On January the 5th, the Molecular Biology Center of the DTU Institute for Research and Development held a seminar entitled: “Researching Anti-Cancer Compounds in Vietnamese Medicinal Herbs”. Attendees included Dr. Phuong Thien Thuong, Department Head of Analytical Chemistry and Standardization at the National Institute of Medicinal Materials, DTU lecturers and staff.
Dr. Le Thanh Do from the DTU Molecular Biology Center addresses the seminar
About 12 million new cancer cases of cancer occur globally every year, culminating in about 8 million deaths. In Vietnam in 2012, approximately 300,000 people suffered from cancer and 200,000 of them died. Fighting cancer is time-consuming and costly. Recently, scientists have discovered several new natural chemicals to treat cancer, such as Palitaxel (Taxol) from Taxus Brevifolia, Vinblastin and Vincristin from Catharanthus Roseus, Podophylotoxin from Podophylum Pentatum, Camptothecin from Camptotheca Acuminate, and Vietnamese scientists are now conducting research in this field. A project entitled “Researching Anti-Cancer Compounds in Vietnamese Medicinal Herbs”, conducted by Dr. Phuong Thien Thuong, was approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2010.
At the Seminar, Dr. Thuong presented the results of his research and its potential applications. He extracted compounds from some native Vietnamese plants, such as Croton Tonkinensis and Semen Myristicae and, after screening and evaluation, selected the best compounds for further research.
Dr. Phuong Thien Thuong presents his paper
Dr. Thuong’s work provides a key example of how DTU should focus its future research strategy. The seminar enabled the DTU Institute for Research and Development, the DTU Faculty of Pharmacology and the National Institute of Medicinal Materials to begin collaborating with each other.
Recently DTU has concentrated on developing research projects to enhance the quality of education. The partnership with the National Institute of Medicinal Materials will provide an opportunity for DTU faculty, staff and students to explore new areas of research to improve the quality of health-care.
(Media Center)