1. Science, Indigenous Knowledge &
Innovation – Challenges for
Development
Kobus Eloff
Phytomedicine Programme
Faculty of Veterinary Science
University of Pretoria
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za CTA-ACP meeting, Johannesburg 2010
2. Overview
• Will describe how knowledge, science and
innovation have developed through time
• Discuss an example of good interaction to
deliver a wonderful product
• Evaluate current situation, negative and
positive aspects and identify challenges
• Make proposals on addressing challenges to
use our plant wealth to increase quality of life
of our people
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
3. Introduction
• Historically there was a strong connection
between knowledge, science and innovation
• Knowledge (magic) when discovered grains can
grow to become a plant
• Innovation when ash used as fertilizer
• Magic became science when could predict
• Sometimes did not work, religion used to explain
• Current traditional knowledge contains many
aspects of science, innovation and religion.
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
4. Early information on using plants
• Neanderthal man cave in Iraq 60 000 ago
• Pollen 8 plant species (incl Ephedra spp,
ephedrine - banned slimming)
• 8 spp still grow there. 7 used medicinally
• Khoi-San rock paintings (up to 28 000 years old)
8 medicinal plant spp incl Aloe, Harpagaphyton
• 2700 BC Shen Nong in China 366 spp used as
medicine. Written pharmacopoeia.
• 1500 BC brisk trade, plants had similar use
Mesopotamia, Egypt and India
• 300 BC Cyrenian coins embossed Silphian plant
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
5. Growth in using medicinal plants
• Complex history use of
natural products different
philosophies developed to
explain activity.
• Galen “The doctor who
does not know his plants
should quit the profession”
• Plants practically only
medicine for millennia
Hippocrates Galen
Culpepper
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
6. Development allopathic medicine
• Paracelsus 16th century used chemicals
• Infectious diseases difficult to understand
• Louis Pasteur, germ theory of disease
• Paul Ehrlich certain dyes bound to certain
microorganisms- magic bullet theory
• Salvarsan effective syphilis; better than Hg
salts until penicillin
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
7. Example interaction IK, science, industry
and serendipity in developing penicillin
.
Ancient
times
Greece &
India
Many ancient cultures, including the ancient Greeks and ancient
India, already used moulds and other plants to treat infection.
1928 England
Fleming halo of inhibition of bacterial growth around a Penicillium
notatum contaminant on a Staphylococcus plate culture. isolated
"penicillin". Too unstable for mass production. Low yield 1 ppm
1938 England
Florey organized his large and very skilled biochemical research
team, notable among them Chain and Heatley, to undertake
innovative work to produce a stable penicillin.
1941–
1943
USA
Moyer, Coghill and Raper developed methods for industrialized
penicillin production isolated higher-yielding strains Penicillium
1941–
1944
USA
Kane and several Pfizer scientists developed the practical, deep-
tank fermentation method with aeration for production of large
quantities of pharmaceutical-grade penicillin
1952 Austria
Margreiter and Brandl (Sandoz) developed the first acid-stable
penicillin for oral administration, Penicillin V
Nobel prize awarded to all three in 1945
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
8. Modern competition herbal medicine
pharmaceuticals
• 25% prescription medicine USA still from plants
• for acute diseases pharmaceuticals usually good,
side effects, resistance development
• danger claims USA (aspirin ?) QC good
• for maintaining health herbals probably better
• strong growth in herbal medicines. GRAS
• complications in registration and wider use
• potential value if developed and work created
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
12. How can plants be used to increase
quality of life, create jobs
• Worldwide an amazing growth in use of medicinal
plants. Africa is missing out because the trade in
African medicinal plants to developed world is low.
Therefore no job and wealth creation for growing,
beneficiation and exporting.
• One of the major constraints for trade in African
medicinal plants identified at the Medicinal Plants
Forum for Commonwealth Africa held in Cape Town
in 2000 was the lack of suitable technical
specifications and quality control standards.
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
13. IS AFRICA MISSING OUT ON EXPORTING MEDICINAL PLANTS?
How many medicinal plants have been commercialized in various
parts of the world?
What is the relationship between species/genetic diversity and
product diversity? Publications van Wyk & Wink
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
14. North America
121
Central America
50
South America
64
Europe
336
Africa
83
Southern Africa
14
Asia
337
97
Eastern Asia
Australia
11
Map: www.brponline.co.uk
CONTINENTAL ORIGIN 1099 COMMERCIALISED MEDICINAL PLANTS
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
15. What percentage of 1099 species are
commercialized from different areas?
