Licensed for nationwide circulation with the indication for treating BPH in 2005 and the indication for uterine fibroids in 2007, Crila medicine from Crinum latifolium L. is a successful evidence for the modernization of traditional medicine. Enterprise Forum Newspaper had a conversation with Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram – the person spending over 20 years of her whole life pursuing research subjects on this precious herbal plant about Thien Duoc’s and her own experiences during the journey to bring this plant onto domestic and international market.

Pharmacist – Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram said that Crinum latifolium L. is a valuable medicinal plant discovered in 1990. Although it has been rumored to have therapeutic property against tumors including cancer, there has been no research on this plant. Scientific materials of many reputed specialists in botany and pharmacy such as Dr. Vo Van Chi published Crinum latifolium L. on the book ‘Dictionary of Vietnamese medicinal plants’ in 1997, but not much information about its biological effects and chemical composition. It was not until 2003 that Prof. Dr. Do Tat Loi supplemented Crinum latifolium L. into his book ‘Vietnamese medicinal plants and remedies’.

Vietnamese product with international quality

In your opinion, how can patients select a safe and efficient product while there are so many products attached to Crinum latifolium L. advertised to support tumor treatment on the market?

Our country has 7 Crinum plants that are confused with the true Crinum latifolium L. due to their identical botanical features. Therefore, many manufacturers themselves making supplements under the name of Crinum latifolium L. may be confused this correct plant with other Crinum plants, which can cause harm to patients.

Crinum latifolium L. is a novel variety that was discovered in 1990, so we need further research on the combination of this plant and others. This combination can lose therapeutic properties of Crinum latifolium L, as well as generate some toxic harming human body. Consequently, patients should choose products that are allowed to circulate by the Ministry of Health since they are medicine with high treatment efficacy and safety to their health.

Currently, Thien Duoc is the company receiving my technology transfer in Vietnam. My company also has a GACP-WHO plantation and a GMP-WHO factory. That’s the reason why Crila is a safe product with high treatment efficacy and low price for poor workers.

How about the choice of correct Crinum latifolium L. for cultivation and exploitation, Ma’am?

To find the correct Crinum latifolium L. in Vietnam for cultivation and use, you should base on its botanical morphology and distinct genetic characteristics (DNA). At present, I have registered the variety of Crinum latifolium L. for the treatment of uterine fibroids, BPH and other tumor diseases under the name Crinum latifolium L. var. crilae Tram & Khanh, var. n and its protection copyright at the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development. If any businesses like to cultivate this plant, they should have my permission.

Reportedly, Crila has been tested and certified to require the standards at Eurofins to originate from safe medicinal materials without known adulterants, GMO or allergens. Can you share the process of quality control for this product?

Crinum latifolium L. plantation in Long Thanh – Dong Nai of ThienDuoc Company is the first plantation to be certified under “Good Agriculture and Collection for medicinal plants” criterion as recommended by World Health Organization (GACP-WHO) by the Ministry of Health. We can mention some performed issues, for examples: our plantation is 1km far from main roads, not near factories, hospitals, cemeteries or residence areas to avoid pollution. In addition, this plantation has dry and hot climate, suitable soil for the plant development. We use the water meeting national standards of running water QCVN 01: 2009/BYT issued by the Ministry of Health. No chemical fertilizers, growth stimulants or pesticides are accepted. Caterpillars are caught by hands or pheromone – a synthetic substance having similar structure to the extract from female to lure male caterpillars, preventing the female laying eggs. Farming staff of ThienDuoc Company are trained to master the techniques of cultivation, collection and storing under GACP-WHO criterion. Besides, regulations of personal hygiene, processing and warehouse area are established in form of written instructions for staff to comply seriously. Other activities directly and indirectly related to the quality of medicinal materials are announced in detailed forms for staff to perform, update and record. Crinum latifolium L. by ThienDuoc Co., Ltd is clean medicinal materials, ensuring bioactivities without heavy metal and impurities.

Thanks to your passion for research and application of science into practice, Crila is a successful example of the modernization of Vietnamese traditional medicine. Is this journey full of difficulties, Ma’am?

The fact that Crila capsule has treatment efficacy for uterine fibroids at 79.5% and for BPH at 89.18% getting trust from patients is a long research process since 1990 from the study in terms of botany, chemical composition, biological effects, extraction, formulation and clinical trial. The assessment of Crila’s treatment efficacy on uterine fibroids and BPH also dealt with many obstacles. The first is that Vietnam has too many Crinum plants with the same botanical morphology also named Crinum latifolium L. Finding the correct plant which has therapeutic properties among a group of Crinum plants in Vietnam while there are too few materials about Crinum latifolium L. and identifying which group of active substances has medical properties took a long time. I have extracted active substances and succeeded in identifying therapeutic substances. It’s important to choose the right solvent system to extract medical bioactive substances exhaustively. That solvent must be non-toxic, cheap, inexplosive and not release chemical toxic to the environment. When starting to research Crinum latifolium L., Vietnam hasn’t had any equipment to determine group of new active substances. Besides, we didn’t have enough financial funds for research. However, the biggest difficulty I had to face was the fact that some western medicine doctors and scientists in the Council of Sciences – the Ministry of Health didn’t believe in the treatment efficacy of Vietnamese herbal medicine on tumor diseases. The belief that Crila is a medicine for BPH and uterine fibroids must be proved through good results of patients with disappeared tumors. To overcome this obstacle, I have a firm trust that Crila will be efficient medicine for BPH and uterine fibroids with good treatment efficacy from the research results of biological effects of alkaloids from Vietnamese Crinum latifolium L. at Hanoi University of Medicine, Bulgarian Institute of Sciences and University of Innsbruck – Austria. Since 2005 up to now, more and more patients using Crila get good results, better health, improved quality of life, decreased tumors and no need to undergo surgery. It was my effort as well as help from scientists at home and abroad that encourages me to overcome all difficulties during my research.

So, Crinum latifolium L. – one of many precious herbal plants in Vietnam will bring hope to patients with incurable diseases, but is its price suitable for poor patients, Ma’am?

Crila contributes to stabilizing domestic medicine price, creating jobs for workers and earning more foreign currency from export. In the coming future, we offer to participate in small-scale project ‘Creative innovation, tending to low-income people’ supported by World Bank. Our company is trying to complete the technological innovation, production standardization to reduce the treatment cost, bringing our products to low-income consumers.

As an enthusiast with research and production of a Vietnamese herbal plant, do you think how to exploit and use Vietnamese medicinal materials more efficiently?

From my point of view, for efficient use of Vietnamese medicinal materials, the Government should have some policies to authorize to grant land for potential enterprises in order to develop valuable medicinal materials, create the material source for manufacturers, as well as support and invest manufacturers having export potential.  Media agencies also offer some programs to introduce medicines which have been studied with high treatment efficacy and safety for patients. At present, many low-quality products in forms of supplements are advertised noisily, which makes patients confused between medicines and supplements. Therefore, people know about supplements much more than medicines.

Our country has 3,948 medicinal plants and fungi. If they are researched and developed to produce medicines for domestic community health, our country can manage medicine production from available medicinal materials like the sayings of reputed physician Tue Tinh ‘Vietnamese medicines can treat Vietnamese people’.

Thanks so much, Ma’am.
Reported by Tuyet Lan