Interview with Surasit Chomchuen and Atcharee Honchai about herbal medicine research in Thailand

In celebration of their contributions to society, we put our “Everyday Life Sciences Heroes” spotlight on Mr. Surasit Chomchuen (he/ him), Business Manager for Thailand, Myanmar and Laos at Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, and Ms. Atcharee Honchai (she/ her), Sales Manager at PCL Holding Co., Ltd. for a better understanding of the herbal medicine market and developments in Thailand.??

Around the world, scientists and researchers are working to answer life's important scientific and healthcare questions. Among researchers, traditional or alternative medicine is of keen interest. According to a market study, the global herbal medicines market is expected to reach US$178.4 billion by the year 2026.?

1. Can you give us a brief overview of traditional herbal medicine in Thailand?

Mr. Surasit Chomchuen: “The use of herbal medicine for medical treatment or well-being has been a part of our lives since ancient times. Within the country, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health has been supporting the use of Thai herbs with modern medicine and accelerating the development of traditional Thai medical services in local hospitals.

“Traditional Thai medical services are offered in almost 4,400 hospitals and health centers, and at least 71 indigenous herb items are in the national drug list. Through the integration of traditional herbal medicine into modern medical treatments, our country can reduce the heavy dependence on drug imports.”

2. Can you give us an idea of how Thailand uses traditional herbs for medical treatments?

Mr. Surasit Chomchuen: “For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand used extracts of a traditional herb, Andrographis paniculate, to treat patients with mild symptoms. The extracts, known in Thai language as ‘fah talai jone’ have been used for centuries to treat flu, sore throat and inflammation. For public health authorities, the use of Thai herbal medicine for COVID-19 helped to reduce pressures on the local healthcare system when caseloads were rising and intensive care beds in hospitals were scarce.”

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3. How is Beckman Coulter Life Sciences helping Thailand to push forward on developmental plans for herbal medicine?

Mr. Surasit Chomchuen: “We are working closely with researchers, scientists, and healthcare authorities to ensure that they have the latest, world-class technologies in their research, development and analysis of compounds in a variety of applications.

“For instance, we have the CytoFLEX Platform, which delivers powerful performance in a compact, easy-to-use flow cytometer. It simplifies the practice of flow cytometry so that it can be more readily used by a wider range of scientists, enabling them to harness the power of single-cell analysis.

“To ensure that scientists, researchers and local authorities have access to our technologies, we work closely with our partner, PCL, in Thailand to understand customers’ growing needs, develop strategies to support their growth, provide technical support and opportunities for constructive feedback that will help guide continual development of solutions or technology platforms that can meet future needs.”

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4. Ms. Atcharee Honchai, can you provide us an overview of PCL Holding in Thailand?

Ms. Atcharee Honchai: “PCL Holding Group is a leading company in Thailand’s centralized diagnostic market, having grown since its establishment in 1995 as a distributor of diagnostic instruments and reagents. Our mission is to deliver the best possible solutions and to provide the highest possible value to our customers. PCL always strives to be the supplier of choice for highest quality products and technical services in diagnostics and life science solutions.

“In 1998, PCL was successfully appointed as sole exclusive distributor of Beckman Coulter Life Sciences instruments. We are proud to be the provider of diagnostic and life science solutions for better patient care.

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5. Better patient care is indeed very important. Can you share any insights into a recent project?

Ms. Atcharee Honchai: “As we work with a number of researchers and scientists, it is not appropriate for me to share insights into any work still under way in the laboratories. However, I can share with you about a recent published work done on herbal medicine in Thailand.

“In northern Thailand, a team of researchers from Mae Fah Luang University (MFU) recently published a paper titled ‘Chemical composition and biological activity of Peucedanum dhana A. Ham essential oil’ in Nature.

“Mae Fah Luang University (MFU) was established in 1998 and has since grown to be one of the country’s foremost tertiary institutions known for its high-quality education services and resources for the neighboring countries of Southeast Asia.

“This team of researchers from MFU studied and published their paper on the chemical composition and biological activity of Peucedanum dhana A. Ham, a plant grown in Thailand. In their paper, the researchers detail the flow cytometry process in their investigation of intracellular metabolic activity of one of the plant’s essential oils. The platform used was DxFLEX, a clinical flow cytometry platform from Beckman Coulter.”

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6. Can we read this research paper to learn more about the project?

Ms. Atcharee Honchai: “Certainly! The full paper ‘Chemical composition and biological activity of Peucedanum dhana A. Ham essential oil’ was published on 27 September 2021 in Nature at this link https://rdcu.be/cL7iY.”

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This feature series by Beckman Coulter Life Sciences puts the spotlight on “Everyday Life Sciences Heroes” who have demonstrated professionalism, dedication, and hard work in pursuing answers to life's important scientific and healthcare questions. Through knowledge sharing, let us learn while advancing research and discovery together.

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