The mystery of the 2,000 year-old medicinal plant

Campaign Complete. This project has ended on August 4, 2016. No more contributions can be made.

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About the Author

Olwen Grace
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https://twitter.com/kewgardens

I’m a researcher at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. I study the evolution of succulent plants - plants that store water. I’m fascinated by the ways in which adaptations in the plant kingdom are valuable to people, and how we can harness nature’s solutions to problems facing humanity today. My approach combines field observations with the laboratory in order to understand the when, where and how these plants evolved

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Launched: July 4, 2016

Funding Ends: August 4, 2016

The mystery of the 2,000 year-old medicinal plant

Aloe vera is one of the most commonly used ingredients in our shopping basket today—from cosmetic products to skin care medicines—and is even rumoured to have been a staple in Cleopatra’s beauty regime some 2,000 years ago. But the ingredient in our supermarket baskets is a botanical mystery. How did this species go from a wild plant to a natural product superstar?

We are embarking on a research project to find out. Using evolutionary biology, we will investigate the relationships between Aloe vera and its wild relatives to uncover the early origins of this superstar species. For the first time in its history we can unlock the potentially wide reaching benefits to humankind from a whole new viewpoint.

Want to know what’s really in your shopping basket? Help us to solve this 2,000 year-old mystery.

“Aloe vera is one of the most well-known plants today, yet its rise to fame is a perplexing botanical mystery”- Dr Olwen Grace

Aloe vera. Photograph: Olwen Grace

Why aloes?

Aloe vera is a popular ingredient in supermarket products. ‘Gel’ from the succulent leaves of the Aloe vera plant is used in an enormous variety of foods and products for health and wellbeing. Aloe vera was rumoured to be a staple in Cleopatra’s beauty regime, and today the species supports a natural products industry that is estimated to be worth $13 billion. However, the story of Aloe vera from wild plant to natural product superstar is steeped in folklore. It is one of about 500 related species in the genus Aloe, an iconic group of plants native to Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Madagascar, the exceptional popularity of Aloe vera over hundreds of related aloes with potentially similar properties remains a mystery. We’re using evolution of aloes to solve it.

Aloidendron dichotomum. Photograph: Olwen Grace

Solving the mystery ..

In this project we will use evolutionary biology to investigate the relationships between Aloe vera and its wild relatives for the first time. We will reconstruct a family tree (phylogeny) of these plants using what could be the largest genomic DNA dataset ever sequenced for an African succulent plant group. The data will be used to understand when and how Aloe vera evolved. Ours is the first study to use these cutting-edge genomic approaches to scrutinise the wild relatives of Aloe vera, and your support will make it happen.

The unveiling of a superstar?

We will solve more than a botanical mystery. Identifying the closest relatives to Aloe vera will enable us to scrutinise its unique popularity in the context of the useful properties for which it is renowned, such as the leaf chemistry. Without this evolutionary framework, it is impossible to determine whether Aloe vera is unique in the beneficial properties for which it is famous, or whether other species of Aloe and other succulent plants might share these properties. Hundreds of aloes grow throughout Africa and local industries using them instead of Aloe vera are being established. This project will help to evaluate the true diversity of aloes and other succulent plants for locally appropriate bio-industries, starting with the fundamental question of ‘why Aloe vera?’

The results

The study will reveal the closest relatives of Aloe vera from among the Arabian and African species of Aloe, and allow us to determine if Arabian aloes are more closely related to Aloe vera than African aloes. Hence, the results might highlight species not previously thought to be closely related to Aloe vera. Alternatively, the results could show Aloe vera to be an unusual, genetically isolated species on its own branch of the family tree—a finding that would contradict our current understanding of relationships among aloes, yet would explain its popularity from an evolutionary perspective. We will use the data to delve into the evolutionary history of aloes and gain a better understanding of when and where aloes arrived on the Arabian Peninsula, at the northern limit of their range, and where aloes first entered trade.

How your contribution will be used

Stretch goals

The work plans and objectives for this project are scalable. If the funding target is exceeded, it will be possible to sample more widely and identify even more relatives of Aloe vera. The impacts of the findings will, likewise, increase as the study deepens.

