Sarawak Biodiversity Centre is a statutory body that was set up by the
government of Sarawak
The Sarawak Government is an authority governing Sarawak, one of the Borneo states of Malaysia, and is based in Kuching, the state capital. The state government adheres to and is created by both the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, the suprem ...
in 1997 for the regulation of access and collection of biological resources for research or commercial purposes. In 2004, the centre was relieved of its regulatory role and started to get involved in biotechnology-based research on the biological resources in the state.
History
Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) was established in 1997 following the enactment of the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre Ordinance by the Sarawak state government for conservation, utilization, protection and sustainable development of biodiversity in the state. This was followed by the enactment of Sarawak Biodiversity Regulations in 1998. In December 2003, the
Sarawak State Legislative Assembly
The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly is the legislative chamber of the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of Sarawak; the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak forms the other part of the legislature. The Assembly is modelled after the ...
passed the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (Amendment) Ordinance 2003. The state assembly also revised the Sarawak Biodiversity Regulations in 2004. Following these revisions, Sarawak Biodiversity Centre was relieved of its previous role and assumed a new role of research and development of the state biological resources and documentation of indigenous knowledge of utilising biological resources. In 2017, SBC hosted BioBorneo and Bioeconomy Day.
SBC collaborated with
Mitsubishi Corporation
is Japan's largest trading company (sogo shosha) and a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu. As of 2022, Mitsubishi Corporation employs over 80,000 people and has ten business segments, including finance, banking, energy, machinery, chemical ...
on cultivating indigenous algae since 2012. In 2019, SBC and Mitsubishi launched one of the largest algae cultivation facility in Southeast Asia. It is expected to produce 60 tonnes of dried algae biomass per hectare per year.
Programmes
Traditional Knowledge Documentation Programme
This programme exists to prevent the loss of traditional knowledge in indigenous communities because knowledge is passed to the next generations only through oral tradition. This programme is carried out through capacity-building workshops where local communities are trained with documentation techniques as well as growing and management of useful indigenous plants. As of 9 November 2020, a total of 6,420 plants were documented with 1,713 species of plants identified.
Research and Development (Bioprospecting) Programme
This programme is supported by seven laboratories with the aim to screen for anti-cancer, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-protease compounds from its natural products library. This programme also isolates and sequences genes from useful microbes that have medicinal and industrial applications. This programme is also developing plant tissue culture capabilities for mass propagations and genetic transformation of plants.
Bioinformatics Programme
This programme aims to provide an integrated database storage and maintenance system on biological resources in the state and traditional knowledge on growing indigenous plants.
Biodiversity Garden Programme
This programme collects, propagates and plants the indigenous flora of Sarawak that are used by the indigenous communities in the state. This garden provides raw plant materials for research and development. This garden is also open for public education and tours.
Awareness and Appreciation Programme
Through seminars, workshops, conferences, forums, public lectures, dialogue sessions, and exhibitions, this programme aims to disseminate accurate information on biodiversity and biotechnology to the general public, policymakers, government officials, members of academia, researchers, industry representatives and the media.
Facilities
Extraction laboratory
At the plant preparation area, all plants will undergo washing, sorting, cutting, drying, and grinding to become ground plant samples. The samples are then extracted by using maceration solvent extraction, maceration aqueous extraction, liquid-liquid partition, and reflux extraction. The plant extracts are then deposited into the natural products library.
Microbiology laboratory
This laboratory isolates actinomycetes and fungi from plants and soil to be stored in natural products library for their antimicrobial activity testing
Molecular biology laboratory
This laboratory aims to screen for anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory compounds from plants, actinomycetes, and fungi using molecular genetics and in vitro cell lines screening.
Plant tissue culture laboratory
This laboratory aims to cultivate targeted plants on a massive scale for research and development and domestication.
Analytical chemistry laboratory
Extracts obtained from the extraction laboratory and microbiology laboratory are sent here for isolation and purification using various
chromatographic
In chemical analysis, chromatography is a laboratory technique for the separation of a mixture into its components. The mixture is dissolved in a fluid solvent (gas or liquid) called the ''mobile phase'', which carries it through a system (a ...
techniques.
Bioinformatics data centre
It features biological resources databases, a natural product library, and traditional knowledge databases.
Product development laboratory
This laboratory focus on extraction of essential oils and indigenous oils, formulation of personal care products, and quality analyses of the developed products.
