{"id":922,"date":"2019-11-01T11:42:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T11:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationisrael.org.il\/en\/?p=922"},"modified":"2023-11-21T07:43:43","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T07:43:43","slug":"extraordinary-extracts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innovationisrael.org.il\/en\/extraordinary-extracts\/","title":{"rendered":"Extraordinary Extracts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the distant past, medicine relied on plant extracts of a simple kind. But these days, new botanical drugs are in demand. Coming up with them is an important scientific challenge. We introduce two Israeli biotech companies who are successfully meeting that challenge with cutting-edge development efforts.

In Israel\u2019s Arava region, a company called Algatech<\/strong> is tapping microscopic algae for a powerful antioxidant called astaxanthin. More than half way across the country, in Yavne, a company called MediWound<\/strong> is extracting enzymes from pineapple stems to make unique products that can treat burns and chronic wounds. What do the two companies have in common?

Both are groundbreaking Israeli biotech companies that successfully develop and manufacture original drugs from plant life and market them worldwide \u2013 all with the assistance of the Israel Innovation Authority.

Dr. Zeev Even-Chen<\/strong>, a member of the Authority\u2019s array of professional evaluators, explains: \u201cUnlike conventional drugs, the medications we call \u2018botanical drugs\u2019 are usually a mix of substances. Some of the substances are plant extracts, but not all of them are. The elements typically act in synergy \u2013 that is, in combination \u2013 to make the active ingredients more effective.\u201d

Today in the western world, stringent regulations require manufactured drugs to show no significant variation over time in their characteristics or their effect. Additionally, the manufacturing process must meet the pharmaceutical industry\u2019s accepted standards as codified in the guidelines of the FDA (the American Food and Drug Administration). And just like synthetic drugs, plant-extracted drugs also need to be proven effective against a particular disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supplement versus Drug: What’s the Difference?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Traditional medicine passed down verbally from generation to generation through centuries of history, uses plant-based substances to treat wounds, pain, and disease. But our ancestors didn\u2019t understand the scientific complexities involved. They didn\u2019t know what quality or ingredients the plant possessed that cured the patient of what ailed them, or how it happened. If a particular plant was found to relieve a headache or stomach ache, for example, people just used it.

The situation nowadays is entirely different. Developing a botanical drug based on traditional medicine, or based on a particular plant material that is known to contain a family of beneficial substances, requires attention to many details. A company has to know how to formulate the drug correctly<\/strong>, dispense it accurately, and keep it stable. Not to mention patenting it, respecting regulations, and being economically realistic.
Plant-sourced substances can be used to promote human health in three different ways:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n