If the gains from the World Bank-assisted Science and Technology Education Post-Basic Project (Step-B) are sustained, the University of Ilorin may soon introduce new anti-malaria derivatives into the country’s pharmaceutical industry.
The derivatives are parts of the 300 new compounds discovered at the laboratory of Prof. Joshua Ayoola Obaleye, one of the Step-B funded researchers at the University.
Malaria, an infectious disease characterised by cycles of chills, fever, and sweating, caused by a protozoan of the genus Plasmodium in red blood cells, which is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected female anopheles mosquito, is a scourge in tropical Africa. It is particularly dangerous when children and pregnant women are attacked.
In a chat with University Bulletin last Monday (September 2, 2013), Prof. Obaleye disclosed that the new compounds have been tested on animals and microbes and found to be very successful, adding that “the next stage is to try it on humans”.
Prof. Obaleye stressed that his new discoveries are of higher value than existing derivatives, adding that after patenting, available compounds can be mass produced for the pharmaceutical industries for further processing into anti- malaria drugs.
He then called on Nigerian philanthropists to come to the aid of researchers by funding research more like it is being done in developed economies.
Eulogising the wisdom behind the Step-B project, the Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, who is a visiting Professor to many Universities in India, Zimbabwe, Italy and Israel, recalled that “before Step-B, things were very difficult to achieve. Though we travel outside the country for one award or the other, we still need to beg for global attention and recognition.”
He said, “In the past, I used to write and write for my articles to be published in journals. Now, I publish in journals very easily. Colleagues in foreign countries can follow activities of my laboratory from these journals. They get the same result and thus appreciate our efforts.
“Step-B is an organisation that has helped us move forward in several areas of research. Many problems afflicting researchers in this country were resolved under Step-B.
“From Step-B, I now have several research collaborators from outside the country. These people help to supervise postgraduate students who are working in this laboratory. One of them, who incidentally is on ground, is Prof. Avinash Kumbhar of the Department of Chemistry, University of Pune, India.”
Prof. Obaleye also disclosed that many researchers from Nigerian universities like the University of Ibadan, University of Jos, and the Delta State University come freely to use facilities in his Step-B equipped laboratory, adding that “we are not collecting a penny from anyone. Step-B gave us freely and we have to give it out freely.”
Inside the well-stocked laboratory located at the Chemistry Department, there are facilities comparable to many others worldwide such as Spectrophotometer, Infra-red Spectrophotometer, Gas Chromatograph and atomic absorption Spectrophotometer.
One of Prof. Obaleye's collaborators, Prof. Kumbhar, who was busy in the laboratory, told Unilorin Bulletin of plans to elevate the collaboration between him and the Unilorin researcher to institutional level whereby the University of Pune, India and the University of Ilorin, would, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), work out staff and students development exchange programmes among other benefits.
He said that the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ambali, is already aware of , and is encouraging, this plan.
Responding to questions on scholarships, fellowships and grant opportunities to Nigerian students from Indian government, the visiting Professor, who is also the Coordinator of National Centre for Free Radical Research (NCFRR), India, discussed the opportunities provided by the BST-TWAS funding partnership.
BST-TWAS, according to him, is an Indian government partnership with an agency of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).


http://unilorin.edu.ng/index.php/en/237-unilorinnews/1920-unilorin-discovers-new-anti-malaria-compounds