For sometime now, Borno State has been in the spotlight due to the Boko Haram insurgency, one can only imagine the uncomfortable atmosphere under which Nigerians, who reside in the state, go about their duties and how they live their lives.

Many will argue that the chaos in the state leaves a cloud of tension under which the people cannot be productive, but that argument seems to have been debunked by a team of seven dauntless Nigerian scientists from the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Maiduguri.

These brave scientists have defied the storm to achieve progress in a groundbreaking cancer research to come up with a potent therapy using local herbs.

The research into finding the cure for cancer using local herbs, which, in turn, be used for cancer therapy, was led by Professor of Pharmacology at the university, Isa Marte Hussaini, who currently happens to be exploring different Nigerian plants.

Due to the exploits such as that of Prof. Isa and his team, the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) has deemed it fit for the Presidency to create the office of Chief Adviser to Government, saying that it is a proactive way of promoting research and enhancing science funding in the country.

Prof. Oyewale Tomori, the President of the Academy, stated in an interview that “The National Conference came up with some very interesting recommendations.

“It is not everything that was done there that is sensible. But I was really very impressed with what they came up with in the area of science.

“We are all asking the government to take a look at that. This government shouldn’t throw the whole report away. Take a look at the report to see if there is anything useful in it and make use of such.”

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRID) have already lauded the research, promising to work with the scientists to conduct pre-clinical trials.

Prof. Hussaini presented the study to the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS).

The professor during the interview said that eight out of the 54 plants so far identified showed more promise than the current drugs used in the treatment of cancer.

He further highlighted how three of the plants showed highly impressive anti-cancer activities against both breast cancer and brain tumour.

“We are working to develop effective cancer therapy using Nigerian medicinal plants. We have characterised and identified some plants. We have tested them and they are very effective. Eight out of the 54 that we have are better than even the current drugs that are used in the treatment of cancer. We are trying to identify some of those active compounds that are responsible for this anti-cancer activity.  Afterwards, in partnership with NAFDAC or NIPRID, we will do animal and even pre-clinical studies.

“The team is made up of medical doctors, surgeons, pharmaceutical chemists and pharmacognosists, and then medicinal herbalist – a consultant. I am a pharmacologist. We have several papers that we have published. We have some papers ready for publication,”  he added.

He urged government to show support to Nigerian scientists to enable them compete with their counterparts around the world.

“Science should be number one in terms of funding, and we need lots of money, billions really.  For this project, N100 million–N200 million would complete it.  To go to pre-clinical and clinical trial requires money,”  he noted.

Prof Hussaini gave further details as to how his team secured institutionalised funding through Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). He said they were still trying to secure more funding, especially from the National Institute for Health in the United States.

“If we want Nigeria to move forward, this is the kind of cutting edge research that the present government should fund and it should be a priority.”

He further stressed that the “first task is to establish a robust database of all possible plants used in the former North Eastern State of Nigeria. We have increased our database to approximately 200 plants.

“The second phase is to screen these plants for their anticancer properties, using established cancer cell lines, patient cancer specimens, cancer stem cells and animal models of cancers, which will be followed by identification of active principles in the plants using”Science is key to unlocking the doors of mystery, and research is the hand that wields it, Nigeria as a nation must begin now to embrace science and technology, the nation must welcome research, we have the manpower, men and women of great skill, all that is left is the empowerment to do exploits. With proper government support more grounds can be broken.


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Kudox to them

shegsrules:
For sometime now, Borno State has been in the spotlight due to the Boko Haram insurgency, one can only imagine the uncomfortable atmosphere under which Nigerians, who reside in the state, go about their duties and how they live their lives.

Many will argue that the chaos in the state leaves a cloud of tension under which the people cannot be productive, but that argument seems to have been debunked by a team of seven dauntless Nigerian scientists from the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Maiduguri.

These brave scientists have defied the storm to achieve progress in a groundbreaking cancer research to come up with a potent therapy using local herbs.

The research into finding the cure for cancer using local herbs, which, in turn, be used for cancer therapy, was led by Professor of Pharmacology at the university, Isa Marte Hussaini, who currently happens to be exploring different Nigerian plants.

Due to the exploits such as that of Prof. Isa and his team, the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) has deemed it fit for the Presidency to create the office of Chief Adviser to Government, saying that it is a proactive way of promoting research and enhancing science funding in the country.

Prof. Oyewale Tomori, the President of the Academy, stated in an interview that “The National Conference came up with some very interesting recommendations.

“It is not everything that was done there that is sensible. But I was really very impressed with what they came up with in the area of science.

“We are all asking the government to take a look at that. This government shouldn’t throw the whole report away. Take a look at the report to see if there is anything useful in it and make use of such.”

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRID) have already lauded the research, promising to work with the scientists to conduct pre-clinical trials.

Prof. Hussaini presented the study to the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS).

The professor during the interview said that eight out of the 54 plants so far identified showed more promise than the current drugs used in the treatment of cancer.

He further highlighted how three of the plants showed highly impressive anti-cancer activities against both breast cancer and brain tumour.

“We are working to develop effective cancer therapy using Nigerian medicinal plants. We have characterised and identified some plants. We have tested them and they are very effective. Eight out of the 54 that we have are better than even the current drugs that are used in the treatment of cancer. We are trying to identify some of those active compounds that are responsible for this anti-cancer activity.  Afterwards, in partnership with NAFDAC or NIPRID, we will do animal and even pre-clinical studies.


“The team is made up of medical doctors, surgeons, pharmaceutical chemists and pharmacognosists, and then medicinal herbalist – a consultant. I am a pharmacologist. We have several papers that we have published. We have some papers ready for publication,”  he added.

He urged government to show support to Nigerian scientists to enable them compete with their counterparts around the world.

“Science should be number one in terms of funding, and we need lots of money, billions really.  For this project, N100 million–N200 million would complete it.  To go to pre-clinical and clinical trial requires money,”  he noted.

Prof Hussaini gave further details as to how his team secured institutionalised funding through Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). He said they were still trying to secure more funding, especially from the National Institute for Health in the United States.

“If we want Nigeria to move forward, this is the kind of cutting edge research that the present government should fund and it should be a priority.”

He further stressed that the “first task is to establish a robust database of all possible plants used in the former North Eastern State of Nigeria. We have increased our database to approximately 200 plants.

“The second phase is to screen these plants for their anticancer properties, using established cancer cell lines, patient cancer specimens, cancer stem cells and animal models of cancers, which will be followed by identification of active principles in the plants using”Science is key to unlocking the doors of mystery, and research is the hand that wields it, Nigeria as a nation must begin now to embrace science and technology, the nation must welcome
research, we have the manpower, men and women of great skill, all that is left is the empowerment to do exploits. With proper government support more grounds can be broken.


http://africaadvertisers.net/maiduguri-varsity-discovers-cure-for-cancer/

Op is a fact twister