NATURAL PRODUCTS

To support the national bio-economy agenda via the empowerment of natural product-based industries through bioactive feedstock security.

  • Biological Resources
  • Bioprospecting
  • Herbal Quality Control

Natural Products Quality Control Laboratory (NPQC) was established within the Herbal Quality Control Programme of the Natural Products Division, FRIM. The NPQC has been accredited by the Department of Standards Malaysia under Skim Akreditasi Makmal Malaysia (SAMM) meeting the requirements of MS ISO/IEC 17025:2017 ‘General requirement of competence for testing and calibration laboratories’ for microbiological, chemical and physical tests. This Malaysian standard is identical to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The NPQC provides quality control testing services of; a) microorganism contamination, b) heavy metal analysis, c) weight uniformity and d) disintegration test for herbal products. The microbial contamination test includes a) microbial enumeration providing total aerobic microbial count (TAMC) and total combined yeast/mold count (TYMC), b) specific microorganism of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bile tolerant gram negative bacteria and Candida albicans. Elements such as Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg) and Arsenic (As) are being analysed for heavy metal testing. Both the weight uniformity test and the disintegration test targeted products in the form of tablets and capsules. The above tests are carried out in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Drug Registration Guidance Document and Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984. NPQC has also received recognition and approval from the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA), Ministry of Health as a testing laboratory for traditional products. With this, the quality control test report issued by NPQC, FRIM is recognised and accepted by NPRA. In addition, NPQC is one of the laboratories in the Natural Products Division that has been awarded BioNexus Partner (BNP) status by Malaysian Bioeconomy Development Corporation Sdn. Bhd.

Biology Laboratory (MBIO) of the Bioprospecting Programme in the Natural Products Division, FRIM provides bioactivity testing services to the herbal industry with established bioassays for evaluating antioxidants activity (Xanthine/Xanthine Oxidase Superoxide Scavenging, DPPH Radical Scavenging, Tyrosinase Inhibition, Hydrophilic Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (H-ORAC), Lipophilic Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (L-ORAC), Elastase Inhibition & Total Phenolic Content), anti-inflammatory activity (Hyaluronidase Inhibition, Lipoxygenase Inhibition, Xanthine Oxidase Inhibition & Protein Denaturation Inhibition), anti-diabetic activity (alpha-Amylase & alpha-Glucosidase Inhibition), and in vitro toxicity (cytotoxicity) on Vero (kidney), WRL-68 (liver) & BALB/3T3 clone A31 (fibroblast) cell lines.

Phytochemistry Laboratory (FK) of the Herbal Quality Control Programme in the Natural Products Division, FRIM primarily focuses on research activities and technical services related to chemical analysis. The analyses offered in the technical service include quality tests, phytochemical screening tests, analysis of the content of flavonoids, sugars, polysaccharides and saponins by UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopic analysis, 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopic analysis, qualitative and quantitative HPLC and LC-MS profiling, eurycomanone content analysis of raw materials and tongkat ali products by UPLC, and general and qualitative HPTLC profiling.  The laboratory has also been accredited by the Department of Standards Malaysia under the Skim Akreditasi Makmal Malaysia (SAMM) meeting the requirements of MS ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for “Identification of tongkat ali root by HPLC analysis”. This analysis is offered to the herbal industry or interested parties to ensure that the raw materials used in their products are genuine and unadulterated.