UNAIR NEWS – ‘Jamu’ is known for its efficacy for health. It encourages UNAIR researcher Dr. Arif Nur Muhammad Ansori MSi to promote the herbal drink in India.
Arif was invited to be a speaker at the “Indigenous Traditional Knowledge of Medicinal Plants of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve of Uttarakhand Himalayas” International Conference, held at Uttaranchal University, March 9-10, 2024.
The conference was attended by 800 people from around the world. As the sole Indonesian representative, he made use of the opportunity well.
Arif shared his insight on Harnessing Bioinformatics and Biotechnology for Advancing Indonesian Herbal Medicine (Jamu) Development. “I promoted jamu and other products created by UNAIR researchers,” he said.
The promotion of Jamu aims to prevent other countries from making claims about its origins. “Promotion must be done, given UNESCO’s designation of it as Indonesia’s intangible cultural heritage. We cannot be caught off guard, as was the case with our previous ancestral heritage cultures that were patented by other countries due to a lack of preservative action,” he said.
Research collaboration
After returning from India, plans are underway for international research collaborations focusing on medicinal plants and traditional medicine exploration in Indonesia. Publishing scientific papers in reputable international journals is on the agenda in the near future.
“We will collaborate on publishing scientific papers in reputable international journals with India and several other countries in attendance. Based on the Scopus database, the collaboration in publishing reputable international journal papers between UNAIR and Uttaranchal University has already reached more than 30 manuscripts,” explained the researcher from the UNAIR Graduate School.
Due to his track record, he secured a position as an Adjunct Faculty Member at the Uttaranchal Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Uttaranchal University, India. He has produced over 160 Scopus-indexed scientific journals with an h-index of 28.
“In previous years, I was invited as a guest lecturer on various topics according to my expertise. After that, there were many research offers and international collaborations from India,” said Arif.
Author: Icha Nur Imami Puspita
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
