ties. Thanks to the rosy periwinkle, childhood leukemia and Hodg- 

 kin's disease are largely curable. 



Taxol, a medicinal product derived from the Pacific yew tree, has 

 offered hope to thousands of women suffering from ovarian cancer. 

 And kudzu, a notorious exotic species in this country, which made 

 an appearance in our hearing room a few weeks ago, is used by the 

 Chinese to treat alcoholism. Our own scientists are now exploring 

 its potential with positive results. 



Perhaps most encouraging is that developments such as these 

 represent only a tiny fraction of the answers that may yet be found 

 in the still largely unexplored plant kingdom. 



Sadly, however, the untapped potential of many plants to provide 

 cures for diseases such as AIDS, cancer, and Alzheimer's may be 

 lost as plant species go the way of the dodo bird and the passenger 

 pigeon. As these species disappear, we lose forever the opportunity 

 to explore their medicinal values. 



Currently, the Endangered Species Act provides far fewer protec- 

 tions for plants than for animals. As we proceed with the reauthor- 

 ization of the Act, we must determine whether adequate protection 

 is being provided to our native flora. The consideration that we 

 give these species today may very well hold the key to our survival 

 tomorrow. 



Mr. Studds. We will begin our panel of witnesses with Dr. Tom 

 Eisner from Cornell University, renowned for his work with natu- 

 ral chemicals and their medicinal applications. 



Are there additional opening statements? 



The gentlewoman from Oregon. 



STATEMENT OF HON. ELIZABETH FURSE, A U.S. 

 REPRESENTATIVE FROM OREGON 



Ms. FuRSE. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to be here this 

 morning to hear the testimony on this very important topic. As the 

 saying goes, the first rule of tinkering is not to throw away any of 

 the parts. How are we to know which of the parts are critical to 

 make the whole system work? 



Such wisdom applies to the protection of species. We don't know 

 enough about our natural systems to understand the potentially 

 dire consequences of diminishing our biodiversity. For that reason, 

 we should certainly save all of the parts. 



The subject of this hearing, the medicinal potential of plants, is 

 another persuasive reason not to throw away any of the parts. The 

 Pacific yew tree which you referred to, Mr. Chairman, comes from 

 my region of Oregon. We do know that there is direct potential for 

 ovarian cancer treatment through that tree. Yet that tree ^yas 

 threatened with clear-cutting and there was a potential for losing 

 the Pacific yew. 



I look forward to the testimony of these experts regarding the 

 measures they feel are necessary to ensure that we more fully pre- 

 serve and explore our opportunity to seek and discover new medi- 

 cines in plants. 



Thank you. 



Mr. Studds. I thank the gentlewoman. 



