Zora Chan The Star 24 Aug 10;
SARAWAK Biodiversity Centre’s (SBC) traditional knowledge documentation programme has come a long way from plant sample collection and recording to bio-prospecting for the production of household items, including drugs and antibiotics.
While the production of drugs, essential oils and household needs from herbs in Sarawak is at its infancy, initial research is showing positive results.
SBC senior research officer Dr Yeo Tiong Chia said that one promising compound was silvestrol, which had good anti-cancer properties as shown in animal studies.
“Lately, there has been interest from Ohio State University and National Cancer Institute of the United States to test this compound against leukaemia,” he said.
It had moved from lab tests to animal studies and then to pre-clinical and clinical processes, he told StarMetro recently.
Dr Yeo said that SBC, in collaboration with an Australian biotech company, discovered and patented the compound in 2004, and the state government was managing the patent through the centre.
“The compound comes from the rukang tree found in Ba’Kelalan in the northern highlands of Sarawak,” he said.
He said the Lun Bawang community in Ba’Kelalan claimed the bark of the tree could cure stomach pain.
SBC chief operating officer Dr Rita Manurung said the production of household items from plants was a short-term result of bio-prospecting and the development of drugs and antibiotics was a long-term goal.
It often took more than 10 years before any medicine could be put on the shelf, she said.
The centre’s traditional knowledge documentation programme was the starting point for research and development in herbs and product development, she added.
The programme started in 2001 to conserve the traditional knowledge of indigenous groups in Sarawak and encourage the communities to cultivate useful indigenous plants for their own use and later for commercial purposes, she said.
“The centre, in collaboration with the people, has documented 3,000 plants of 700 species used by 12 communities in the state. All these plants are planted in our herbarium,” she said.
The programme was formulated to ensure the communities that shared their knowledge would benefit socio-economically, she said.
Citing an example, she said that SBC had helped set up a herbarium for the Penan community in Long Iman, Mulu.
This first Penan herb garden in the world was a potential tourist draw to help the community earn tourism ringgit as sustainable income, she added.
“We hope to promote the garden as a tourist attraction because, where else in the world could you find a Penan herb garden,” she said.
Dr Rita said that SBC’s bio-prospecting work came up with many other uses for the plants.
“One plant called pahkak in Bidayuh and tenom in Lun Bawang and Kelabit is used for the relief of backache by these communities,” she said.
Through SBC’s aromatic oil programme, the centre discovered that the plant’s roots and leaves produced a composition of oil that was anti-microbial and equivalent to tea tree oil, she said.
This made pahkak oil a potential ingredient of household and cosmetic products, she said, adding that R&D by the centre and a private firm had come up with products like floor cleaner, disinfectant, soap, insect repellent and shampoo.
“Oil from the engkabang fruit can also be made into soap, lip balm and chocolate,” she said.
She said the local rice species was high in anti-oxidant properties and could be an ingredient in healthcare or cosmetic products.
Dr Rita hoped that local entrepreneurs would be interested in developing and commercialising these prototype products.
“Sarawak is very rich in biodiversity and there is much potential in just the plants alone,” she said.
The centre was pleased that its programme had become a model for others in Asia and a source of excellence in documenting traditional knowledge in the region, she said.
People from as far as Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and India had taken part in SBC workshops to learn the documentation methods, she added.
