Pilot herbal extraction plant launched

A pilot botanical extraction plant to lead in research into commercial scale extraction of phyto-constituents for application on the domestic market and for export, has been launched in Accra.

The Institute of Industrial Research (IIR) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) acquired the 500 L capacity plant through a public private partnership with Bio Resources International Ghana Limited (BRI-Gh Ltd) with funding of GH¢193,000.00 from the Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF) to add value to Ghana’s medicinal resources.

The project was to reduce the high risk in respect of the short shelf life of these materials and freight cost related to exporting bulk plant tissue such as seeds, leaves, root barks and stem barks, among others, as a result of the nation’s inability to harness fully the economic potential of her rich flora.

Mr Herbert A. Obiri, Acting Director of CSIR-IIR, said Ghana stood to increase export revenue and also create jobs by adding value to the volume of exports of those indigenous plant species and was grateful to EDAIF for the financial support.

He said the strategic imperative was to develop the capacity to scale-up laboratory studies and develop a business plan for the commercial scale production of phyto-chemicals.

He explained that the private sector partnership in the project was to ensure immediate successful role over the business model to ensure economic benefit to the country.

“The past decades has seen a global awakening to the truly curative powers of many ancient medicines. Over 60 per cent of traditional herbs have been scientifically shown to have constituents with therapeutic properties.

“The pharmaceutical industry regularly raids the traditional medicine treasure trove for new therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease, Malaria, Type 2 diabetes, tuberculosis, menopausal symptoms and as aphrodisiacs,” he said.

Mr Obiri said Ghana’s flora abounded with plant species that could be exploited for their nutritional and therapeutic properties, however, taming wild medicine in the form of leaves, flowers, stem barks, root barks, fruits and seeds into western-style formats remained the key step to transforming the fledging botanical industry in Ghana.

Dr Beatrice Mensah, Principal Head of Plants Inspectorate, said the project was to harness the expertise existing in CSIR-IIR to the benefit of exporters of herbal products, and to develop process technologies to extract, concentrate, purify and characterise active phyto-constituents in seeds, roots, tree barks and leaves of commercially viable medicinal plants.

“It is also to under contract production of active components for both domestic use and for export and to collaborate with BRI-Gh Ltd in the development of technology and its transfer to enhance the export value of herbal products and medicinal plants which hitherto are exported in bulk as primary raw materials,” she said.

Dr Mensah said so far, tests run and process development had been done with a focus on optimising the technology to enhance yield and purity of active ingredient 5-HTP from the Griffonia seeds, and organised workshop for herbal product manufacturers funded by COVET, among other things.

She said future activities would include trial production of 10 kilogramme of 5-HTP for export by BRI Gh Ltd, exhibit production of 500 grammes of tabersonine to export standards, trial production of for 15 herbal products manufacturers, commercial production of herbal production for TINATETT Herbal Company, and explore the feasibility of extracting active ingredients from other commercially viable plant materials for export.

Dr. Henry Alhassan, the Director, Corporate Planning and Communication, EDAIF, was grateful to the CSIR-IIR and the private partner for the initiative to add value to medicinal plants to increase revenue.

He urged them to maintain the plant to increase its life-span and possibly replace it in future without coming to EDAIF for a grant.

“You must ensure that you do not only break-even but make enough profit to sustain the project and the plant,” he said and called for collaboration between the media and the Council in order to sell the project to the public.