South African Traditional Medicines Research Unit

Research highlights

Research training of Postgraduate students
*Four of our postgraduate students have received prestigious awards enabling them to pursue their studies in part elsewhere. Siya Ntutela and Bonginkosi Gumede are recipients of the prestigious Sainsbury Fellowship, which they won in open competition amongst PhD students in all disciplines at the University of Cape Town. The fellowship has made it possible for Mr Gumede to pursue his PhD in part at Oxford University, in the field of development of novel antimalarial drugs of traditional medicnal origin. Mr Ntutela has spent the best part of one year at the University of Sheffield pursuing his research into anti-tuberculosis drugs of traditional medicinal origin. Quinton Fivelman is the recipient of the Commonwealth Scholarship in the UK and is based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr Motlalepula Matsabisa received a British Science and Technology award in 1998 and 1999 that supported conduct of part of his PhD studies in the United Kingdom.

Registration of provisional patents
Two provisional patents have successfully been applied for in 2001, based on the research of Motlalepula Matsabisa, and others will be sought in respect of the work of Siyabulela Ngtutela, Cailean Clarkson and Sibongile Pefile. The unit has acquired the necessary resources, human and in equipment and facilities, necessary to take novel compounds forward to drug development and registration. Important in this regard has been the acquisition in the past year of a high pressure liquid chromatograph – mass spectrometer (LC-MS) and the successful bid and consequent granting of a Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST) Innovation Award for 6,7 million rand for the period 2001 to 2003 (see below).

DACST Innovation award for Traditional Antimalarial Medicines Development
The DACST Innovation Award has been made to a consortium comprising the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), National Botanical Institutes (NBI), Medical Research Council Malaria programme based in Durban, and the Universities of Pretoria and Cape Town. Professor PI Folb is project leader of the innovation award and Dr Niresh Bhagwandin of the MRC is the programme business manager. The MRC has appointed a 5/8 scientific manager based at the University of Cape Town to provide research management support, Ms Sindiswa Luwaca, who is an honours graduate in pharmacology.

The DACST award has made possible a cohesive and tightly managed and coordinated research programme between the five institutions. The responsibilities and focus of the various institutions are as follows:

• The MRC programme in Durban – discovering novel larvicides, insecticides and mosquito repellents of medicinal plant origin.
• The NBI has developed a novel and comprehensive strategic plan for identifying likely plant candidates with anti-malarial activity, according to a grading system that takes into account traditional use as well as prior art and prior knowledge.
• The CSIR – extracting testable materials from the reference plants; between 280 and 300 candidate plants will be subjected to testing over the three-year period.
• The University of Cape Town – activity testing against a panel of drug-sensitive and drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum maintained in vitro; altogether approximately 15 different plasmodium cultures are included in the test system. UCT also has sophisticated chemical analytical facilities, and the department is ably supported by Bill Campbell who has a life's experience of analytical and organic chemistry. UCT has set up in vivo animal models of Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi and Plasmodium vivax for activity and toxicity testing.
• The University of Pretoria – expertise in molecular biology and genetics, so that testing by the other units to the point of proof of principle will be paralleled by study of molecular and genetic mechanisms of action.

The DACST innovation award has also made possible an extension of our collaborative
arrangements, locally and abroad. The MRC research unit is exploring collaborative links with the Universities of Botswana, Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta in Nairobi, Zimbabwe, Makerere University in Kampala Uganda, and the University of Ibadan Nigeria to develop joint research in anti-malarial drug therapy, mechanisms of drug resistance and discovery of drug resistance reversing agents from herbal medicines. Negotiations are under way with the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Brazil, to collaborate along similar lines.

The World Health Organization TDR will collaborate with the MRC Traditional Medicines Research Unit and the DACST consortium in the further development of novel agents once we have established proof of concept.

Anti-TB and Antimalarial Drug Research
The department has active collaboration with the MRC and the WHO, and with the University of Durban Westville, in the development of new and fixed dose combination anti-TB and antimalarial drugs. Over 20 pharmacokinetic studies have been performed in the past three years and our department and its analytical laboratories, in collaboration with the MRC, have been recognised as an international centre for TB drug monitoring.
HPLC-based assays have been developed in-house. The HPLC-Mass Spec is particularly powerful in the detection of non-UV-absorbing drugs in low quantities in biological fluids. The WHO has approached the department to develop drug assays for blood samples collected in the field on filter paper. This project has significance in the African context.

Upgrading of Research laboratories to good laboratory practice standards
In anticipation of the likelihood that in due course drug discoveries will be made from the work of the MRC unit, a comprehensive plan is underway to bring every aspect of our laboratory work, to highest international standards of good laboratory practice.

Traditional Medicines Database: TRAMED III
The database has grown and expanded since August 2000.

Information gathered from literature and workshops with consenting traditional healers is being captured on botanical taxonomy, reported medicinal treatments, synonyms and vernacular names.

Agreement has been reached on collaboration with the WHO Uppsala Monitoring Centre in Sweden and the Medical University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA) for the exchange of information that will enhance the toxicology component of the database. Significant progress has been made towards inclusion of the data in the MRC's National Health Knowledge Network.

Collaboration with other University Departments and Institutions
Collaboration has been established with a number of other university departments at UCT, and with other institutions. Our principal focus of internal collaboration is with the department of chemistry at UCT, which has helped with access to sophisticated techniques of chemical analysis and structural elucidation.

The University of the Western Cape School of Pharmacy, partners in the MRC traditional medicines research unit, have made much progress in development of drug monographs. The monograph development of UWC is an important contribution to the data base programme that has been initiated by the MRC unit in conjunction with the MRC information technology group.