Iranian Firm Takes Advantage of Nanotechnology, Herbs in Healthcare Products

“We have so far developed 13 products based on medicinal herbs,” Motahhareh Sharifi-Rad, the managing director of Motahhar Zist Gostar Company, said.

Motahhar Zist Gostar Company is operating at the research center of the Islamic Azad University, Zanjan branch, she said, adding that two Ph.D. undergraduates are working on healthcare products based on medicinal plants using nanotechnology.

Sharifi-Rad made the remarks on the sidelines of the national Asreh Omid Event which was held in late May in Tehran’s Grand Mosalla with the participation of 3,000 knowledge-based companies, laboratories, research teams, and startups.

Last year, the University held an exhibition and we participated in it and presented our products. Fortunately, we have reached the production stage, but we have yet to launch production on large scale, she pointed out.

“We are cooperating with Nanotechnology Innovation Council trying to produce natural and herbal products. Because everyone likes to look for products that have fewer side effects and are more harmless,” Sharifi-Rad said.

“We used beeswax in our products and we carried out research on plants that do not cause problems for the skin or digestive system and are not toxic,” she went on to say.

There are various types of mouthwash in the market, but we used medicinal herbs in producing mouthwash, Sharifi-Rad concluded.

The Asreh Omid Event aimed to exhibit new achievements and products in the technological and innovation arenas in line with opening new windows towards strengthening the idea of creating ground for knowledge-based businesses at the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Azad University.

So far, about 30,000 plant species have been identified in the world, with Iran's share of about 8,000 species which is more than the whole of species found in Europe.

Some 2,300 species of medicinal plants have been identified in the country, accounting for one-third of the medicines used in human societies.

Iran currently ranks 4th in the world in the production of nano-science. This comes as part of Iran's Nanotechnology Initiative Council’s first development plan, which has sought to advance nano-science in the country.

The second 10-year plan, which started in 2015, seeks to move nano-science from paper to the industry. In the meantime, the Nanotechnology Initiative Council is working on a third plan to trade Iranian nano-products in the global market.

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