THE University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG’s) School of Natural and Physical Sciences (SNPS) is working towards the production of tablets (medicines) from hopeaphenol, a chemical compound extracted from a local plant for HIV and AIDS treatment.
Chemistry professor Topul Rali said from 400 grams of leaves, the students were able to extract 1.933 grams of hopeaphenol crystals from anisoptera thurifera leaves.
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| The University of Papua New Guinea aims to Produce Medicine |
“This is very exciting, an extraordinary find because you do not usually get this much compound from a single plant extract,” he said.
“Also, we’ve not tried the bark and wood of this tree yet, to determine which parts of the tree has high hopeaphenol content.
Also to evaluate the total amount of the compound in an anisoptera thurifera tree.”
Prof Rali said from the 1.933 grams of crystals, 39 tablets can be made for people living with HIV/ AIDS (PLWH).
“That’s more than a month’s dose,” he added. Prof Rali was looking forward to a clinical trial on PLWH – to be orally administered alongside the current ART (antiretroviral treatment) so that further evaluations can be obtained after the trial.
Last month, the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) published the hopeaphenol research findings internationally, effectively citing it as a leading candidate for treatment of Covid 19 and AIDS viruses.
Hopeaphenol has been a joint collaboration of 17 scientists from around the globe including PNG’s Prof Rali.
Since 1996 when he first collected and sent samples of the PNG plant – anisoptera thurifera to Griffith University in Australia for analysis and testing against targeted diseases in a drug discovery programme.
Meanwhile the SNPS has requested K300,000 to buy the equipment that would help produce hopeaphenol tablets.
Study at University of Papua New Guinea