. 10 by Jay Ram, August 1994. This leaflet identifies katuk as the sweetleaf bush, or Sauropus androgynus. It says that it can be eaten raw in salads or cooked, as in soups, stews, and stir-fry dishes. It states that one-half cup (100 g) of this vegetable provides the entire estimated requirement for vitamin C.

The leaflet also states: "It is suspected that Sauropus contains a substance which tends to lower blood glucose. If proven to be true, the plant may be beneficial to diabetes." So this vegetable could help in protecting against and controlling diabetes, one of the major health problems here in Pohnpei, and also could provide an important local vegetable both for eating raw in salads, as well as cooked, and easy to grow outside the house with other food crops.

For those interested in getting plantlets of katuk, please contact COM-FSM Land Grant at 320-5731 or Pohnpei Agriculture at 320-2400.

Thanks again to the Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment, McGill University, Canada, for their involving us in this project.

Follow-up from Lois

There were several responses to the release on katuk, see below. Also, I want to share with you that it was Welsihter Hagilmai from the College of Micronesia-FSM Land Grant who carried out the interview in Mand and found out about the katuk. Thank you, Welsey!

From Gibson Santos

This plant reminded me those years I had with COM/Land Grant/Home Gardening & Cooking demonstrations program with homemakers in the villages. This plant reached even Salapwuk village. But I'm not sure people kept it alive in some places. I guess the promotion was not very strong in the beginning.

From Jackson Phillip

Thank you Lois for sharing. I wish to share a few more with others. The 'reduce blood sugar' info regarding Katuk was made available to all CES nutrition staff and members of the Ieias Mwahu Committee (IMC). The discoveries of it as remedy for diarrhea and good for some stomach ache were here (myself). Katuk and Chaya were among the five vegetables and the Neem tree Jay Ram and I introduced through an ADAP project. Jay Ram is a private scientist and consultant on the Big Island. Anyone interested I can provide 100 cuttings every other day for the next 6 months.



