In the China International College Student Innovation Competition (2023) held in Tianjin not long ago, the "Pioneer of Innovative Raw Materials for Skin Care Products of Western Native Plants" project led by the School of Pharmacy of Nankai University won the first place in the "Youth Red Dream Building Journey" track. The scientific research results of the laboratory have taken root in the fields of the western region, realizing the three-way rush of "school-enterprise land" on the road of science and technology to help agriculture. Behind the halo is a group of Nankai people who have been exploring and pursuing for 5 years. From a small plant, they explored the "secret" of becoming beautiful, and injected scientific and technological power into the "light of domestic products" for skin care products.
Affection for the west, in the depths of the countryside to explore original value
1,000 kilometers away from Tianjin, at the western foot of Liupan Mountain, lies the beautiful Zhuanglang. In 2019, Li Zhiyang, a 2021 doctoral student at the School of Pharmacy at Nankai University, stumbled upon a local plant in Zhuanglang, Gansu Province, which looked very similar to a native plant that the lab was looking for. He excitedly photographed **, and after checking with the teachers in many ways, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that this was the plant "Alpine Gentian Grass" that they had been looking for for a long time.
"Alpine gentian" is a typical western native plant, and its key ingredient gentian bitter is very effective in the field of medicine, but its raw material is very difficult to find. No one could have imagined that this plant resource, which is regarded as a treasure in the laboratory, is all over the mountains and wilderness in Zhuanglang, Gansu Province, and is mostly used as feed for cattle and sheep.
Due to climatic conditions, there are few varieties of crops with high economic value in Zhuanglang area, but a large number of unique native plants are bred. At the same time, due to the limited research technology, the development ability is weak. "If we conduct in-depth research, it may be a good idea to break the monopoly of Europe and the United States, and it can also contribute some strength to rural revitalization. Sun Tao, director of the pharmacology discipline of the School of Pharmacy of Nankai University, said.
In this way, Li Zhiyang, as the project leader, led Feng Changlin and other 7 students to embark on the road of research and development of "functional raw materials" for several years. A journey of 1,000 kilometers to build a dream begins.
Continuous pursuit, let weeds create huge economic benefits
In the following two years, the team went to Zhuanglang, ** and other areas in Gansu Province for field investigations, and their footprints were all over the fields and mountains. Through the stepwise functional verification system and advanced and efficient extraction technology, the team conducted research on the key components of the 208 kinds of plants, and combined with the comprehensive consideration of plant distribution, the basis of large-scale production, policy advantages, agricultural systems, etc., and finally selected more than 10 kinds of raw materials with great development value, such as P. sylvestris and Alpine gentian. Forage that was previously forgotten has shown great economic value after being empowered by technology. Li Zhiyang and his team members were pleasantly surprised and relieved.
How to promote the real transformation and implementation of scientific research achievements and benefit the society is the second problem that the team must work together to solve.
As early as 10 years ago, Sun Tao had an intersection with skin care companies, and his years of experience made him understand that due to the lack of in-depth research and development and market recognition of domestic raw materials, the brand would rather spend ** to buy from abroad than "take risks". Sun Tao introduced that western plants, university scientific research and brand are three independent fields, if the information barriers of the three parties can be broken, it will open up a new track for the "integration of production, education, research and application".
In this process, Sun Tao became a "translator". While leading the team to make achievements, we actively carry out communication and exchanges, so as to provide "reassurance" for enterprises and open up "new ideas" for farmers.
After hard work, this quest finally came to fruition. The team has carried out in-depth cooperation with domestic skin care brands and established a joint laboratory dedicated to the research and development of functional ingredients.
Adhering to the skin care concept of "scientific, safe and efficient", the functional ingredients in more than 10 kinds of raw materials have gained a good reputation after the products are put into the market.
Overcoming many obstacles, the team relied on the Chinese-style modern rural workstation to steadily promote the industrialization process of the project in the western countryside. Through the joint construction of the base, farmers began large-scale land planting with the support of local people, and achieved an increase of 3-50,000 yuan in annual income per household.
As the scope of the study expanded, the team also gradually built up a library of active ingredients. In the future, we will take Zhuanglang, Gansu Province as a starting point, and promote the model to Qinghai, Xinjiang and other western regions, and strive to build a global high-end skin care product raw material highland, so that the light of western plants shines on the world stage.
Based on the society, let the scientific and technological achievements truly benefit the people
In August 2023, relying on the research results of the team, Xihai Shiyang Biotechnology *** was officially established in Tianjin Jinnan Tiankai Park. The team members have a more solid carrier and are fully committed to the research and development and industrialization of functional raw materials for native plants in western China.
At present, we have reached a cooperation with a smart elderly care company in Shanghai, and in the future, we will take skin care products as the entry point to open up the treasure house of resources in the western region and make more contributions in the field of big health. When it comes to future planning, Li Zhiyang is excited and determined. Taking this opportunity, the School of Pharmacy of Nankai University and Jinnan District have also jointly set up a party building volunteer service base and an innovation and entrepreneurship base, which will further take party building as the guide and contribute to innovation and entrepreneurship, student training, and social services.
At the China International College Student Innovation Competition held not long ago, the project of "Pioneer of Innovative Raw Materials for Native Plant Skin Care Products in Western China" won the gold medal. This is a recognition of the team's 5 years of hard work, and it is also the beginning of a new dream mileage.
In Nankai, Professor Sun Tao's team is just a microcosm of the many entrepreneurial teams in the School of Pharmacy. Over the years, the teachers and students of the School of Pharmacy have kept up with the demand, devoted themselves to scientific research, written the best in the motherland, and sent the results to thousands of households. Relying on the "innovation and entrepreneurship +" education model, the college has created a strong "medicine" innovation and entrepreneurship project and related activities, constantly opened up new fields and new tracks for pharmaceutical development, constantly shaped new momentum and new advantages for development, and formed an innovation system and scientific research platform with the characteristics of Nankai pharmacy, so that students can have a deeper understanding and feel the core value of "patriotic struggle and public energy innovation" in scientific research practice, and continue to inherit the pragmatic and daring innovation and entrepreneurship spirit of Nankai people.
The spirit of impartiality and energy, cultivating pharmaceutical talents, creating good medicines, and bless human health' is the mission of Nankai Pharmaceutical Scholars. We will keep this mission in mind and always pursue it. Sun Tao said. (China Education Daily-China Education News Network Reporter Chen Xinran Correspondent Cong Min Liu Changqi).
Author: Chen Xinran, Cong Min, Liu Changqi.