Before the mid-1970s, mangoes weren’t considered commercially viable due to their erratic fruit-bearing habits. “It only fruits one month in a whole year,” the Filipino scientist and horticulturist Dr. Ramon C. Barba once recalled in an interview. “And if it fruits well one year, it doesn’t fruit the next year. Even in the regular season, it is erratic.”

Some farmers tried to “smoke the trees”—burn leaves and other materials under the trees—to stimulate flowering. This proved to be not only a tedious practice but a costly one as well. “You have to smoke out a mango tree for two continuous weeks to get results. It was very expensive because you had to burn lots and lots of grass to sustain,” Barba said, describing the process to the Inquirer. Eager to find a way to produce mangoes throughout the year, the scientist took it upon himself to look into the matter closely.

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The Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-funded clinical trials on lagundi as an adjunct therapy for COVID-19, conducted by University of the Philippines Manila researchers, have successfully shown the herbal medicine’s symptomatic relief benefit to mild coronavirus cases.

Rowena Cristina Guevara, DOST undersecretary for research and development, said that the UP Manila clinical trial team led by Dr. Cecilia Nelia Maramba-Lazarte finished its study which showed that lagundi tablets administered to mild COVID-19 cases without comorbidities had relieved the various symptoms of patients.

“That’s their conclusion, that it brought symptomatic relief to the mild cases of the disease especially those with no taste and smell,” Guevara told The STAR in a phone interview over the weekend.

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Emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) have made significant contributions in improving the quality of life and help deliver services to the people more effectively and efficiently.

However, concerns have been raised whether AI would take job and livelihood opportunities from many people, and eventually replace humans in the workforce.

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A total of 61 AIMCoop members from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao participated in the said seminar, which aims to provide a better understanding of the risk associated and applicable control measures to prevent food safety hazards.

The seminar was facilitated by PSTC-ZDS personnel, Ms. Jeyzel P. Aparri. Present also are managers and staff of the cooperative, as well as the head of the Provincial Operations Division of TESDA IX, Ms. Maria Fronie Dalid.

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