Phase 1: A test study on a small sampling of species to optimise the methodology for rapid genome skimming (already completed).

Phase 2: A broader study of about 50 aloes using the optimised method (total cost £7000).

Phase 3: An intensive study of as many aloes as we can collect; every additional £100 will cover sampling for another species.

The Aloe code breakers!

Olwen Grace

Dr Olwen Grace is a scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in the United Kingdom. Her research focuses on the evolution of succulent plants in the world’s most arid places, combining field work in the deserts with evolutionary biology to investigate how the characteristics we find useful evolved among these extraordinary plants. Olwen grew up in the rural outskirts of Durban in South Africa, where she developed her interest in the value of plants to people, and is a champion for science communication and plants as natural capital.

Nina Rønsted

Professor Nina Rønsted is curator of botanical collections at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, part of the University of Copenhagen. Her research explores the evolution and use of plants and the correlation between phylogeny, biological interactions and natural products, to explain patterns and processes of diversity. One of her focal areas is the phylogenetic exploration of medicinal plants—such as the mysterious Aloe vera—to offer new solutions for the appreciation and sustainable use of biodiversity resources and ultimately improve health.

Sven Buerki

Dr Sven Buerki is a researcher at the Natural History Museum in London. His research focuses on understanding the effect of biotic and abiotic factors in shaping plant communities in biodiversity hotspots, especially in the Cape region of South Africa and Madagascar. Sven is passionate about translating his research findings into conservation actions, especially in Madagascar where he currently works with local communities to restore vegetation by using lemurs as key seed dispersers. Sven is an authority on plant biogeography, bioinformatics, systematics and genomics, and brings this expertise to this Aloe vera project.

Sam Bruun-Lund

Sam Bruun-Lund is a PhD candidate based at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, part of the University of Copenhagen. Sam has a broad fascination with plants, their evolution and genomics. In his research, he uses phylogenies based on genomic data as a tool to study how different groups of plants evolve and diversify. He focuses on the complex fig genus Ficus, and is also working on other charismatic botanical curiosities such as snowdrops (Galanthus) and horsetails (Equisetum), as well as being a member of the Aloe vera phylogeny team.

To thank you for your support

Pledge £3
Report: Help us solve this mystery and we will send you an illustrated report of the findings when the research has been completed

Pledge £10
Postcard: Receive a personal thank-you postcard from Kew

Pledge £20
Online webinar: Knowing and growing aloes, hosted by Dr Olwen Grace, who leads the Aloe vera project, and Paul Rees, curator of the succulent collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Pledge £50
Lecture and wine reception: Tickets for two to the celebratory evening reception and lecture at Kew by Dr Olwen Grace to mark the beginning of the research project, explaining the fascinating diversity and uses of aloes. Tuesday 16^th August 2016, 6.30pm

Pledge £100
Botanical print: Receive a print of a beautiful botanical illustration of Aloe africana from Kew’s archives, to display in your home or work place. Measures 61×40.5 cm, printed on museum-quality paper

Pledge £250

Behind the scenes tour: Bring a friend for a behind the scenes tour of the succulent plant collection at the world’s most famous botanic garden, with Kew’s succulent plant curator Paul Rees, exclusive to Walacea supporters, plus all of the above. Tuesday 16^th August, 3pm

Pledge £500

Lunch at Kew: Lunch for two with Dr Olwen Grace in the Orangery Restaurant at Kew, plus all of the above. Various dates in August 2016

______________________

About Kew and Kew Science

You can see Aloe vera in the Princess of Wales conservatory at Kew. Photograph. Photograph: Paul Wennekes’

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is not only the world’s most famous botanic garden: it is a global resource for knowledge about plants and fungi. Science is at the heart of Kew’s mission, and serves a simple but often overlooked truth: all our lives depend on plants. Research at Kew aims to document and understand global plant and fungal diversity and its uses, bringing authoritative expertise to bear on the critical challenges facing humanity today.

