North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Jwlehman@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/27/2003 7:36:49 PM US Eastern Standard Time, cgarriss@garriss.net writes:

> I have also read, but cannot remember where that the tree produces a natural insecticide in leaves and bark, that may have some toxicity, and compounds from the bark and leaves are being experimented with for anti cancer drugs.  My understanding is that it is one of the few shrub / small trees deer will not browse.


Hello all,

Yes, deer do not browse my many pawpaw trees, but do heavy damage to my persimmon, nut and Prunus trees. They will bite into pawpaw fruit but not eat it, simply leaving teeth marks deep enough to ruin it.  In the fall of 2002 they damaged 75% of about 120 nut trees in one field. This year after obtaining a Depredation Permit and removing 9 deer in July (which isn't really very many considering their high population numbers) my damages were reduced by maybe 80 percent. This is the first year in over 20 years we got out a sweet corn crop with zero deer damage. 

OH  HAPPY  DAY! 

Jerry Lehman
Indiana

The below is copied from the 88th annual Northern Nut Growers Association Annual Report.  Copies of the entire article can be purchased from the NNGA Library.


                  Anticancer and Pesticidal Components of Pawpaw
                                       Jerry McLaughlin 

                                            Abstract

Extracts of the North American paw paw tree, Asimina triloba Dunal (Annonaceae), have yielded over 40 compounds representing a new chemical class of long-chain fatty acid derivatives. These compounds are called the Annonaceous acetogenins. They are powerfully bioactive and inhibit cell metabolism by blocking two essential enzymes: the NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) of mitochondria and a ubiquinone-linked NADH oxidase that is prevalent in the plasma membranes of cancerous cells. The resultant effect is a deprivation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels which deprives the cell of its energy supply. Applications of the crude extracts, containing mixtures of the acetogenins, as pesticides and of the pure acetogenins, themselves, as antitumor agents hold excellent potential, especially against pesticide-resistant pests and against multiple-drug resistant (MDR) tumors; in both cases the resistant mechanisms are the consequence of ATPdependent efflux pumps. It is anticipated that commercial growth of paw paw trees will be needed to satisfy the future demands of biomass to provide these extracts and compounds.