HerbResearch

Within our partnership, the practical realisation of programs aimed on securing the quality of herbal raw material is the task of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants R&D.

Screening and cultivar selection programs

Commercial herbal raw material mostly consists of mixtures of various origins. Correspondingly, such material would represent a rather low average regarding phytochemical composition. Through the trade channels the advantages and
strengths of plant types with especially interesting properties are lost - some of them might contain certain wanted active constituents in high quantities, some of them might lack certain unwanted properties.

Examples from our field work

Through screening, selection and cultivation we dispose of a type of German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) regularly reaching contents of chamazulene of 16%. Usual contents in standard commercial material are 3-4%.

In Namibia, we identified a wild type of Devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) with regular contents of harpagoside > 2,5%, with a good yield of biomass. We were able to demonstrate the feasibility of propagation through experimental cultivation, and have installed a collection of various cultivars in a "gene bank".

We are able to supply kava roots (Piper methysticum) not containing so-called "Tudei"-kava - a type not used in the South Pacific due to adverse effects, but cultivated and potentially used by a German company at the time of the first occurrence of suspected adverse events on the liver.

For the search of optimal cultivars we perform screenings in wild populations. We also test the reproducibility of our findings and the dependence of climatic, ecological or genetic factors.

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