Visit our website to find out more about the strategy for science and discovery.

nhmdenmark_logo

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Online webinar: Knowing and growing aloes, hosted by Dr Olwen Grace, who leads the Aloe vera project, and Paul Rees, curator of the succulent collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
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Lecture and wine reception: Tickets for two to the celebratory evening reception and lecture at Kew by Dr Olwen Grace to mark the beginning of the research project, explaining the fascinating diversity and uses of aloes. Tuesday 16th August 2016, 6.30pm
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Botanical print: Receive a print of a beautiful botanical illustration of Aloe africana from Kew’s archives, to display in your home or work place. Measures 61x40.5 cm, printed on museum-quality paper
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Behind the scenes tour: Bring a friend for a behind the scenes tour of the succulent plant collection at the world’s most famous botanic garden, with Kew’s succulent plant curator Paul Rees, exclusive to Walacea supporters, plus all of the above. Tuesday 16th August, 3pm
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Lunch at Kew: Lunch for two with Dr Olwen Grace in the Orangery Restaurant at Kew, plus all of the above. Various dates in August 2016

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Crowd.Science is not responsible or liable for any content (data, text, information, graphics, images, photographs, profiles, audio, video, items, and links) posted by members or third parties on Crowd.Science. Crowd.Science does not take any responsibility for any loss caused to the Campaign Owner or Campaign Funder arising directly or indirectly from any failure or delay caused by the Campaign Owner or Campaign Funder or by reason of any event or circumstance outside of the reasonable control of Crowd.Science or due to Force Majeure.
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Crowd.Science cannot be held liable for the actions of a Campaign Owner; Campaign Owners are wholly responsible for fulfilling obligations both implied and stated in any campaign listing they create.
Crowd.Science does not oversee the performance or punctuality of Campaigns.
Crowd.Science reserves the right to cancel a campaign listing and cancel all pledged payments at any time for any reason.
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Crowd.Science is under no obligation to become involved in disputes between Campaign Funders and Campaign Owners, or between site members and any third party. In the event of a dispute, you release Crowd.Science employees, partners and successors in rights from claims, damages and demands of every kind, known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and our service.
Crowd.Science cannot guarantee the performance or reliability of the STRIPE online payment service. Additionally, because of occasional failures of some credit cards, Crowd.Science cannot guarantee the full receipt of the total funds pledged to a Campaign Owner’s campaign.
Crowd.Science cannot guarantee the full receipt of pledged funds Campaign Funders due to occasional failures when capturing funds from debit and credit cards.
While Crowd.Science may provide basic moderation to listed Campaigns, Crowd.Science is under no obligation to do so, and Campaign Funders are responsible for due diligence before pledging any funding to Campaign Owners.
This limitation of liability section shall prevail over any conflicting or inconsistent provision contained in these Terms and Conditions.

How Campaigns Work

Campaign Owners register as members on Crowd.Science.
Campaign Owners register their Campaign on Crowd.Science for approval by Crowd.Science.
Crowd.Science moderators assess the Campaign.
If Crowd.Science moderators accept the Campaign Owners Campaign, Crowd.Science will register the Campaign and open the Campaign to receive funds from Crowd.Science in exchange for Rewards as provided to Campaign Funders by the Campaign Owners (if applicable).
All funds are collected for Campaign Owners from Campaign Funders through the Stripe online payment service.
Campaign Funds are then transferred into the Campaign Owner for the Campaign Owner to then transfer into their Nominated Account in line with their university policy.
Science collects and transfers these pledged funds to the Campaign Owner at the Campaign Deadline if the campaign goal has been reached.

Campaign Owner and Campaign Funder Obligation

By launching a Campaign on Crowd.Science, the Campaign Owner agrees that all funds raised will be used for conducting the research proposed in their campaign.
If more funds are raised than the goal specified, the Campaign Owner must use the funding for conducting related research or refund the excess to the backers.
As a Campaign Owner, Campaign Funder or member you accept and agree that Crowd.Science is not responsible for the transfer of funds after Crowd.Science has transferred funds to the Campaign Owner.
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Crowd.Science cannot be held liable for the actions of a researcher, researchers are wholly responsible for fulfilling obligations both implied and stated in any project listing they create.
[Funders] It is solely your choice to contribute to a project and contributing to a project does not give you any rights in or to that project
[Funders] Any perks offered to you are between you and the researcher only and Crowd.Science does not guarantee that they will be of satisfaction to you.

