A project undertaken at Monash University, and supervised by Prof Roslyn Gleadow.
Cycads, an ancient palm-like seed plant, are highly toxic, and can cause serious illness if consumed without sufficient processing. Despite their toxicity, cycad seeds have long been used as a source of high-quality starch by Indigenous peoples, who have developed processing methods to make the seeds safe to eat. For the Yanyuwa of the South-West Gulf Country, Northern Territory, cycads play an important social and cultural role, helping to construct notions of place and identity. This project focused on the chemical ecology of cycad species from northern Australia and formed part of a wider project on the place of cycads in Yanyuwa Law.
Figure 1. Grove of Cycas angulata along Manangoora Road, by the Foelsche river, in South West Gulf Country, Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory.
Very little is known about the chemical composition of Australian cycads and how this relates to their use by Indigenous groups. This project addressed this gap by investigating the chemical make-up of Australian cycad species and scientifically demonstrating the effectiveness of Yanyuwa cycad processing methods. The wider project combined perspectives and approaches of both western and Yanyuwa botanical knowledges to elicit deeper understandings about the toxicity of cycads and their role in Yanyuwa society and culture.
Figure 2. Collecting Cycas angulata seed along Manangoora rd in South West Gulf Country, Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory.
Key project outcomes:
1. Optimisation of a new LC/MS-MS methods for the quantification of key cycad toxins: the AZGs, BMAA and β-sitosterol β-D-glucoside in cycad seed.
2. Scientifically demonstrated the effectiveness of Yanyuwa cycad processing methods – ageing, leaching and fermentation – against the key cycad toxins: the AZGs, BMAA and β-sitosterol β-D-glucoside, and demonstrated the reliability of these methods in light of year-to-year variability.
3. This was the first study to comprehensively assess the chemical composition of cycad seed, by quantifying five key cycad toxins in the same tissues. This has provided a fuller picture of seed toxicity, which we hope will provide insight into the function of cycad toxins and facilitate a deeper understanding of cycad uses and significance amongst Indigenous communities in Australia.
In documenting Yanyuwa knowledge and practices, and sharing scientific findings with Yanyuwa families, we hope that this project will facilitate knowledge transfer, between scientists and Indigenous communities, and between elders and younger generations. Facilitating intergenerational transfer of this knowledge is very important as there are now few opportunities for young people to learn about cycad processing, an important element of Yanyuwa culture and society.
Figure 3. Cycad damper prepared by Yanyuwa leaching method.
This project had the broader goal of improving current approaches for scientific research with Indigenous communities, so that Indigenous knowledges and viewpoints are better represented in botanical research. Conducting this research at Monash has facilitated conversations about the way we as scientists think about, and conduct research, with Indigenous peoples, and in doing so has increased awareness amongst lab members and the broader university community about current limitations to these practices. These discussions have facilitated the greater inclusion of Indigenous knowledges and voices in the teaching curriculum, and it is our hope that they might precipitate more reflexive and inclusive research practices in the future.