Ebenezer Adurokiya, Reporting
A Professor of Pharmaceutics at the University of Ibadan, Professor Adenike Okunlola, has urged increased investment in the research and development of pharmaceutical excipients derived from indigenous plants.
She made the call while delivering the 628th Inaugural Lecture of the University of Ibadan on behalf of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The lecture was titled, “From Flora to Formulation: Harnessing Polymers from Indigenous Plants as Excipients for Drug Delivery”.
Professor Okunlola said Nigeria could reduce its dependence on imported raw materials while improving access to affordable medicines.
She stressed that the imperative to harness native flora as pharmaceutical excipients was strategic and no longer optional, because polymers from various indigenous plants possess functional properties suitable for use as excipients in specific dosage forms.
She added that when properly characterised, standardised and validated, these plant-based polymers could meet international quality requirements while offering added advantages such as biocompatibility, biodegradability and local availability.
According to her, realising this potential would require deliberate action, sustained investment in research, robust collaboration between academia and industry, and supportive regulatory frameworks to ensure quality, safety and consistency.
The don explained that, ultimately, the development of plant-based excipients represented more than a scientific pursuit, describing it as a pathway to self-reliance, economic growth and improved access to affordable medicines, thereby advancing both public health and national development.
She stated that Nigeria’s rich plant resources offered significant opportunities for the development of locally sourced pharmaceutical materials which, with science, investment and appropriate policies, could become a foundation for pharmaceutical innovation and national self-reliance.
Professor Okunlola highlighted years of research into starches, gums, mucilages and other polymers obtained from indigenous plants and their potential applications in modern drug-delivery systems.
She reported that indigenous starches, gums, mucilages and other plant-derived polymers illustrated how Nigeria’s botanical resources could potentially be transformed into functional pharmaceutical technologies, noting that pharmaceutical excipients, although traditionally described as inactive ingredients, were essential to the performance of medicines.
The inaugural lecturer explained that drugs were seldom administered as pure chemical substances, noting that active pharmaceutical ingredients must be incorporated into appropriate dosage forms with carefully selected excipients to ensure effectiveness, stability, patient acceptability and controlled drug release.
She mentioned that excipients could perform functions ranging from binding and disintegration to stabilisation, taste masking and controlled drug release, adding that plant-derived polymers, including starches, gums, mucilages and pectin, could be used to regulate how medicines were released and absorbed in the body.
The Professor of Pharmaceutics said the potential of indigenous crops as sources of pharmaceutical raw materials could help broaden the range of functional excipients available to local manufacturers. She stated that modification of natural polymers could produce materials with properties suited to specific pharmaceutical applications.
She emphasised, however, that indigenous materials must undergo rigorous scientific characterisation and biological and physicochemical evaluation before they could be developed into pharmaceutical products.
She submitted that research into indigenous pharmaceutical excipients should be viewed as a national development priority rather than merely an academic exercise, warning that dependence on imported pharmaceutical raw materials exposed the industry to supply-chain challenges, foreign-exchange pressures and rising production costs.
The lecturer argued that developing validated local alternatives could promote pharmaceutical self-reliance, strengthen the connection between agriculture and manufacturing, create economic opportunities and potentially reduce the cost of medicines.
She said that “from flora to formulation” represented more than the conversion of plant materials into pharmaceutical ingredients, asserting that it represented a potential pathway from agriculture to industry, research to innovation and indigenous resources to improved public health.
Professor Okunlola advocated investment in modern analytical and characterisation facilities and stronger collaboration between universities, research institutes and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
She called on the Government to establish policies that encourage the development and gradual adoption of locally sourced pharmaceutical excipients, proposing measures such as incentives for pharmaceutical companies using validated local raw materials, support for processing equipment and stronger public-private partnerships to move promising discoveries from the laboratory into commercial production.
The Professor of Pharmaceutics also advocated closer integration of agriculture with the pharmaceutical value chain so that indigenous crops could become sources of high-value pharmaceutical materials.
She emphasised that the future of pharmaceutical innovation should not be limited to discovering new drugs alone, but should include discovering new and locally available materials capable of delivering those drugs safely, effectively and affordably.
The lecture was the 24th in the series for the 2025/2026 academic session.