	A blog maintained by Tevita Kete, PGR Officer Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Suva, Fiji Islands
This weblog documents the activities of Pacific Agricultural Genetic Resources Network (PAPGREN), along with other information on plant genetic resources (PGR) in the Pacific. The myriad varieties found within cultivated plants are fundamental to the present and future productivity of agriculture. PAPGREN, which is coordinated by the Land Resources Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), helps Pacific countries and territories to conserve their crop genetic diversity sustainably, with technical assistance from the Bioversity International (BI) and support from NZAID and ACIAR. SPC also hosts the Centre of Pacific Crops and Trees (CEPaCT). The CEPaCT maintains regional in vitro collections of crops important to the Pacific and carries out research on tissue culture technology. The CEPaCT Adviser is Dr Mary Taylor (MaryT@spc.int), the CEPaCT Curator is Ms Valerie Tuia (ValerieT@spc.int). PAPGREN coordination and support IPGRI ACIAR NZAID CTA SPC PAPGREN CEPaCT Click on the thumbnail to see a map of the locations of Pacific genebanks. Click here to download a regional directory of genebanks in the Pacific, including information on their location, contact details and holdings. PAPGREN partners Mr William Wigmore Director of Research Ministry of Agriculture Department of Resources & Development P.O. Box 96 Rarotonga Cook Islands Tel: (682) 28711-29720 Fax: (682) 21881 Email: cimoa@oyster.net.ck Mr Adelino S. Lorens Chief Agriculture Pohnpei Office of Economic Affairs P.O. Box 1028 Kolonia Pohnpei 96941 Federated States of Micronesia Tel: (691) 3202400 Fax: (691) 3202127 Email: pniagriculture@mail.fm Dr Lois Englberger Island Food Community of Pohnpei Research Advisor P.O. Box 2299 Kolonia Pohnpei 96941 Federated States of Micronesia Email: nutrition@mail.fm Mr Apisai Ucuboi Director of Research Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forest Koronivia Research Station P.O. Box 77 Nausori Fiji Islands Tel: (679) 3477044 Fax: (679) 3477546-400262 Email: apisainu@yahoo.com Dr Maurice Wong Service du Developpement Rural B.P. 100 Papeete Tahiti 98713 French Polynesia Tel: (689) 42 81 44 Fax: (689) 42 08 31 Email: maurice.wong@rural.gov.pf Mr Tianeti Beenna Ioane Head, Research Section Division of Agriculture Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development P.O. Box 267 Tarawa Kiribati Tel: (686) 28096-28108-28080 Fax: (686) 28121 Email : agriculture@tskl.net.ki; Beenna_ti@yahoo.com Mr Frederick Muller Secretary Ministry of Resources & Development P.O. Box 1727 Majuro 96960 Marshall Islands Tel: (692) 6253206 Fax: (692) 6257471 Email: rndsec@ntamar.net Mr Herman Francisco Director Bureau of Agriculture Ministry of Resources & Development P.O. Box 460 Koror 96940 Palau Tel: (680) 4881517 Fax: (680) 4881725 Email: bnrd@pnccwg.palaunet.com Ms Rosa Kambuou Principal Scientist PGR NARI Dry Lowlands Programme Laloki Agricultural Research Station P.O. Box 1828 Boroko National Capital District Papua New Guinea Tel: (675) 3235511 Fax: (675) 3234733 Email: kambuou@global.net.pg Ms Laisene Samuelu Principal Crop Development Officer Crops Division Ministry of Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries & Meteorology P.O. Box 1874 Apia Samoa Tel: (685) 23416-20605 Fax: (685) 20607-23996 Email: lsamuelu@lesamoa.net Mr Jimi Saelea Director of Research Department of Agriculture and Livestock P.O. Box G13 Honiara Guadalcanal Solomon Islands Tel: (677) 27987 Mr Tony Jansen Planting Materials Network Kastom Gaden Association Burns Creek, Honiara P.O. Box 742 Honiara Solomon Islands Tel: (677) 39551 Email: kastomgaden@solomon.com.sb Mr Finao Pole Head of Research Ministry of Agriculture & Forests P.O. Box 14 Nuku'alofa Tonga Tel: (676) 23038 Fax: (676) 24271 Email: thaangana@hotmail.com Mr Frazer Bule Lehi Head of Research Department of Agriculture & Rural Development Private Mail Bag 040 Port Vila Vanuatu Tel: (678) 22525 Fax: (678) 25265 Email: flehi@hotmail.com Other links Other CROP agencies Forum Secretariat University of the South Pacific SPREP Pacific biodiversity Biodiversity hotspots Breadfruit Institute Hawaiian native plants Intellectual property rights Nature Conservancy PBIF PestNet SIDS WWF South Pacific Program Other Pacific organizations Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific Micronesian Seminar Te Puna web directory Pacific news Cafe Pacific CocoNET Wireless Island Directory Pacific Islands News Pacific Islands Report Pacific Islands Travel Pacific Time South Pacific travel Time Pacific Interested in GIS? DIVA-GIS	Monday, May 23, 2005 Posted 3:29 PM by Luigi "Katuk" in Pohnpei From Dr Lois Englberger of the Island Food Community of Pohnpei. As we shared with you previously, we are now carrying out a project in the village of Mand, Madolenihm, documenting the traditional food system of Pohnpei. Our team is an inter-agency one, involving Pohnpei Agriculture, College of Micronesia-FSM Land Grant, Pohnpei Department of Health, Pohnpei Historic Preservation Office, US Peace Corps, Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, as well as the Island Food Community of Pohnpei. We were very interested last week to find out about a green leafy vegetable called "katuk". Kiped and Asipa Alpert have it growing near their house, and they explained that they had received it from the College of Micronesia-FSM Land Grant program some years ago (but evidently it was not widely distributed or promoted as our inter-agency team was not familiar with it). The Alperts explained that it can be eaten raw as a salad vegetable, or cooked. We tasted the raw oval-shaped leaves, and they were in fact quite sweet and tasty. Jackson Phillip was involved in the Land Grant program at the time of the introduction of this vegetable. We contacted him and he remembered it well and mentioned that katuk is known for reducing blood sugar. He pointed out that it is also good for diarrhea and stomach ache. I have now located a published leaflet on katuk by the University of Hawaii. This is the Tropical Perennial Vegetable Leaflet No. 10 by Jay Ram, August 1994. This leaflet identifies katuk as the sweetleaf bush, or Sauropus androgynus. It says that it can be eaten raw in salads or cooked, as in soups, stews, and stir-fry dishes. It states that one-half cup (100 g) of this vegetable provides the entire estimated requirement for vitamin C. The leaflet also states: "It is suspected that Sauropus contains a substance which tends to lower blood glucose. If proven to be true, the plant may be beneficial to diabetes." So this vegetable could help in protecting against and controlling diabetes, one of the major health problems here in Pohnpei, and also could provide an important local vegetable both for eating raw in salads, as well as cooked, and easy to grow outside the house with other food crops. For those interested in getting plantlets of katuk, please contact COM-FSM Land Grant at 320-5731 or Pohnpei Agriculture at 320-2400. Thanks again to the Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment, McGill University, Canada, for their involving us in this project. *Follow-up from Lois* There were several responses to the release on katuk, see below. Also, I want to share with you that it was Welsihter Hagilmai from the College of Micronesia-FSM Land Grant who carried out the interview in Mand and found out about the katuk. Thank you, Welsey! *From Gibson Santos* This plant reminded me those years I had with COM/Land Grant/Home Gardening & Cooking demonstrations program with homemakers in the villages. This plant reached even Salapwuk village. But I'm not sure people kept it alive in some places. I guess the promotion was not very strong in the beginning. *From Jackson Phillip* Thank you Lois for sharing. I wish to share a few more with others. The 'reduce blood sugar' info regarding Katuk was made available to all CES nutrition staff and members of the Ieias Mwahu Committee (IMC). The discoveries of it as remedy for diarrhea and good for some stomach ache were here (myself). Katuk and Chaya were among the five vegetables and the Neem tree Jay Ram and I introduced through an ADAP project. Jay Ram is a private scientist and consultant on the Big Island. Anyone interested I can provide 100 cuttings every other day for the next 6 months. * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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