COTVET supports CSIR to transfer modern plant extraction technology
The relevance of science research and technology to national development cannot be taken lightly. There is a general consensus that science research is paramount to promoting environmental sustainability, wealth creation, better human health, food security and overall good governance.
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In addition, the development and application of science research provides the most effective means of converting natural resources into products.
In the past, the Government of Ghana had recognised this important benefit of the application of science research to the socio-economic development of the nation, however the initial enthusiasm for bootstrapping the nation into development, using research waned over time, resulting in a loss of confidence in the catalysing power of science and technology.
In the past decade, the herbal and pharmaceutical sector has witnessed a global awakening to the truly curative powers of many ancient medicines. Over 60 per cent of traditional medicinal herbs have been scientifically shown to have constituents with therapeutic properties.
Currently, the herbal products market is a fledgling one with the Government policy on traditional medicine development providing the impetus for an open domestic market.
The policy focuses on areas which include research and product development, standardization, quality assurance and large-scale production.
Presently however, most practitioners in herbal production use rudimentary processes in the extraction, preparation and packaging which eventually lead to a loss of yield and low quality of the products as well as reduced shelf life.
The conventional method which has proven challenging is that the plant materials are soaked or boiled in water or ethanol using open vessels and the syrups in dilute forms, which poses an added challenge with storage, as the final products have high moisture content.
Another challenge is the high cost of production. Large volumes of solvents need to be boiled at a relatively high temperature with no solvent recovery, leading to huge losses. The high processing temperatures can also lead to deactivation of certain constituents in the plants. In the light of these, exporters of raw materials face the issue of low pricing and short shelf-life, leading to the rejection of their products on the international market.
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is the foremost national scientific and technological institution mandated to carry out research into science and technology issues that pertain to national development. It exercises control over 13 different institutes with a core vision of using the transforming power of science and technology for wealth creation.
The Institute of Industrial Research (IIR) is one of the splinter institutes of CSIR to benefit from a Ghana Skills and Technology Development Project (GSTDP); a programme implemented by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) to introduce the High Rate Low Temperature (HRLT) extraction of bioactive ingredients from botanicals technology to 40 herbal products manufacturers in the Greater Accra region.
Mr Mawuena Aggey, head of Environmental Management Programmes and a resource person on the project stated that the technology includes using low temperature and high vacuum distillation processes to produce high-yield concentrates from plant tissues like leaves, seeds, flowers, stem and root barks.
He added that the application of this technology will enhance standards, extend product shelf life and increase the marketability of Ghanaian herbal products in general.
Prominent beneficiary companies of the training included Tinatett Herbal Manufacturing Limited, Apaak Trading, Agbeve Herbal and the Agribusiness in Sustainable African Plant Products (ASNAPP), to mention a few.
According to Mr Samuel Tetteh, who is in charge of production at Tinatett, the technology and training have proven very beneficial to their operations as they are realising some advantages in the extraction process which they did not know previously, and they have also gained knowledge in reconstituting concentrates to the required dosage of the original product.
He added that the initial bottlenecks after the training have all been ironed out and the progressive outcomes recorded.
On a pilot basis, Tinatett produced 6,120 bottles of the product per batch as compared to the 4,000 bottles obtained from the same amount of raw materials, representing about 150 per cent yield.
Mr Prince Manu Yeboah of ASNAPP also pointed out that the technology and training were extremely beneficial and his outfit was taking full advantage to leverage it across the sphere of industries they deal with.
The GSTDP is improving productivity through science and technology because the project design took into account lessons from previous private sector development projects in Ghana as well as those with similar objectives from other parts of the world such as Egypt, Uganda, South Africa, Chile and Mozambique.
Additionally, the design utilised a series of industry studies and ongoing analytical and project preparation work in the areas of skills, technology and research innovation which support institutional capacity building and employment creation.
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