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The aim of the project is to
develop new medicines, based on indigenous plants and knowledge,
for the treatment of malaria. The project is expected to lead to
the establishment of new agro-processing businesses for the supply
of extracted plant material to be used in development of novel
anti-malarial drugs. A multi-disciplinary team will provide the
technical skills and research facilities required.
The anti-malarial properties of
plants selected from databases and traditional doctors as part of
the ongoing collaboration with the consortium, will be
scientifically investigated. The selected plants will be
collected, taxonomically identified, extracted, and tested for
biological activity. New medicinal substances will be subjected to
refined pharmacological evaluations aimed at determining their
selectivity, toxicity, mechanism of action and immunology. Then
follows the determination of chemical structure, synthesis of
logical derivatives and development of reliable analytical
methods.
It is expected that the project
will add value to our indigenous plants and indigenous knowledge
as follows:
- Provision of new therapeutic agents for
combating of malaria
- Royalty earnings through patenting and
out-licensing of anti-malarial product leads to the
pharmaceutical industry
- Job creation, and sharing benefits with the
healers and their communities.
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