Reason for lower commercialisation probably not documented
information, oral transfer. If same rate of use as for Europe Africa
should have 1828 species commercialised not 82
Job creation South, useful spp for North
Species numbers from Govaerts (2001) Taxon 50, 1085
plant spp #commerc % total sp %commerc
Africa 74,000 83 21.1 7.6
Australia 26,000 14 7.4 1.3
South America 115,000 64 32.9 5.8
Asia 151,000 434 43.1 39.5
Europe 13,600 336 3.9 30.6
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
16. African Herbal Pharmacopoeia
• Strong justification. Denzil Phillips proposed project
to ACP-EU-Centre for the Development of
Enterprise (CDE). Provided funding to develop
trade standards in order to create jobs in Africa.
• Invited 9 leaders in African medicinal plant research
to tender for project. Eloff Phytomedicine
Programme selected to manage collaborative
project.
• CTA provided funding for meetings in South Africa,
Ghana, Namibia.
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
17. Production African Herbal
Pharmacopoeia 2010
• Major collaborative project, consensus
selection species
• Collaborators from all over Africa
• International leaders reviewed work
• Project managed for AAMPS (African
Association for Medicinal Plant
Standards) Phytomedicine Programme.
Living database approach.
• Pro€invest provided funding to support
AAMPS and for publication AfrHP
• First step attained, more species and
next level to be attained
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
18. What has to be done to benefit poor
people: What do we have?
• Rich resource useful compounds in plant species
• Extremely rich resource of traditional knowledge
• Many scientists working this area. Data for two Universities since 2005
but hardly any commercialization success.
• NRF funding stopped in this component of IKS research 2009
• Understandable in product delivery, not human capacity development
Group Publications
of group
MSc
deliv
PhD
deliv
MSc
current
PhD
current
University A 191 35 30 27 28
University B 98 21 32 5 4
Total 289 56 52 32 32
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
19. What do we have in addition to AfrHP?
Some products delivered
High technology level
Pharmaceutical
product
Success stories in a
publication based on
symposium held with
ICART funding
Low technology level
Pharmaceutical
product
Terminalia sericea leaf extract more effective than
gentamicin against Staphylococcus aureus
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
20. What do we need? A new approach on
rational use of natural products
• Focus to date has been on using plants for
human health
• Many possibilities in agriculture.
• Animal health, food production, food safety
• Plant production, protection microorganisms,
insects, nematodes, new crops
• Diverse commercial uses, cosmetics, flavours,
spices, beverages, foods and nutraceuticals
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
21. What do we need? A new approach on
target of scientific investigation
• Forget about magic bullet and fortunes to be made.
• Convince funders more reasonable to focus on delivering
products to benefit poor people e.g. via agriculture
• Focus on extracts and low level technology
• Phytomedicine Programme success in this approach.
• Much better activity than commercial plant fungicides in
vitro and in plant trial.
• Plant extract as good as commercial product in treating
poultry aspergillosis, several others.
• Examples will be presented during excursion on 25
November to Onderstepoort, University of Pretoria .
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
22. Challenges for further development
• Need a multidisciplinary approach also social sciences
especially if focus on helping poor people.
• Very wide collaboration required
• Ivory tower approach academics
• Funding for research, need problem solving driven
• Funding for commercialization
• Success herbal industry based on marketing rather
than activity. In production efficacy counts
• Difficulties Access Benefit Sharing, perception millions
to be made, scientists are crooks
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
23. What do we need? Integration
between different role players
• Aims different role players not integrated sufficiently
• If focus on only one area then there will be limited success.
Role players Aim
Country, continent Use plant diversity to raise quality of life of people
Owners traditional
knowledge
Get some recognition, reward for knowledge
Scientists Advance career, publications, deliver PhD and MSc
Industry Make money, direct or indirect
Government Raise QoL people, correct historical imbalances, efficient use
taxpayer funds, develop human capacity
International Funders Keep sponsors happy, Increase collaboration countries,
politically correct
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
24. Interaction required between role players to
promote application of innovation
Low technology application, QoL
Apply new knowledge Funding agencies
Traditional knowledge Scientific investigation Industry production
Independent results Focus rational us e and needs Creation of jobs, wealth
The major gap is in getting scientists to focus on problems of rural communities and in getting
useful information back to these communities. It requires a multidisciplinary approach
requiring many disciplines also from social sciences.
There is also a gap between the industry and scientists. Some of these issues addressed by
Technology Innovation Agency, DST
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
25. To summarize
• Africa has a tremendous wealth of traditional knowledge and
of valuable compounds in plants
• Excellent academic research, but little delivery of products
• Focus should change from magic bullet to valuable extract
• Funding promote integration between participants especially
poor people and scientists; government departments involved
• There are many products already identified with strong
commercial potential support science-industry collaboration
• There are many challenges in using traditional knowledge,
science and innovation to get the Green Gold of Africa on the
market to the benefit of all in Africa
• To do that:
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
27. We also have to be clever
.
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
28. Have to apply technology and innovation
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za
29. Thank you
To the audience for their attention, the organizers for the invitation, the
funders, colleagues and especially our happy students from all over Africa
kobus.eloff@up.ac.za