Biotech agency aims to create ‘herb hub’ for Asean region

[webfact]

Biotech agency aims to create ‘herb hub’ for Asean region

By Jirapan Boonnoon 
The Nation

Somvong

 

HERBAL products will be a major focus for the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Biotec) over the next five years.

 

Somvong Tragoonrung, executive director of Biotec, said the agency would leverage advancements in biotechnology and disruptive technologies to create a regional “herbal hub” in Thailand. 

 

The agency aimed to create herbal standards by identifying the quality of herbal and bioactive compounds used to create food and ingredients for pharmaceuticals.

 

The agency also plans to join forces with other countries, including Japan, to create and sustain the herbal hub. 

 

Somvong said that biotechnology could help improve plant breeding, support the seed industry, and protect plants both from insect-borne diseases and from extinction due to climate change. 

 

Biotec is developฌing “DNA barcodฌing” technology for Thai herbal products, so the ingredients of pharmaceutical drugs can be identified through a genetic marker, and “DNA fingerprinting” technology to assist with plant conservation management.

 

It expects to apply barcoding to 600-700 herbal and plants over the next few years. 

 

“I think that the global trend is driving forward into biotechnology, biocosmetics and biopharmaceutical,” Somvong said.

 

“There is a greater demand for bioproducts in the global market. Thailand also has the potential to deliver biocosmetics and biopharmaceuticals to the market, supporting the Thailand 4.0 strategy.

 

“We will join hands with the private sector to support the bioeconomy.”

 

The agency provides plant-breeding support for crops including rice and cassava, and it uses genome technology to develop vaccines for farm animals, including pigs for domestic use. 

 

“I think that biotechnology in Thailand compares well with others countries in the Asean region. We are second only to Singapore,” said Somvong.

 

He said the agency would be lever aging the knowledge in its “microbe bank” to benefit the Thai public.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Economy/30330337

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-10-30

[Oziex1]

Well what took so long, I was stating to have Hub withdrawal!

[Jap Pumkin]

Another HUB for Thailand, must be full of HUBS by now.

[Thian]

The herb-idea is good but not with biotechnology, if Westerners hear about that they won't buy it.

[impulse]

Wait until Monsanto gets hold of the gene map from some Thai export rice and comes looking for their royalty check when a tiny wedge of the DNA matches one of their patented seeds.  And it can't be sold into the USA or Europe or Korea or Japan unless Monsanto gets their cut.

 

This has an onerous stench to it...

 

[chainarong]

The hub of the universe and not a thing to show for it..............................

[PerkinsCuthbert]

A logical progression; Thailand has been a berk hub for long enough, one wonders why it took so long to become a herb hub.

[ratcatcher]

Biotech agency aims to create ‘herb hub’ for Asean region

                                     

Edited October 30, 2017 by ratcatcher

[Dipterocarp]

President Donald Trump has declared a public health crisis in the US opiods.

On CNN last night Dr. Sanjay GUPTA and others were discussing the possible benefits

of "Cray-tum" (Kratom, I think their pronunciation is off). They are looking at it as a pain killer

and treatment for withdrawal. It is legal in the US in all but a few states but the medical

community needs a steady supply of professionally farmed certified product and what is coming in now is just vegetable matter in a carton

 

Maybe they could grow it here? 

[AGareth2]

a hub for DNA testing

????

[Lucky mike]

5 hours ago, Jap Pumkin said:

Another HUB for Thailand, must be full of HUBS by now.

Better than subs ?