All the plant samples collected from local communities will be processed at the Plant Preparation area upon arrival, which includes washing, sorting, cutting, drying and grinding.
SBC’s Extraction laboratory is the first destination for extraction of dried ground plant materials that utilises state-of-the-art processes to generate plant extracts of the highest quality for internal use or for shipping to external collaborators.
In the extraction laboratory, plant samples are extracted using various methods such as maceration (solvent and aqueous), liquid-liquid partition, and reflux extraction.
The extraction process is monitored through the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), and barcodes are generated from LIMS to act as the security code for the database. The plant extracts are then deposited into the Natural Product Library.
The protocol for routine extraction is based on the NCI (National Cancer Institute) protocol. The extraction methodology is as follows:
- Plant Samples (Ground Plant Samples)
- Soak in methanol: dichloromethane in ratio 1:1 for 24 hours
- Filtration
- Concentrated using rotary evaporator
- Crude extracts