Campaign Rewards

By listing a Reward on Crowd.Science the Campaign Owner warrants that all aspects of the Reward comply with Crowd.Science’s published policies.
The Campaign Owner warrants that the Reward may be legally sold.
The Campaign Owner must accurately describe the Rewards and all terms of sale in the Campaign Description and the Reward Description.
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Rewards must accurately and completely describe the item(s) or experiences on offer. If the available quantity of the Reward is more than one or unlimited, all items and/or experiences listed in that Reward tier must be identical.
Each unique Reward must have its own listing as a new Reward.
All Campaign Owners are urged to outline seller policies for their Campaigns. These policies may include, for example, shipping, returns, payment and selling policies.
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Crowd.Science reserves the right to request that a Campaign Owner modify a seller policy.
All Reward sales are binding on the Campaign Owner.
The Campaign Owner is wholly responsible for meeting any obligation or Reward stated or implied in their campaign. Crowd.Science is not responsible for the delivery of Rewards stated in campaigns. Campaign Funders should contact the Campaign Owner if the delivery terms are not clearly stated in the project description.
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Fees Payable to Crowd.Science

Registering as a member and setting up a Campaign on Crowd.Science is free.
Crowd.Science charges fees to Campaign Owners at the conclusion of the campaign or whenever the Campaign Owner chooses to collect the pledged funds. Funds can only be collected once the campaign has reached its goal.
Crowd.Science will initiate a capture of all funds from Campaign Funders and transfer the funds to the Campaign Owner (minus the Crowd.Science fees).
Crowd.Science charges a service fee of 5%, which is deducted from the total amount of funds raised at the end of the campaign.
Crowd.Science charges a transaction fee for Credit / Debit Card on Crowd.Science 2% + 30p per transaction (UK) to cover costs incurred from the stripe payment gateway.
There is a 7 – 10 business day processing period (after the end of a Campaign) in which supporters who have had their pledges declined are invited to resubmit their pledge.
Crowd.Science may change fee policies and the fees for services.
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Unless otherwise stated, all fees are quoted in the currency of the project.
The member is responsible for paying all fees associated with using our services and all applicable taxes (including any goods and services or value added taxes, which will be added to amounts billed to you, if applicable).
The member should consider Crowd.Science fees when determining the funding goal of Campaigns.
The campaign owner is responsible for paying any taxes that may be required e.g. if the funding is paying for salaries.

Stripe Payment Gateway

Campaigners and contributors must agree to comply with Stripe Terms and Conditions.

Refunds

Crowd.Science transfers the funds to the Campaign Owner after the campaign deadline.
Funds collected through the Crowd.Science platform are non-refundable and Crowd.Science is not responsible for issuing refunds to Campaign Funders
Campaign Funders may initiate refunds at their own discretion.
If, for any reason, Crowd.Science is required to refund monies to Campaign Owners, the Campaign Owner will fully compensate Crowd.Science for the amount refunded as well as any associated costs, including but not limited to transaction or administrative costs.
The member agrees that any attempt to obtain a refund without first having obtained prior written consent to refund shall entitle Crowd.Science to deactivate the member’s account unless and/or until such time as the fees are repaid or a credit or refund is agreed with Crowd.Science.

Communications with Crowd.Science

Communications between the Member and Crowd.Science are to be in electronic form.
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Tax and legal compliance

In addition to these terms and conditions the member must familiarise them self with, and comply with the Policies, domestic laws (including common law), country legislation, international laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations regarding use of Crowd.Science services including listing and supporting Campaigns.
Campaign Owners should be aware that funds raised using Crowd.Science could be taxable income. It is the Campaign Owner’s responsibility to declare the funds and comply with local tax laws.
Campaign Owners alone, and not Crowd.Science, are responsible for ensuring that the campaign listing and any other activities conducted on the Crowd.Science website are lawful.
Campaign Owners must ensure that they comply with all applicable laws in UK and all other countries.
Campaign Owners must also ensure that they strictly comply with these term and conditions and the policies, which form part of the agreement.

