Bad news for carnivorous expatriates living in Siem Reap

Bad news for carnivorous expatriates living in Siem Reap who like their food natural and unprocessed: First Modern Butcher Shop, the only retail outlet in town supplying organic meat to consumers, has shut down due to lack of patronage.

“There were actually a lot of Koreans coming, but we just didn’t have enough customers to sustain it,” owner Rasy Sim said of the shop, which had opened on January 3, 2008.

But the good news is Rasy Sim has vowed to open another retail outlet in the future, so Eurocentric Siem Reap residents will be able to get their paté and sausage fix.

And he’s still supplying wholesale organic fruit, vegetables, meat and poultry from his farms in Pouk commune to hotels, restaurants and markets around Siem Reap. His buyers include such big names as Le Meridien Angkor and Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor.

Expatriates can still get some of their organic fix from Lucky Market at Lucky Mall, where a few of Rasy Sim’s organic lines are also sold. But his deal with Lucky Market precludes him from stocking his produce at Angkor Market, long the favoured supermarket among Siem Reap’s expat set.

Rasy Sim also operates the Fresh from Farm Farmers Association, or Triple F, which he founded in 2004. Triple F comprises a group of 13 farmers who are being trained to improve production quality so they can sell produce to the kitchens of the big hotels, which mostly import from neighbouring countries.

Triple F’s farmers are provided room and board and three square meals a day. They raise various organic crops in symbiotic relationships to maximise growth.

“We grow tomato with radish, and lettuce with eggplant. We mix leaf, fruit and root in the same bed. They help each other grow,” Rasy Sim said.

Triple F’s aim is to promote local products, thereby improving the lives of Siem Reap farmers and reducing the Kingdom’s reliance on produce from Vietnam and Thailand. Ironically, Rasy Sim’s organisation also imports produce from Vietnam and Thailand for distribution.

“The demand is there, but we just don’t grow enough local products to supply it,” said Rasy Sim, who studied business in Paris and lived in France for 20 years. “Our intention in the future is to be able to supply it all from Cambodia.”

Could Chinese Herb Be a Natural Viagra? - MSN Health & Fitness

Could Chinese Herb Be a Natural Viagra?

Early research suggests 'horny goat weed' might help men with impotence

By Amanda Gardner, HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Oct. 3 (HealthDay News) -- A Chinese herbal remedy known as "horny goat weed" may indeed live up to its name as a natural version of Viagra.

Italian researchers report that laboratory studies show that the compound has the potential to treat erectile dysfunction, and possibly with fewer side effects than its pharmaceutical cousin.

"No in-vivo studies in an animal model have been performed at this regard, so a lot of work must be done. We would like to test in vivo [with animals] the molecule to understand if it really works in humans," said study lead author Mario Dell'Agli, of the University of Milan's laboratory of pharmacognosy. "At this stage of the research, we cannot say if the molecule we have synthesized possesses less side effects with respect to Viagra. However, this derivative seems to be in vitro [in lab tests] more selective than Viagra, because it targets [an enzyme involved in blood flow to the penis] more precisely."

The study was expected to be published in the Oct. 24 issue of the Journal of Natural Products, a publication of the American Chemical Society.

Viagra (sildenafil) is one of several prescription medications available and widely prescribed for erectile dysfunction, a condition that affects an estimated 18 million men in the United States. Viagra and other drugs like it can cause side effects such as headache, stomach problems and visual disturbances.

Horny goat weed, hailing primarily from southern China, has a long history as an aphrodisiac.

As part of a new screening program to find natural alternatives to Viagra, the study authors analyzed a number of herbal extracts long used for male impotence, including Ferula hermonis or Lebanese Viagra; Cinnamomum cassia or Chinese cinnamon; as well as Epimedium brevicornum aka horny goat weed. All three extracts are reputed to improve sexual performance.

The main active component of each extract was tested against an enzyme known as phosphodiesterase-5A1 (PDE5A1), which regulates blood supply to the penis. Inhibition of this enzyme results in more blood flow to the penis, resulting in an erection.

Icariin, the active ingredient of horny goat weed, inhibited PDE5A1 to a greater degree than the other compounds tested.

"The novelty of this work is the new molecule we have synthesized by icariin," Dell'Agli said. "It is derived by chemical modifications of the structure of icariin, which is the active ingredient purified from E. brevicornum (horny goat weed). The mechanism by which the molecule we have found might work in humans is the inhibition of phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE 5) in the corpus cavernosum [erectile tissue in the penis], which is the mechanism by which Viagra works. This is an in vitro study. It can be considered a pre-clinical study."

More information

The National Institutes of Health has more on erectile dysfunction.

SOURCES: Mario Dell'Agli, Ph.D., laboratory of pharmacognosy, University of Milan, Italy; Oct. 24, 2008, Journal of Natural Products

All-natured resort bans plastic, styrofoam

Victoria Phan Thiet Beach Resort&Spa are making an effort to reduce the use of plastic bags and styrofoam containers by delivering all loose goods in rattan or fibre bags.
Syrofoam containers in the canteen have been replaced containers within the resort. The dustbins in the kitchen are being replaced by reusable containers to eliminate the use of plastic bags. Overall, the use of non-recyclable containers and bags has been reduced by over 90 percent.
Hanno Stamm, the general manager of the resort, explains,“ It is not only about reducing the use of these materials in the resort, but it is about starting a change of thinking in the community.”
Victoria organises a “Green Day” every year at popular nature spots near all of its six resorts and spas in Viet Nam and Cambodia.
Source: VNA