Business – International Herald Tribune.

Fernando Katukina is chief of an indigenous tribe that lives largely without running water, electricity or links to the world outside this remote corner of the western Amazon.

But Katukina says he possesses a treasure that could be at the cutting edge of biotechnology. If a plan initiated by the chief is successful, his tribe’s fortunes will be transformed by an asset that he and the Brazilian government say holds great promise for the global pharmaceutical industry: the slime from a poisonous tree frog.

Tribal shamans have used the slime as an ancestral remedy to treat illness, pain, even laziness. The crucial ingredients are compounds with anesthetic, tranquilizing and other medicinal properties.

Scientists say the promise lies in isolating peptides from the frog’s slime and then reproducing them for medicines to treat hypertension, stroke, and other illnesses

Already, Katukina has the backing of Brazil’s government, which sees the frog slime as a steppingstone to significant advances in its own research and development in pharmaceuticals. In particular, the scientific challenge of the frog, known locally as the kamb?, will deepen Brazil’s expertise in pharmacogenomics – the combined use of genetics and pharmacology – and it takes advantage of the traditional knowledge of indigenous people.

"Traditional knowledge can help modern medicine and generate significant economic benefits, too," said Bruno Filizola, technical coordinator of the project and a biologist at the Environment Ministry in Bras?lia.

eloping nations, is trying to fight back against what it perceives as biopiracy, the theft of biological resources from the country’s native habitats for commercial use. Though the project is still in early stages, about 20 scientists are seeking start-up financing of close to $1 million from more than a dozen universities, state governments, and federal agencies.