Dispute Resolution

The member shall attempt to resolve all disputes arising out of these Terms and Conditions in a spirit of cooperation without formal legal proceedings.
Any dispute which cannot be resolved and other than injunctive relief shall be subject to mediation upon written demand of the member to Crowd.Science and any notice of dispute shall be provided within seven (7) days of the dispute arising.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These terms and conditions are governed in all respects by the laws of the United Kingdom and any action arising under them or in any way connected with the Crowd.Science service may be brought only in a court in the United Kingdom, subject to any law, which is expressly inconsistent with this.
The members irrevocably agree that the courts of United Kingdom are to have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any disputes which may arise.

Third Party Site

The site may permit [campaigners] to link to other website or resources on the internet and other third party websites. Crowd.Science is not responsible for the content, functions, accuracy, privacy policy, legality, appropriateness or any other aspect of any external links or sited resources.
Crowd.Science is not responsible or liable directly or indirectly for any claims, demands, damages against Crowd.Science arising from or in connection with any damage or loss caused or alleged by on in connection with your use of or reliance on any such contect, goods or services available through any external links or resources

Prohibited Use Of Crowd.Science

Crowd.Science staff and appointed members may moderate campaigns and other content (data, text, information, graphics, images, photographs, profiles, audio, video, items, and links) on the Crowd.Science platform.

General Overview

The member is solely responsible for the member’s conduct and activities on the Crowd.Science venue and any and all data, text, information, graphics, images, photographs, profiles, audio, video, items, and links (together, “Content”) that are submitted, posted, and displayed on the Crowd.Science venue.The member’s content and use of Crowd.Science shall not: be false, inaccurate or misleading; be fraudulent or involve the sale of illegal, counterfeit or stolen items; infringe upon any third-party’s copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary or intellectual property rights or rights of publicity or privacy; violate this Agreement, any site policies, any site guidelines, or any applicable laws, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising); contain items that have been identified by your local government as hazardous to consumers and therefore subject to a recall; be defamatory, libellous, unlawfully threatening, unlawfully harassing, or impersonate or intimidate any person (including Crowd.Science staff or other users), or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent affiliation with any person, through for example, the use of similar email address, nicknames, or creation of false account(s) or any other method or device; be obscene or contain pornography, child pornography or explicit content; contain or transmit any code of a destructive nature that may damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information; modify, adapt or hack Crowd.Science or modify another website so as to falsely imply that it is associated with Crowd.Science; appear to create liability for Crowd.Science or cause Crowd.Science to lose (in whole or in part) the services of Crowd.Science’s ISPs or other suppliers; link directly or indirectly, refer or contain descriptions of goods, experiences or services that are prohibited under this Agreement, the Privacy Policy, or other policy documents as posted on Crowd.Science; Members must not list any Reward on Crowd.Science (or consummate any transaction that was initiated using Crowd.Science’s service) that, by paying to Crowd.Science the transaction or fee, could cause Crowd.Science to violate any applicable law, statute, ordinance or regulation, or that violates these Terms and Conditions; Crowd.Science reserves the right to terminate a member’s access to Crowd.Science if Crowd.Science suspects, after investigation, that they have misused the Crowd.Science service, violated the terms of this Agreement, or have otherwise used the Crowd.Science service to conduct any fraudulent or illegal activity or breached Crowd.Science’s Terms and Conditions; In the event an account is suspended or terminated for breach of this Agreement (in each case as determined in Crowd.Science’s sole discretion), Crowd.Science may suspend or terminate the account associated with such breach and any or all other accounts held by you or your affiliates, and your breach shall be deemed to apply to all such accounts.

The mystery of the 2,000 year-old medicinal plant

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The mystery of the 2,000 year-old medicinal plant

Why aloes?

Solving the mystery ..

The unveiling of a superstar?

The results

Stretch goals

The Aloe code breakers!

To thank you for your support

About Kew and Kew Science

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