Orchid’s value extends beyond mere beauty

Botany and microbiology professor Ingelia White proudly displays a tray of year-old Dendrobium anosmum.

When compared with its seasonal bloom as the popular hono­hono orchid, the tray of plants doesn’t look like much to the untrained eye. But to White, coordinator of Windward Community College’s plant biotechnology program, these particular plants contain much scientific value.

Usually found spilling from hanging pots at island homes, the hono­hono orchid’s purple, pink and white flowers, which bloom after the plant’s leaves fall off, are prized and displayed by orchid enthusiasts.

Besides its obvious beauty, White said the flower was chosen for study because "we wanted to expand its worth to show it also has a medicinal and food value."

The results of studies by White and her students are found in a new booklet, "Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Values of Hono­hono Orchid: Bioproducts & Recipes," sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A group of botany students created recipes that use the orchid’s edible flowers, leaves and stems, resulting in such eye- and palate-pleasing dishes as Grilled Shutome with Hono­hono Orchid Salsa on Polenta Cake, Hono­hono Coconut Rice with Garnet Yams & Cranberries, Hono­hono Orchid Almond Berry Spice Cake and Hono­hono Orchid Chocolate Candy.

Meanwhile, White and three of her students — Leslie Baker, Sean Dupuis and Sweetie Kuehu — looked into the pharmaceutical possibilities of a plant that was used for medicinal purposes in ancient China and continues to be used in areas of Africa, Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean.

In the spring of 2010 they began a year of tests and analysis of organically grown plants from the campus greenhouse.

"In determining the medicinal value of the orchid, we studied its antimicrobial properties on throat, skin and oral pathogens," said Kuehu.

Using a powder of dehydrated and crushed stem cuttings as a base (which can also be used as a tea), bio-products such as tablets, chewing gum and soaps were created to help combat sore throat, skin infections and gingivitis. (Recipes for these and other products are included in the booklet.)

White’s students said they are confident that once they receive their certificates in plant biotechnology from Windward Community College, they will be able continue their work, either in pursuit of a degree at the University of Hawaii or developing an agribusiness plan.

"I already have a background in botany and work in a garden shop," said Baker, "and when I got into this lab, I found out that what we were doing was investigative science. What I liked about it was that it wasn’t redundant. It was something new, fresh and exciting.

"I know there are a lot of older people who find the appeal of the orchid as hobbyists, but the plant has big business potential."

Dupui added, "Besides the honohono orchid, there’s a staggering number of species (of orchids). There’s like 40,000 kinds, so the diversity of the plant makes it so interesting."

Kuehu said their plant studies also helped the students appreciate the importance of natural resource conservation and sustainability.

"We have to take care of our habitat," she said.