By Doreen Ampofo
A call has gone to the government to invest in DNA sequencing technologies to improve healthcare delivery in Ghana. This follows suspicions that some herbal medicines may be adulterated due to the inability of producers to tell the DNA’s or make-up of plants which may look similar.
This comes in the wake of a booming herbal medicines industry in Ghana. Despite this, the country can only boast of about ten plant taxonomists, persons who can identify, describe, classify, and name plants. This has created a problem where many herbal medicines are adulterated with plants other than what should have been used for the preparation.
The call came at a training workshop by the SENA Institute of Technology on DNA sequencing using the Nanopore technology. The technology is the only sequencing technology that offers real-time analysis for rapid insights in fully scalable formats, can analyse native DNA or RNA, and sequence any length of fragment to achieve short to ultra-long read lengths. The training workshop by the SENA institute is to help Ghana deal with the trend of adulteration in herbal medicine as well as ensure that the country derives maximum benefit in the health and food value chain from DNA sequencing.
Director of the SENA Institute of Technology, Michael Agbleke, who is also a clinical Microbiologist said Ghana stands to benefit a lot by investing in such technologies. He explained that in the past, a taxonomist was needed to identify species or plants.
However, with this technology, the DNA of plants and other species can be identified without having to go in for a taxonomist and the problems that come with it. He added that,
“In the GMO conversation, people are able to look for genes or DNA they can use to enhance certain features of a plant. In the case of the drought in northern Ghana, we can consider if it’s possible to look for the DNA of a plant that can withstand the drought. We can engineer those plants so that they can withstand the drought, as such plants can withstand very little water. This can help us deal with food insecurity.”
A Biology teacher at the Amasaman Secondary Technical School who participated in the training indicated that lessons on this topic are largely theoretical, explaining that the practical training will help her in teaching her students better.
“All this while, it’s been alot of theory, and this is one area that both students and teachers are very excited about. We don’t really have the practicals. So far, we have started with extraction of DNA from plant species. With this knowledge, I’m going to apply it and impart it to my students.”
Another participant, Asafo Adjei Tony, who is a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Plant Medicine Research at Mampong Akuapem, said the herbal industry has lot to benefit from the nanopore technology. He explained that for herbal medicine preparation, getting the right identity of a plant is very critical. This is because using another plant in place of the required one can be deadly or poisonous.
“I’m used to telling a plant’s name by leaf arrangement, leaf type, venation, etc. based on my experience. Another person without my experience can’t do this. At the Center for Plant Medicine Research in Mampong Akuapem, it means we will get all our plant identification right and reduce adulteration caused by misidentification of plants.”
Deputy Director of the DNA Learning Center, Nigeria, Michael Okoro, noted that Africa has untapped biodiversity resources which need to be exploited for the continent’s development. However, this has not been possible because the continent lacks the tools and technical know-how. He said the training serves as a preamble to begin to introduce such tools and technologies in schools for students to do hands-on learning.
Nanopore machine, which is a key feature of the training by the Sena Institute of Technology is the second in Ghana. The first is owned by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.
