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Not-for-profit research & education institute · Cassowary Coast, Far North Queensland

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Crest of the Australian Institute of Pharmacognosy Australian Institute of PharmacognosyAustralian Research & Education

Australian Institute of Pharmacognosy

About

Earlier version, kept for the record. This is how this page read at the end of 22/09/2026. It has since been changed and is not the current text, so please rely on the current version. Figures that update automatically, and links to other pages, show today’s information. Read the current version.

Who we are

The Australian Institute of Pharmacognosy is an independent, not-for-profit research and education institute based in Cardwell, in the wet tropics of far north Queensland.

Pharmacognosy is the scientific study of medicines that come from natural sources, especially plants. Our work looks at three things: the plants themselves, the traditions that have used them, and the evidence behind what is claimed for them. We document plants in the field and in the library, share what we learn plainly, and label the strength of the evidence in everything we publish.

What we are working towards

These are the aims we have set ourselves. Some are years away. We list them so you can hold us to them.

  • A documented record of the medicinal and poisonous plants of the wet tropics, starting with the country around Cardwell, that anyone can check.
  • A numbered series of AIP Monographs in which every statement carries a label for the strength of its evidence.
  • Routine checks of the identity and quality of plant material by microscopy and thin-layer chromatography, in the Cardwell laboratory the Institute works with.
  • Research partnerships with universities and research institutions, and respectful working relationships with Traditional Owners and other custodians of plant knowledge.
  • Incorporation, then registration as a charity with the ACNC, then endorsement by the ATO as a Deductible Gift Recipient. We hold none of these yet. Registration and endorsement are decisions for the ACNC and the ATO. Gifts to the Institute are not tax-deductible.
  • Workshops, talks and open educational material for the public and for health professionals.

The full statement is on Our Mission, and the priorities for 2025 to 2029 are in the Strategic Plan.

What we are doing now

Each programme below carries its status:

  • Under way: work is happening now.
  • In preparation: the groundwork is being laid.
  • Planned: a stated direction that has not started.

We keep methods and unpublished findings back until they are ready. Everything else is here, and this section is updated as the work moves.

Botanical survey of the wet tropics

Status: under way

Field surveys across north Queensland began in January 2026 and are continuing around Cardwell. Observations are recorded on iNaturalist and added to the Institute’s botanical reference library, which now holds 31 plant and fungus records. The Institute’s iNaturalist account holds 29 field observations of 27 different organisms. Identifications made from photographs stay marked provisional until they are confirmed to research grade. The records are curated by the Botanical department.

Microscopy of plant material

Status: in preparation

Reference microscopy profiles, compiled from published pharmacopoeial descriptions, are in place for four dried herbs: chamomile, damiana, senna leaf and thyme. The next step is to add the laboratory’s own microscopy to specimen records, starting with these four herbs.

Identity and quality checking

Status: planned

The laboratory plans to set up thin-layer chromatography (TLC) for routine checks on the identity and quality of plant material.

Evidence-graded monograph series

Status: under way

AIP Monographs are public plant profiles. Each statement is labelled with the strength of its evidence, so readers can tell traditional use, laboratory findings and results in people apart. No. 1 covers Abrus precatorius (rosary pea) and is being rebuilt to the current standard. No. 2 covers Peganum harmala (Syrian rue) and was published in September 2026. No. 3 covers Andrographis paniculata (andrographis) and was published in September 2026. Further monographs are numbered in publication order. Led by the Education and Research department, which also checks the evidence and citations in every new post the Institute publishes.

Research agenda from the monographs

Status: planned

Each monograph ends with a list of the research still needed. The agenda set out in Monograph No. 2 covers:

  • voucher specimens, meaning preserved, documented reference samples
  • reference sets for microscopy and chromatography
  • ethnobotany drawn from primary historical sources

These are research directions, not studies that have started.

Plant dossiers and the research library

Status: under way

The Institute’s research library holds 903 catalogued volumes on herbal medicine, ethnobotany, pharmacopoeias and the history of plant use. Alongside them the Institute holds official herbal monographs published by the World Health Organization, the European Medicines Agency, the pharmacopoeias of Japan and India, and the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. That is monograph-grade text on 664 plant species, 801 monograph entries across 373 documents. They are the work of their issuing bodies. The overseas monographs carry no legal force in Australia, where therapeutic goods answer to the TGA. The library team has begun a set of plant dossiers, many on wet-tropics species, and will extend them, starting with local plants. A public reading list for the monograph series is planned.

Grimoire Herbal: plants in historical magical texts

Status: under way

The History and Philosophy department is examining the plants named in historical magical and alchemical texts, one text at a time. It begins with the medieval Picatrix (Ghayat al-Hakim) and asks how confidently each plant can be identified today. The series reports what the texts claim without endorsing it: ritual use is history, not clinical evidence. Identification and safety questions are reviewed before anything is published.

Laboratory standards

Status: under way

The Cardwell laboratory the Institute works with now has an equipment register and written bench-safety rules. Standard operating procedures and calibration of measuring equipment are next. Led by the Operations and Facilities department.

Laboratory information system

Status: under way

An in-house laboratory information system is being built to support the Institute’s research, including specimen records, microscopy notes and literature management.

Research partnerships

Status: planned

The Institute intends to explore research partnerships with universities. None is in place yet. Researchers interested in working with the Institute are welcome to get in touch.

Noticeboard

Updates from the Institute, newest first. Older statements stay up, marked as archived, so the record reads in order.

Date: September 2026

Institute Update - September 2026

What the Australian Institute of Pharmacognosy has done since May 2025: the Cardwell laboratory, field surveys, publications and where its work stands now.

Recent changes to our pages

When a governing document, policy or notice on this site changes, it is logged here with the date. Each page keeps its own version history at the bottom, and earlier versions can still be read. These dates show when the web page changed. Where the Board adopted or amended a document, that date is given in the document itself.

Open records

Our Constitution, policies and legal notices are published in full under Legal & Governance. We do not overwrite them quietly. Each one shows its date and a version history, and earlier versions can still be read. We publish our governing documents in full unless a document is confidential or would disclose someone’s personal information.

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