Hidden value of the longan

Usanee Vinitketkumnuen

Seeds of dried longan are normally regarded as waste. In countless tonnes, the hard black seeds are gathered up and thrown away.

That was before Usanee Vinitketkumnuen, associate professor of biochemistry at Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Medicine, discovered a surprising use for them.

"At first glance, I saw nothing interesting in dried longan seeds. But when I took a closer look and studied them more, I unexpectedly found that the seed, once extracted, contained a valuable substance that can help fight oxidation [in the body]," she recalls.

Six years ago, Usanee, 57, began her research on longan with the aim of ensuring that farmers' use of potassium chlorate to increase their longan harvests was not leaving any harmful contaminants in the fruit.

She discovered no toxins in the fruit, but found she couldn't put the project aside. She launched an in-depth study of the benefits of the fruit in the hope of being able to bring added value to longan, the fruit of the North.

After more studies, she discovered that a substance extracted from the seeds of longan - especially if they were seeds from dried longan - not only had antioxidant properties, but was also able to help kill cancer cells, especially in the large intestine.

It took Usanee four years to make her discovery. But she found that creating a real product, such as a drug to tackle cancer, was not so easy. In the end her son, a pharmacist, suggested that she return to the laboratory to study the substance further. He felt it could be of use elsewhere, such as in cosmetics and skincare products.

"My son thought that if the new substance could kill cancer cells and fight oxidation, it could also be used to revive the skin. So, we thought that cosmetics and skincare products could benefit from this discovery. This was a turning point at which we set up our own business," she says.

To pursue their new mission, Usanee and her son, together with pharmacy researchers from Chiang Mai University, spent two more years - 2005 and 2006 - researching and developing new cosmetic products.

In their efforts, the team named the dried-longan-seed extract "Longan-phytocomplex". They confirmed its ability to fight oxidation and found it helped revive the skin by reducing wrinkling. Importantly, they found that the extract was capable of preventing the action of two enzymes - the tyrosinase enzyme that generates melanin and dark pigment, and an enzyme which causes deterioration of skin cells, collagen and elastin.

"We tested the new substance for toxicity and found that it was safe and had no affect on human genes, and then we began work on a formula to develop a real product," she says.

Usanee recalls that the development process was the toughest time for her team. Even though they had identified a good active ingredient, they had to find a suitable formula with every ingredient contributing to the creation of a skincare product. There were many trials and many errors. But eventually the team produced the first line of longan-based skincare products, specifically for their anti-ageing and anti-wrinkle benefits. They called the new product line MayaaS.

In a clinical trail, 36 volunteers were tested over six weeks and Usanee says the result was a 100-per-cent increase in skin moisture and flexibility and 92-per-cent improvement in skin whitening.

With this good test result, mother and son set up a new company last January. With registered capital of Bt5 million, Prima Herb (Thailand) set out to produce the new longan-based cosmetic and skincare products.

"It's a company that really emerged from research work," Usanee says. "So at Prima Herb, we focus on research and development to improve our products. Our mission is to produce cosmetic and skincare products with prices affordable by Thais."

Starting from the MayaaS product line, the company has so far launched a variety of products designed for skin firming, whitening and moisturising. At present they're sold only in Chiang Mai, but the company plans to expand its marketing channels to cover other areas this year.

"We set up the company with a mission to make Prima Herb a cosmetic and skincare brand from the North, so that when people come here they will think of our longan-based products," Usanee says.

Apart from creating a new Thai cosmetic brand from the North, she's proud that her research produced a real business that is helping to create more value for the longan industry. From being a waste product, dried longan seed now attracts up to Bt8 per kilogram, providing additional income for farmers.

To make the whole value chain sustainable, Usanee is determined to firmly establish Prima Herb. As the company's adviser and mother of its managing director, she says Prima Herb will expand its production capacity to meet higher market demand.

The company plans to invest Bt2.7 million in new manufacturing machinery. It has also received Bt360,000 in support from the National Innovation Agency, under its "Good Innovation with No Interest" project.

Usanee says production expansion is expected to begin in May she hopes to increase output by about five times, while having the plant certified under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.

"After we get the GMP standard, we plan to begin exporting our longan-based cosmetic products to other countries," she says.

Prima Herb is negotiating with partners to distribute its products in other Asian countries. It is also working with a Japanese partner to export its longan-seed extract for use in producing food supplements.

Even though Usanee's new business has the potential for growth, she remains a scientist at heart and is pursuing her desire to use her discovery to benefit sick people. So far, her work with an expert in the degenerative joint disease osteoarthritis has found that the longan-seed extract helps to reduce cellular deterioration in the knee joints of sufferers.

Usanee is developing a formula to produce two kinds of supplementary food made from longan-seed extract to help reduce the affects of osteoarthritis on knee joints and to combat the emergence of cancer cells. In this way, she believes she can use her findings to deliver real benefits to people.

"It may be too hard for me to use my findings to develop an anti-cancer drug, so I hope to be able to develop a food supplement that will release people from suffering at the hands of disease," she says.

Pongpen Sutharoj

 The Nation