Nigeria can produce drug ingredients from yam, plantain, rice, others — UI don

Nigeria can reduce its dependence on imported pharmaceutical raw materials and strengthen local drug manufacturing by harnessing polymers derived from indigenous plants such as yam, plantain, rice, cocoyam, okra and natural gums, a University of Ibadan professor, Prof. Adenike Okunlola, has said.

Okunlola, a Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Ibadan (UI), made the call while delivering the university’s 628th inaugural lecture, titled: “From Flora to Formulation: Harnessing Polymers from Indigenous Plants as Excipients for Drug Delivery.”

She said research conducted over the years had demonstrated that locally available plant materials could be processed and modified into pharmaceutical excipients capable of performing important functions in drug formulations.

According to her, developing indigenous pharmaceutical excipients could help Nigeria reduce import dependence, lower production costs, support local manufacturing and create additional economic value from the country’s agricultural resources.

She urged the Federal Government to establish a clear national policy framework to support the development and adoption of locally produced pharmaceutical excipients.

Okunlola also called for incentives, including tax relief for pharmaceutical companies that use indigenous excipients, reduced import duties on equipment required to process local materials, and stronger collaboration among universities, research institutes, farmers and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

She said integrating agriculture into the pharmaceutical value chain could create opportunities for farmers, reduce post-harvest losses and provide industries with reliable sources of raw materials.

Highlighting her research, Okunlola said starches extracted from different yam species had been successfully evaluated as pharmaceutical excipients in tablet formulations.

Her doctoral research examined starches from white yam, water yam, bitter yam and Chinese yam as binders and disintegrants in chloroquine tablets, using official corn starch as a reference.

She said the yam starches performed favourably, with water yam and white yam starches demonstrating particularly useful properties in tablet formulation. Some of the modified yam starches also showed characteristics that could make them suitable for controlled drug release.

Okunlola said subsequent studies had demonstrated that indigenous starches could be chemically or physically modified to improve their properties for specific pharmaceutical applications.

Among the materials investigated, she said, was Ofada rice starch, which had been modified and successfully used as a release-retarding polymer in metoprolol succinate matrix tablets.

She explained that controlled-release formulations could help reduce fluctuations in drug concentrations in the body, decrease dosing frequency and potentially improve patients’ adherence to treatment.

The professor said her research group had also explored plantain starch in developing a cross-linked starch-urea polymer for controlled-release tablets.

Other indigenous materials investigated included cocoyam starch, okra mucilage, pectin from tangerine peels and natural gums obtained from indigenous plants.

She said these materials had shown potential in applications ranging from conventional tablets to microspheres, microbeads, microballoons and floating drug-delivery systems.

According to her, the studies demonstrated that indigenous plant polymers could be modified and engineered to control drug release, improve tablet properties and enhance the performance of pharmaceutical formulations.

Okunlola said research into natural gums had also shown that materials obtained from plants such as Khaya senegalensis, Albizia zygia, Cissus pulpunea and Irvingia gabonensis could function as polymers in drug-delivery systems.

She noted that some of the materials could provide sustained drug release and, in some cases, additional biological benefits.

The don said the use of indigenous plants for pharmaceutical excipients was no longer merely an academic exercise but a strategic pathway to strengthening Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector.

“Harnessing indigenous plants for pharmaceutical excipients is no longer optional. It is strategic,” she said.

She stressed, however, that promising laboratory findings would not automatically translate into commercial pharmaceutical products.

According to her, proper characterisation, standardisation, validation and quality control would be required to ensure that locally developed excipients meet international pharmaceutical standards.

She therefore called for sustained investment in research and development, stronger academia-industry collaboration and regulatory support for the commercialisation of promising technologies.

Okunlola said the opportunity extended beyond drug formulation, arguing that the development of plant-based pharmaceutical materials could establish a broader value chain linking farmers, processors, researchers and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

She said increased demand for suitable indigenous plants could encourage their cultivation, create new markets for agricultural products and reduce post-harvest losses.

The approach, she added, could also contribute to more sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing by reducing reliance on imported materials and shortening supply chains.

She called on Nigerian universities to establish dedicated research programmes on natural excipients and biomaterials while investing in advanced analytical and characterisation facilities.

She also urged universities to work more closely with pharmaceutical manufacturers to identify the excipients most urgently needed by the industry and direct research towards commercially relevant solutions.

For the government, Okunlola recommended the gradual substitution of imported pharmaceutical excipients with qualified local alternatives.

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She advocated tax incentives for companies adopting indigenous excipients, reduced duties on equipment needed to process local raw materials, and stronger public-private partnerships involving universities, research institutes and pharmaceutical companies.

She also called for collaboration with the National Association of Industrial Pharmacists and other relevant stakeholders to support the funding and commercialisation of promising excipient technologies.

Okunlola said the success of local pharmaceutical manufacturing would depend not only on scientific discoveries but also on deliberate policies capable of moving innovations from university laboratories into commercial production.

She said the development of indigenous plant-based pharmaceutical excipients offered Nigeria an opportunity to strengthen self-reliance, support affordable medicines, stimulate economic activity and contribute to national development.