Research and patents
In 2002, the centre filed a
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
for two cyclopentabenzofuran compounds similar to
silvestrol
Silvestrol is a natural product from the flavagline family, with a cyclopenta enzofuran core structure and an unusual dioxane ether side chain, which is found in the bark of trees from the genus ''Aglaia'', especially '' Aglaia silvestris'' and ...
extracted from ''
Aglaia'' species that had shown anti-cancer activities in
THP-1 cell line
THP-1 is a human monocytic cell line derived from an acute monocytic leukemia patient. It is used to test leukemia cell lines in immunocytochemical analysis of protein-protein interactions, and immunohistochemistry.
Characteristics
Although ...
and
A549 cell
A549 cells are adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells, and constitute a cell line that was first developed in 1972 by D. J. Giard, et al. through the removal and culturing of cancerous lung tissue in the explanted tumor of a 58- ...
lines.
This is followed by the screening of more ''Aglaia'' samples which led to compounds that are active against
MCF-7
MCF-7 is a breast cancer cell line isolated in 1970 from a 69-year-old White woman. MCF-7 is the acronym of Michigan Cancer Foundation-7, referring to the institute in Detroit where the cell line was established in 1973 by Herbert Soule and co-wor ...
cell line and
NCI-60 The NCI-60 cancer cell line panel is a group of 60 human cancer cell lines used by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the screening of compounds to detect potential anticancer activity.
Purpose
The screening procedure is called the NCI-60 ...
cell line in 2008.
In 2006, the centre started a project called "Development of Medicinal and Aromatic Oils from Sarawak's Indigenous Plants".
From indigenous traditional knowledge documentation programme, ''
Litsea cubeba
''Litsea cubeba'', the aromatic litsea or may chang, is an evergreen tree or shrub 5–12 meters high in the family Lauraceae. It is native to Southern Chinese region including Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Taiwan and Fujian, and Southeast Asian co ...
'' tree found at
Bario
Bario is a community of 13 to 16 villages located on the Kelabit Highlands in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, lying at an altitude of 1000 m (3280 ft) above sea level. It is located close to the Sarawak-Kalimantan border, 178  ...
,
Lawas
Lawas ( ms, Pekan Lawas) is a small town and the capital of Lawas District, Limbang Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. This district area is 3,811.90 square kilometres, and population (year 2020 census) was 46,200. It is 1,200 km from the state ...
, and
Padawan municipality
The Padawan municipality is a collective name given to a subset of the Kuching District area which is not administered locally by the Kuching South City Council and the Kuching North City Hall, formerly known as Kuching Rural district. It ha ...
was used for essential oil extraction with the support from
Global Environment Facility
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (PO ...
(GEF) grant and
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
(UNDP).
The essential oil has a crisp and citrus lemony scent.
Essential oil from the plant not only shows anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties, it is also able to repel insects.
In 2011, the Sarawak Litsea tree was registered under
geographical indication
A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...
while the essential oil extract was registered under the trademark Litsara.
In 2017, Sarawak Biodiversity Centre cooperate with Interhill Group to sell Litsara products in Pullman hotels at Kuching and Miri. Over time, a range of products such as freshener, soap, shampoo, and handwash are produced from the essential oil extract.
In 2007, ''Adenosma nelsonioides'' (known as ''Bunga Ta'ang'' by the
Bidayuh
Bidayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak, Malaysia and northern West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on the island of Borneo, which are broadly similar in language and culture (see also issues below). The ...
community) was documented by Sarawak Biodiversity Centre at Padawan area. In 2014, Adenosma essential oil volatile vapour was found to have antifungal activity against ''
Ganoderma boninense'', a fungus that is harmful to oil palms. Its essential oil has a woody and herbal scent
which is described by perfumers as "spicy".
The oil also has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.
In 2015, the plant was filed for geographical indication as Sarawak Adenosma and the essential oil derived from it was trademarked as Adenosara.
In October 2020, benefit sharing agreement was signed between Sarawak Biodiversity Centre and local Bidayuh and
Iban
IBAN or Iban or Ibán may refer to:
Banking
* International Bank Account Number
Ethnology
* Iban culture
The Ibans or Sea Dayaks are a branch of the Dayak people, Dayak people on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is believed that the ...
communities.
In 2016, the centre was involved in research regarding the role of
laccase
Laccases () are multicopper oxidases found in plants, fungi, and bacteria. Laccases oxidize a variety of phenolic substrates, performing one-electron oxidations, leading to crosslinking. For example, laccases play a role in the formation of l ...
enzymes in cotton plant fibre development.
References
{{authority control
Research institutes in Malaysia
Biological research institutes
Research institutes established in 1997