R & D
Introduction
With the ever-increasing use of herbal medicines, the safety, efficacy and quality of the herbs and herbal medicines have become the major concern. Realizing this need, Hamdard Bangladesh has established a modern factory having about 80,000 square feet manufacturing area with Research and Development (R&D), Quality Control and Quality Assurance (QC & QA) and Microbiology Departments equipped with modern scientific equipment; modern pharmaceutical manufacturing & analytical instruments and machineries. A number of skilled Pharmacists, Botanists, Chemists, Microbiologists, Hakims and Kabirajes, always work diligently to produce the best quality products.
Good Agronomic Practices
To ensure safety, efficacy and best quality of medicinal plants as well as plant products, Hamdard Bangladesh follows guidelines of Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP). Hamdard has established a garden of medicinal plants in the factory campus having 3,60,000 square feet land area. About 200 medicinal plant species are scientifically cultivated here. Hamdard has acquired another 300 acres of land in Chittagong for cultivation, conservation and propagation of valuable, rare and endangered medicinal plant species.
There are many control measures for herbal medicines, and the first important step is to control the quality of medicinal plants. It involves many different areas, such as the environment, age and origin of the plants, cultivation system, time of collection, method of collection, method of drying, garbling, storage, etc., Which influence the quality and quantity of active and marker components present in the plant. To ensure the best quality of herbs, Hamdard always follows Good Agriculture and Cultivation Practices (GACP) and Good Storage and Transport Practices (GSTP) for medicinal plants.
Ensuring the proper identity of medicinal plants
For efficacy and safety of herbal medicine, at first it is needed to identify the medicinal plant species properly. In response to this need, Hamdard has established a Herbarium under the direct supervision of experienced Taxonomists with all the Standard Reference Samples (SRS) and Herbarium Sheets (HS) of all herbs used in Hamdard. In some cases, when it becomes difficult to identify the herbs by using their external characters, they are identified by investigating their microscopic characters with the help of a compound microscope and in this type of situation Hamdard always follow WHO guidelines.
Raw material Analysis and Determination of the active/marker compounds
Efficacy of herbal preparations depends on the quantity and quality of active/marker compound present in the herbs as well as herbal preparations. To determine the active principles present in herbs and herbal preparations, Hamdard follows WHO guidelines by using modern chromatographic techniques [such as Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)] and ensures the best quality and effective products for its consumers.
Determination of contaminants of medicinal plants
Hamdard has already started the investigation of chemical contaminants, residues and microbial contaminants found in the herbs using modern methodologies and modern scientific equipment (such as HPTLC, HPLC, Atomic Absorption (AA) Spectrophotometer, UV Visible Spectrophotometer, Autoclave, Laminar Air Flow, Incubators, Electronic Microscope, Auto Colony Counter, etc.).
Quality control and Quality assurance
To ensure production of best quality products, Hamdard follows modern analytical methods by using modern scientific equipment, run by qualified experts of Quality Control Department. The Quality Assurance Department assures the quality of the products by a thorough check up process at each step of manufacture, right from the procurement of raw materials to the production process, finished goods, packaging, storage, transport and post delivery customer service.
Hamdard is doing research work continually to improve the quality of its existing products as well as conducting research activities for development of noble medicines by following the research guidelines of World Health Organization.