The academic excellence of Professor Bharti Odhav who heads up the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology at DUT was celebrated during her inaugural lecture late last week at the DUT Hotel School Conference Centre, Ritson Campus.

Prof Odhav’s family, friends as well as various DUT academics including Prof Ahmed Bawa as well as faculty executive deans all gathered at the inaugural lecture to commemorate the most important milestone in the life of the outstanding academic for her significant role in sustaining research in Biotechnology and Food Technology.

Titled: A plant called medicine, Prof Odhav spoke about how more than half of the world’s population still relies entirely on plants for medicines, and how plants also served as the starting point for countless drugs on the market today.

Prof Odhav’s research interests are in the field of biotechnology and on application nanotechnology for drug delivery and drug discovery. She has been published in over 50 publications in peer reviewed journals and has taught and supervised numerous bachelors, honours, doctoral and post-doctoral students.

“Plants are responsible for all necessities we need in life and medicinal plants are divine gifts to us from Mother Nature. There 100 drugs which come from 250 000 plant species.

An example from Mother Natures’ medicine chest are plants such as Willows which are found worldwide and are used as an ingredient in aspirin for fever and pain. South Africa uses 80 percent of traditional plant medicine and Germany uses 90 percent,” she said.
Prof Odhav also spoke about the need to promote the usage of traditional medicine since more than one-third of the population in developing countries lack essential medicine, adding that traditional medicine also provides safe and effective therapies.

“Traditional medicine features in the lives of thousands of people in South Africa everyday. An estimated 75 percent of the population uses traditional medicines, yet, so many false sterotypes exist where traditional healers are concerned and their medicine (collectively called muthi). Traditional healers are the holders of healing power in the Southern African society,” said Prof Odhav.

She also said that scientific studies have verified numerous uses for traditional medicine including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anthelmintic and anticancer properties. “Recent studies show promising results in treating diabetes, arthritis and an increase in usage of traditional medicine for cancer, gout and malaria,” she said.

Currently, Prof Odhav’s research team is working on several projects, such as the production of a fruit wine using Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa (passion fruit), probiotics for aquaculture and the isolation and identification of chemical compounds from essential oils of medicinal plants in South Africa, to name but a few.

Prof Bawa said Prof Odhav is an outstanding scientist, who has worked tirelessly to relate the importance of plants as a source of medicine. “Her work is extremely important, her expertise is of national repute. She has initiated a strong research culture in the Faculty of Applied Sciences and plays a significant role in nurturing the careers and minds of colleagues and young people.

She has contributed to developing research capacity of her department, making tremendous contributions to the university and scientific community through exposure and linkages with national institutions in India, China and the USA,” he said.

Other colleagues also expressed their jubilation upon her receiving her full Professorship. Prof Suren Singh; Applied Sciences Executive Dean, who has known Prof Odhav for about 30 years said her research outputs together, with her funding and collaborations, will remain unsurpassed at DUT, placing her as ‘the female research icon.’

Adding praise to her achievements, Prof Theo Andrews, Engineering and the Built Environment Executive Dean said Prof Odhav was one of the few academics who led the path for developing excellent scholarship. “Her scientific competence and quest for excellence, social conscience, empathetic attitude towards students and her excellent mentoring ability earned her the respect of her undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as that of her colleagues,” he said.

-Waheeda Peters

Pictured: Prof Bharti Odhav explains her research about medicinal plants during her inaugural lecture.