Webinar mini-series: Drug Discovery Using Natural Resources

About the speaker

Prof. Dr. Elfahmi holds a PhD in Pharmacy from the University of Groningen, Netherlands. He is currently employed in the Department of Pharmacy, Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia. His research interests include phytochemistry and pharmacognosy of lignans and other secondary metabolites; production of secondary metabolites using plant cell and tissue culture; metabolic engineering of lignans and other secondary metabolites and biotechnology of medicinal plants producing active compounds. He has earned more than 15 awards and has more than 25 publications during his research career.

Discover four essential steps in drug discovery and development: literature review & preliminary screening, biology development, physiochemical & pharmaceutical development. Gain a process overview for the isolation of active compounds from plants using bioactivity-guided fractionation.

Explore the workflow for processing of natural compounds: sampling & crushing, extraction & concentration; fractionation & purification; structure identification and product packaging. Learn about extract/fraction concentration through solvent removal by rotary evaporation. Find challenges and solutions to efficiency, foaming, bumping, plus optimization tips for temperature difference, pressure values, flask size, rotation speed and condenser loading.

Learn fundamentals and protocols for relevant methods, including liquid-liquid fractionation (phase separation), winterization, microporous resin chromatography, flash and vacuum liquid chromatography, radial chromatography, crystallization, preparative column chromatography. See it in action with a case study on the purification of asiaticoside & madecassoside from Centella asiatica.

Gain a comprehensive overview of the history of plant use in drugs and pharmacy, including milestones in the development of herbal medicines. See current global use, benefits and challenges facing alternative or traditional medicine. Look into the future of herbal medicine development with predictions on how this branch will develop.