Traditional Mosquito Repellent Offers Commercial Possibilities
HOEDSPRUIT (Kruger Times)- Passed down from generation to generation in the closed circles of traditional healers is a wealth of herbal knowledge. Now that intangible wisdom is about to pay dividends for traditional healers and rural communities through the sale of a highly effective mosquito repellent candle.
After a decade of research and development by the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) a candle that contains an entirely new mosquito repellent is almost ready for the market. The candle contains an essential oil extracted from an indigenous plant that has traditionally been hung in houses to repel mosquitoes. The CSIR has been collaborating with traditional healers for several years, trying to discover the scientific basis of ancient remedies, and then produce commercially viable products.
Tests conducted by the South African Bureau of Standards have found the new oil to be significantly more effective than other products currently on the market. Trials showed that at least 95 percent of mosquitoes are repelled from a chamber exposed to a burning candle that contain the new oil, compared to only 42 percent deterred by other products.
The search for the active ingredient in the new candles was not without its detours. The researchers investigated many specimens of the plant, known as BP1 (Bioprospecting 1), but found that the compounds they extracted varied from place to place and plant to plant. Traditional healers already had a sense of this, as they identify the correct plant not only by its appearance, but also by the specific texture of its leaves and their individual smell.
To uncover the mystery of the identical-looking but chemically different plants (chemotypes), the CSIR looked for an undisturbed ecosystem where the plant grew that was also in a malaria area. This led them to the Kruger National Park, where they were able to gather plants that had not been affected by the selective harvesting carried out by healers, which may have upset the natural balance of different chemotypes in traditional harvesting areas
According to Dr Marthinus Horak, manager of the CSIR’s bioprospecting programme, the park provided a “very valuable” contribution to the research. He added that this is also an example of why it is important to have national parks.
Analysis showed that there are seven different chemotypes of BP1 lurking under the surface of seemingly identical leaves. Only two of these are efficient at driving away the annoying drone of mosquitoes. Using the information gained from the Kruger Park’s BP1 populations, the CSIR was then able to selectively cultivate only the seeds of those plants that contained the correct essential oils.
Armed with this knowledge, the CSIR returned to the rural areas where the search for new herbal remedies began. Having patented the mosquito-repelling essential oil, intensive horticulture of BP1 got underway as community-owned businesses . To date, the CSIR has established these new agro processing businesses in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the Western and Eastern Cape as well as the Free State. The establishment of these businesses are funded by the poverty alleviation mechanisms of the Departments of Science and Technology and Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
Plots of about 30 hectares have been chosen as the optimum size, and the CSIR has enabled the transfer of technology to rural people so that they can successfully germinate and propagate the precious plants. Two fully operational distilleries to extract the essential oil are now in place alongside the cultivated lands, and the pilot site in Giyani, Limpopo, will be home to the first candle making plant.
Horak says that every hectare of cultivated land creates at least one new job. Jobs range from simple gardening activities to more complex plant propagation carried out by supervisors. Each distillery also employs four to five people, and depending on production volumes a candle-making factory can employ around ten people.
The oils are distilled from the top growth of a plant, and under favourable conditions leaves can be reaped three times a year. Candles were chosen to be the first method of distributing the essential oil, although Horak says that other mosquito repellent products are likely to be developed in future.
The first generation of candles is aimed at the eco-tourism market, but Horak hopes that in time the candles used to illuminate rural homes will contain the essential oil, providing both light and protection from malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
By obtaining a patent on the oils used in the candles the CSIR is also able to help the rural communities where the knowledge stemmed from. In terms of a benefit-sharing agreement signed between CSIR and traditional healers, royalties from the sale of products containing BP1 essential oils will be fed into a trust fund. Projects that benefit the entire community, such as health and education facilities, can then be financed through the trust.
By the end of 2005, South Africans are likely to be burning the products of BP1 in their homes, but a huge international market is also waiting on the doorstep. Other countries plagued by mosquitoes have expressed an interest in the candle, and the once secret wisdom of the traditional healers may become incorporated into a globally popular product.
