Gum trees grown for pinocembrin as company explores potential to treat neurodegenerative, respiratory diseases
Mark Foletta is a farmer who loves diversity and isn’t afraid to try new things.
In his home town of Benalla, in north-east Victoria, Mr Foletta grows cherries, grapes for wine, lucerne, mushrooms, pumpkins, Angus cattle, merino sheep, and medicinal gum trees.
Of all the things he produces, he says medicinal gum trees are one thing that always turns heads.
“It’s definitely not a euphemism for anything,” he said.
“Most people ask if it’s for the extraction of the oil, but it’s for a compound in high concentration called pinocembrin, which has been shown to have beneficial medical application in Alzheimer’s [disease] and dementia.”
Mr Foletta stumbled upon medicinal gum trees after talking to a neighbour who was growing them for the Australian biotech company, Gretals.
“I jumped the fence and went and met Alistair [Cumming, the CEO of Gretals], and I noticed there was an infestation of some sort of caterpillars in the original planting,” he said.
“And he said we’re looking for other growers and would love to have someone with horticulture experience.
“After I found out the project had good backing from university research, I realised it’s something I was interested in.”
Two years later, Mr Foletta has about 2,000 trees in his plantation and is one of eight growers based in the Benalla region.
Treating diseases
Gretals chief executive Alistair Cumming said he was originally looking for compounds that could be used to replace the use of antibiotics in livestock feed.
“When we started this journey in 1978, I was at a conference at a university in New Zealand,” Mr Cumming said.
“One of the key lecturers said in front of major pharmaceutical companies that the way we’re using antibiotics in livestock feed is going to lead to a potential problem in terms of resistance.”
Mr Cumming and researchers from the University of Melbourne set out to find compounds by looking at 188 different species of Australian flora.
During this research, they found one species of eucalypt with a high content of the compound pinocembrin.
“There is a very big potential in terms of it becoming a key compound as far as human health,” Mr Cumming said.
“There’s the area of neurodegenerative diseases, there’s lots of research going on around Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
“Because of this compound and its ability to pass through the blood-brain barrier, that’s is the big thing.
“We’re not making any claims, we’ve got to do the hard yards.
“That’s the hardest part of this project, to carry on and validate because it takes years.”
After decades of work, Mr Cumming said they were aiming to have functional food available to consumers within the next 18 months.
Tapping into our flora
Senior research fellow from the University of Melbourne, Jason Goodger studies the chemicals found in plants.
Dr Goodger said through research they have found pharmaceutical flavonoid pinocembrin has particular advantages for diseases of the central nervous system.
“It’s really effective in treating lung fibrosis — a lot of people with long COVID or those who have recovered from severe COVID have a lot of scaring on their lungs.
“Compounds like pinocembrin can treat that scaring very effectively.”
Dr Goodger said studies have shown it is a non-toxic compound.
He said it had been used in China for many years but the discovery of high volumes in Australian plants had only happened in the past few years.
“There are 800 different species of eucalyptus and there hasn’t been a lot of systematic work on what’s in them,” Dr Goodger said.
“Things like pinocembrin in eucalypts are relatively recent discoveries; it’s been known in plants in China for millennia.
“Interestingly enough they use plants high in pinocembrin as tea for elderly people.”
Dr Goodger said the discovery of high volumes of the compound in gum trees had huge potential for the future pharmaceutical industry.
“It’s a huge potential because we can grow so much so easily.”
“I see a future where we have loads of different eucalypts that we’re growing for particular reasons, because nature is an amazing pharmacy.
“It grows some incredible compounds, but we just don’t tap into it.”
A new industry for the region
Gretals has also opened a mill in Benalla to extract the compound and process the gum leaves.
Mr Cumming hopes this opens the doors to a new industry in the region.
“The support we’ve got from the community is just incredible,” he said.
“This offers different farming opportunities, utilises land which is not ideal for broadacre cropping and grazing, and something that will give the local area employment as well.”
After buying the farm next to his parents, Mark Foletta is a fierce advocate for Benalla.
“When I first moved back I was bit shocked that I bought the farm next door at 25, and 13 years down the track and anything that can breathe life into the area I’m a big proponent for.”
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