Professor Dr' Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn

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Science and Technology for
the Improvement of the Quality of Life
Professor Dr. Her Royal Highness Princess
Chulabhorn
Chulabhorn Research Institute (CRI), Thailand
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Science and Technology for the Improvement of the
Quality of Life

• The inherent function of the scientific endeavour
  is to carry out a comprehensive and thorough
  inquiry into nature and society, leading to new
  knowledge.
• The new knowledge provides educational, cultural
  and intellectual enrichment and leads to
  technological advances and economic benefits.
• Promoting fundamental and problem-oriented
  research is essential for achieving endogenous
  development and progress.

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• Chulabhorn Research Institute
• A unique mission
• to establish a program of scientific research and
  education of international standard that would
  significantly contribute to the development of
  the country and specifically to the quality of
  life of its people.

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Chulabhorn Research Institute (CRI)

• Research has aimed to find solutions to local and
  regional environmental and health problems and to
  improve our knowledge of indigenous natural
  resources.

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Chulabhorn Research Institute (CRI)

• The building of scientific capacity should be
  supported by regional and international
  cooperation, to ensure both equitable development
  and the spread and utilization of human
  creativity without discrimination of any kind
  against countries, groups or individuals.
• Cooperation between developed and developing
  countries should be carried out in conformity
  with the principles of full and open access to
  information, equity and mutual benefit.

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Chulabhorn Research Institute (CRI)
Activities focus on 3 major areas

• Research
• Education/Training and Scientific Exchange
• Special Projects and Programs

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RESEARCH
Priority research is undertaken in the following
areas

• Natural Products,
• Medicinal Chemistry and
• Organic Synthesis
• Environmental Toxicology
• Biomedical Research
• Biotechnology

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Education/Training and Scientific Exchange

• Worldwide measures have been undertaken to
  promote basic education for all.
• Scientific knowledge be imparted and transferred
  to all, particularly to a rural population with
  low educational background.

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EDUCATION / TRAINING AND
SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGE

• The development of human resources is one of the
  key activities of the Institute.
• CRI has initiated a number
• of education and academic
• training programs in
• specialized areas.
• Post-graduate education
• Training courses
• Seminars, symposia, workshops and conferences

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Education/Training and Scientific Exchange

• The fundamental role played by women in the
  application of scientific development to food
  production and health care must be fully
  recognized
• Efforts should be made to strengthen their
  understanding of scientific advances in these
  areas.

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SPECIAL PROJECT
Green Health Technology for Womens
Empowerment and Sustainable Development in
Thailand

• The project was designed to show how high levels
  of science and technology may be applied and
  transferred to a rural population with low
  educational background.

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Green Health Technology

• Two major kinds of activities were conducted in
  parallel
• Scientific and technological activities at the
  CRI laboratories - the
  knowledge production part
• Practical activities at the rural community level
  - the knowledge consumption part

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Green Health Technology
Participants are trained in appropriate
technologies for optimizing growth and producing
useful products from cultivated plants.
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Green Health Technology
A workshop on the demonstration of the method of
preparing medicinal plants for treating simple
illnesses
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Green Health Technology

• Two indigenous Thai herbs with recognized
  medicinal properties
• Curcuma longa, commonly known as tumeric, but
  also called curcumin in Thailand,
• Andrographis paniculata

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Green Health Technology
Curcuma longa
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Green Health Technology
Andrographis paniculata
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Green Health Technology
Women participated in the Green Health Project
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Green Health Technology
Physical examinations and medical
consultation Training and instruction in the
general areas of health and social skills
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Green Health Technology
Group activities to improve personal attitudes,
interpersonal skills and ability to work as a
team
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Green Health Technology
A participant coordinating committee was formed
by vote
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Green Health Technology
A training session on the harvesting of Curcuma
longa s rhizome, cleaning, drying and packaging
by using good manufacturing practices.
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Green Health Technology
A training course on primary health care in the
use of common household medicine from both
medicinal plants and modern pharmaceutical
products.
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Green Health Technology
Training was offered in basic marketing and
management, including simple accounting
practices, to aid in the successful and
profitable sale of medicinal products derived
from the project.
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Green Health Technology

• Contributions from the CRI laboratories
• Initial soil and water analyses using Atomic
  Absorption Spectrometry to ensure that levels of
  heavy metal contaminants did not exceed the safe
  limits.

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Green Health Technology
CRI laboratories

• Gas Chromatography of soil and water for
• contaminating pesticides.

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Green Health Technology
CRI laboratories

• Thin Layer Chromatography
• and other techniques
• to quantitate active
• ingredients in plants.

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Green Health Technology
CRI laboratories

• Determining conditions for seed germination,
  planting time, growth period and harvest time.

• Development and transfer of scientific and
  technological know-how to the village community.
• Analysis and monitoring of the content of
  curcuminoids and volatile oils in Curcuma longa.

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Green Health Technology
CRI laboratories

• Refining techniques for isolation, purification
  and structural characterization of
  andrographolide and derivatives, using
  modern technologies such as, HPLC, NMR, and MS.

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Green Health Technology
CRI laboratories

• Studies of the pharmacological properties of
  partially purified extracts and pure compounds
  isolated from A. paniculata.

Spectrophotometer
Organ Bath System
Malaria Culture
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Green Health Technology
CRI laboratories

• Use of purified Andrographis active compounds as
  standards for evaluating the quality of products.

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Green Health Technology
The Green Health project conducted in Sra-Kaew
Province of Thailand was considered highly
successful.
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Green Health Technology

• Perceived benefits include
• Greater awareness, changed behavior and attitudes
  to agricultural practices and to concepts of
  green health.
• Greater interest and ability in health care for
  participants and their families, as well as use
  of green health products for health care.

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Green Health Technology

• Perceived benefits include (cont)
• Realization through experience of the value of
  keeping records and planning to achieve success
  and economic gain.
• Understanding the importance of quality.
• Understanding the value of cooperation to achieve
  a common goal within the community.
• Greater self-esteem and confidence.
• Learning a new way to supplement income.