Page 131 - SAMRC Annual Report 2024-2025

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Herbal Drugs
Research Unit

Unit director:
Prof. Alvaro Viljoen
ViljoenAM@tut.ac.za

Advancing Research Priorities: (Medical University of Warsaw, Poland) assists with
Strategic Objectives and Impact assays involving interactions of medicinal plants with
human microbiota.
The Herbal Drugs Research Unit conducts
technologically advanced research in herbal Building Capacity Through
medicines providing scientific knowledge to
promote the commercial development and use of Training, Mentorship, and Support
high quality, safe and efficacious herbal medicines. The Unit has contributed greatly to research capacity
Paramount to the provision of quality healthcare development and transformation over the years
is the need to ensure consistently high-quality, through training and mentoring of undergraduate and
unadulterated and correctly identified botanical postgraduate students, as well as postdoctoral fellows.
raw materials. The Unit therefore focuses on During the reporting period, the Unit hosted and trained
developing and optimising quality control protocols five interns (one-year work integrated internships),
for the correct identification and fingerprinting of 9 Masters' students, 11 doctoral candidates and
important medicinal plants in South Africa, that 4 postdoctoral fellows. Prof Ilze Vermaak, a core unit
have the potential for commercial development. member and staff at TUT received a C2 NRF rating and
The importance and relevance of the research in was promoted from Senior Lecturer to Full Professor
promoting quality healthcare in South Africa has in 2024, through her dedication to research within the
been demonstrated and the work is aligned with
several of the SAMRC strategic goals that contribute Unit and teaching.
to outcome 2 of 'A long and healthy life for all South In promoting women in science, the Unit has
Africans', and Strategic Goal 04 – In trying to build welcomed three female staff members from the
capacity for the long-term sustainability of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Ms
country's health research. Christel Hanson and Drs' Tsholo Mapeka and

Carmen Leonard) as core unit members to assist
Key Milestones and Achievements them advance their research careers. Drs' Maxleene
Three new collaborations were established in 2024 to Sandasi and Weiyang Chen continue to work as
enhance the research capacity of the Unit. Dr Pritika researchers in the Unit under the mentorship of
Ramharack (Biomedical Research and Innovation the Unit Director. They have both applied for NRF
Platform- SAMRC) assists with training students rating. The Unit Director received a Merit award
on computational methods to identify biological from the SAMRC for his contribution to capacity
targets and mechanisms of action of natural development and transformation.
compounds. Prof Kuan-Chen Cheng (National
Taiwan University, Taiwan)'s laboratory specialises Navigating the Impact of US
in in vitro and in vivo biological assays for anti-
pigmentation/melanogenesis of medicinal plants Executive Orders on Funding
used for skin conditions. Prof Jakub Piwowarski None.

SAMRC ANNUAL REPOR T 2024-25 129