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China's 13th Five-Year Plan, launched in March 2016, provides a sound policy platform for the protection of marine ecosystems and the restoration of capture fisheries within China's exclusive economic zone. What distinguishes China among many other countries striving for marine fisheries reform is its size- accounting for almost one-fifth of global catch volume-and the unique cultural context of its economic and resource management. In this paper, we trace the history of Chinese government priorities, policies, and outcomes related to marine fisheries since the 1978 Economic Reform, and examine how the current leadership's agenda for "ecological civilization" could successfully transform marine resource management in the coming years. We show how China, like many other countries, has experienced a decline in the average trophic level of its capture fisheries during the past few decades, and how its policy design, implementation, and enforcement have influenced the status of its wild fish stocks. To reverse the trend in declining fish stocks, the government is introducing a series of new programs for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, with greater traceability and accountability in marine resource management and area controls on coastal development. As impressive as these new plans are on paper, we conclude that serious institutional reforms will be needed to achieve a true paradigm shift in marine fisheries management in China. In particular, we recommend new institutions for science-based fisheries management, secure fishing access, policy consistency across provinces, educational programs for fisheries managers, and increasing public access to scientific data.

The consumption of herbal teas is an increasing phenomenon among tea consumers globally. Some of these herbal teas are not pre-treated to reduce their microbial load before consumption, and thus constitute a health risk to consumers. In this study, the effect of steam pasteurization, at >99 °C for 2.5 min, on the microbial load of Lippia multiflora herbal tea leaves was evaluated. Microbial enumeration was conducted on potato dextrose agar, plate count agar, violet red bile agar, yeast peptone dextrose agar, and DeMan-Rogosa-Sharpe agar. Morphologically distinct colonies were isolated, sub-cultured and their Gram reaction recorded. These bacteria were identified to the species level using 16S ribosomal DNA sequence data. Most of the bacteria identified belonged to the genus Bacillus. One species each from the genera Pantoea and Kocuria was also identified, but only the Bacillus species survived the steam pasteurization treatment. Coliform bacteria detected prior to pasteurization were not detected after the steam treatment. Steam pasteurization reduced the microbial load from 104 to 102 c.f.u.g−1and it is potentially an effective method to treat L. multiflora herbal teas prior to consumption. It is important to note that the steam treatment should complement good agricultural and hygienic practices rather than replace them, as some bacteria can survive this treatment.

Lippia multiflora, a perennial, aromatic shrub commonly known as bush tea has recently been identified as an African plant with high commercial potential due to its medicinal properties. The plant material was subjected to steam pasteurisation to improve its microbial quality. The major compounds of L. multiflora herbal infusion, i.e. the phenylethanoid glycosides (PhGs), verbascoside, isoverbascoside, nuomioside A and isonuomioside A, and the flavone, luteolin-7-O-glucuronide were quantified by HPLC. Verbascoside was the most abundant PhG. The PhGs are of interest due to their pharmacological properties. Liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS(2)) was used to tentatively identify the compounds. The on-line DPPH() (2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical) scavenging assay (reaction time=0.45s) applied to the infusion in "quantitative" mode, showed the relative order of activity: isonuomioside A>isoverbascoside>verbascoside>nuomioside A. In the microplate assay (reaction time=2h), isoverbascoside and verbascoside had similar activity. Both compounds were less active in the latter assay than the well-known flavan-3-ol antioxidant, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, but more active than caffeic acid and an ester, rosmarinic acid. Steam pasteurisation of L. multiflora leaves at maximum exposure (150s at ca 99°C) for improved microbial quality did not decrease the soluble solids content, phenolic content and antioxidant activities of the infusion compared to the untreated control (p

This review examines the natural products in Voacanga africana, a small tree, whose seeds are the most economically important plant part though in traditional medicines the bark and root are also widely used. Voacanga is used to treat or cure a wide range of diseases in Africa. This paper also discusses the botany, chemistry and pharmacological properties and presents current and potential applications of this species. The alkaloids are the principal bioactive compounds responsible for its use in traditional medicine. The major alkaloids include voacamine, voacangine, vobasine, and ibogaime. Others include voacristine, voacamidine, voacarine, voaphylline, vobtusine, voalfolidine and tabersonine. With over 1,600 tons of seeds exported annually from Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire, voacanga is an important source of additional income for harvesters and exporters in West Africa.