The Journey of a Sweet Leaf, Garfield Conservatory, Feb 15

The Journey of a Sweet Leaf:
In Search of Plant Originated Sweeteners
Wednesday, February 15
Hours: 6 pm - 7:30 pm
Where: Jensen Room @ The Garfield Conservatory
Cost: $5 nonmembers; FREE to GPCA members!
Presenter: Djaja Doel Soejarto, Ph. D. Professor of Pharmacognosy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago and Research Associate, Department of Botany, Field Museum, Chicago, IL

A plant taxonomist and economic botanist by training, Dr. D. Doel Soejarto ("Doel") is best known for his more than 40 years of plant exploration work, covering more than 20 countries. In the early 1980's, Dr. Soejarto traveled to Paraguay and a number of Latin American countries to carry out field surveys and interviews on sweet-tasting plants. One particular plant became the focus of his research, Stevia rebaudiana, a sugar substitute also known as sweet leaf or sugar leaf. Come get a glimpse into the way scientists discover the commercial benefits and uses of tropical plants. Soejarto's collaborative research in the search for sweeteners of plant origin was most active from 1980 through 2002, and still continues to the present. For the past 13 years, his major research interest lies in the discovery of new bioactive compounds from plants as potential candidates for pharmaceutical development, in a multidisciplinary setting, using both ethno botany- and biodiversity-guided approaches in the process. He is author or co-author of more than 250 scientific papers, book chapters, and three books.

Register here: http://www.garfieldconservatory.org/cgi ... gi?form=16