An-Najah Staff

BERC-BEC provides scientific support for converting some folklore medicine into pharmaceuticals or other useful products developed according to international standards. It increases job opportunities and strengthen economic clusters. Based upon the new findings of BERC-BEC, local scientists will be able to increase research and identify valuable active compounds. Discovering of new compounds will result in increasing agricultural area for targeted plants. Successful growing of crops will lead to building of new local factories to extract the active materials, which can be used for producing new cosmetic component, dry spice and tradition flavors additives. BERC-BEC also helps protect the environment, especially threatened plant species. Its educational programs will increase the public’s awareness of the value of the native flora and the importance of its conservation. BERC-BEC has introduced the Screen-to-Nature (STN) technology into different Palestine, through the GIBEX program. The technology was introduced to the community as well as to scientists. All the workshops and research started with caution and suspicion and ended with much excitement and motivation to work together. Scientist as well as local people and traditional doctors were amazed to realize the benefits of the collaboration from both sides. From then on much excitement was involved in the project and it turned out to be very successful. Results were presented and discussed. The STN technology which is implemented at BERC-BEC is a novel technique, as it enables the screen of tens of thousands of specimens in a relatively short time thereby increasing the chances of discovering new valuable compounds. The STN technology is innovative in the sense that it allows local people to be involved in Research &Development (R&D) tasks and work. This is something which is not usually available and which might help promoting R&D activities among students in Palestine. Since the screening of the plants is done in the field the screens must be light and easy to carry. The screens are simple to understand and simple to operate in different environment and produce fast but accurate and reliable results. Through the Bio-Xplore project were used 10 STN kits. These include among others antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, protease and protease inhibitors, round worm lethality, planaria regeneration and lethality. During the project period BERC team was able to screen more than 1500 plant extracts belonging to 602 plant species, these plants are distributed among 368 genera and 109 Family. The results of these screens are discussed in this presentation.