Horak is positive about the future of the enterprise. “There is a fantastic export market.” He adds that other countries require mosquito repellents, “not only for the nuisance value of mosquitoes, but also because of other mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever.”
by Lynette Strauss, Kruger Times
After a decade of research and development by the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) a candle that contains an entirely new mosquito repellent is almost ready for the market. The candle contains an essential oil extracted from an indigenous plant that has traditionally been hung in houses to repel mosquitoes. The CSIR has been collaborating with traditional healers for several years, trying to discover the scientific basis of ancient remedies, and then produce commercially viable products.
Tests conducted by the South African Bureau of Standards have found the new oil to be significantly more effective than other products currently on the market. Trials showed that at least 95 percent of mosquitoes are repelled from a chamber exposed to a burning candle that contain the new oil, compared to only 42 percent deterred by other products.
The search for the active ingredient in the new candles was not without its detours. The researchers investigated many specimens of the plant, known as BP1 (Bioprospecting 1), but found that the compounds they extracted varied from place to place and plant to plant. Traditional healers already had a sense of this, as they identify the correct plant not only by its appearance, but also by the specific texture of its leaves and their individual smell.
To uncover the mystery of the identical-looking but chemically different plants (chemotypes), the CSIR looked for an undisturbed ecosystem where the plant grew that was also in a malaria area. This led them to the Kruger National Park, where they were able to gather plants that had not been affected by the selective harvesting carried out by healers, which may have upset the natural balance of different chemotypes in traditional harvesting areas
According to Dr Marthinus Horak, manager of the CSIR’s bioprospecting programme, the park provided a “very valuable” contribution to the research. He added that this is also an example of why it is important to have national parks.
Analysis showed that there are seven different chemotypes of BP1 lurking under the surface of seemingly identical leaves. Only two of these are efficient at driving away the annoying drone of mosquitoes. Using the information gained from the Kruger Park’s BP1 populations, the CSIR was then able to selectively cultivate only the seeds of those plants that contained the correct essential oils.
Armed with this knowledge, the CSIR returned to the rural areas where the search for new herbal remedies began. Having patented the mosquito-repelling essential oil, intensive horticulture of BP1 got underway as community-owned businesses . To date, the CSIR has established these new agro processing businesses in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the Western and Eastern Cape as well as the Free State. The establishment of these businesses are funded by the poverty alleviation mechanisms of the Departments of Science and Technology and Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
Plots of about 30 hectares have been chosen as the optimum size, and the CSIR has enabled the transfer of technology to rural people so that they can successfully germinate and propagate the precious plants. Two fully operational distilleries to extract the essential oil are now in place alongside the cultivated lands, and the pilot site in Giyani, Limpopo, will be home to the first candle making plant.
Horak says that every hectare of cultivated land creates at least one new job. Jobs range from simple gardening activities to more complex plant propagation carried out by supervisors. Each distillery also employs four to five people, and depending on production volumes a candle-making factory can employ around ten people.
The oils are distilled from the top growth of a plant, and under favourable conditions leaves can be reaped three times a year. Candles were chosen to be the first method of distributing the essential oil, although Horak says that other mosquito repellent products are likely to be developed in future.
The first generation of candles is aimed at the eco-tourism market, but Horak hopes that in time the candles used to illuminate rural homes will contain the essential oil, providing both light and protection from malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
By obtaining a patent on the oils used in the candles the CSIR is also able to help the rural communities where the knowledge stemmed from. In terms of a benefit-sharing agreement signed between CSIR and traditional healers, royalties from the sale of products containing BP1 essential oils will be fed into a trust fund. Projects that benefit the entire community, such as health and education facilities, can then be financed through the trust.
By the end of 2005, South Africans are likely to be burning the products of BP1 in their homes, but a huge international market is also waiting on the doorstep. Other countries plagued by mosquitoes have expressed an interest in the candle, and the once secret wisdom of the traditional healers may become incorporated into a globally popular product.
Horak is positive about the future of the enterprise. “There is a fantastic export market.” He adds that other countries require mosquito repellents, “not only for the nuisance value of mosquitoes, but also because of other mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever.”
by Lynette Strauss, Kruger Times
posted by Kruger2Canyons.com at
Sunday, February 27, 2005
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