Local Pharma industry spends a significant portion of its budget on importingraw materials especially starch. Starchis a white powder, mainly used in the production of many common medicines including tablets and capsules. It can be used as a binder, disintegrant, and filler. However, the country mainlyrelies on imported maize starch, facing economicand practical challenges.
This article shares recent finding from a PhD study conducted on developing native and modified starches from locally sourced natural plants with the aim of reducing the dependency on imported starches and introducing sustainable alternatives. These plants include Water lily seeds (Olu), Lotus seeds (Nelum),two modified varieties of Red and White Rice, and native yams;Katu ala and Innala.
Why Replace Maize Starch?
Maize starch has long been the preferred excipient in the pharmaceutical industry due to its availability and functionality. However, countries like Sri Lanka continuerelying on imported maize starch mainly from countries like India and Thailand,facing multiple challenges.It is imported at a high cost, and delays or shortages in supply chains may greatly affect local pharmaceutical production. Pharmaceutical companies are heavily impacted financially by the importation ofraw materials like maize starch.
The price of imported starch is still going up due to rising global prices, currency fluctuations,and transportation costs. This has a direct effect on the price of essential medicines, making them less affordable for patients.
Additionally, local maize production is insufficient to meet the country’s starch requirementdue tothe need of specific cultivation conditions, large land areas, and resources in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, therecent reports of allergic reactions and solubility issues associated with maize starch indicate that it is not the bestto use as an excipient. Given this background, Sri Lanka’s pharmaceutical industry is in need of more locally run and sustainable alternatives to the imported starches.
The Local Advantage
Sri Lanka is rich in plants that produce starch. Yams; Innala (Solenostemonrotundifolius) and Katu ala (Dioscorea pentaphylla), Rice (Oryza sativa);BW 312 and BW BLB 72-1, Olu (Nymphaea pubescens) and Nelum(Nelumbo nucifera) have long been consumed as food can also beusedto produce industrial-grade starch. In this study, starchwas extracted from several local sources following a simple extraction technique. To improve their performance further, these extracted starches were modified using simple and low-cost methodssuch as heating (pregelatinisation) and gentle chemical treatments (acetylation and oxidation).
These modifications enhance the original physical and chemical properties of starch. Compared to native starch, modified starch showsdistinct behaviour. Modified starch can bind drug particles better, break into particles and dissolve more quickly when swallowed, and enhance the strength and consistency of tablets. By using abundantly available local plants with high yield of starch and applying low-cost modification techniques present a viable pathway to reduce dependency on imported starches, lower importation and medicine production costs, and support the growth of a self-sufficient, economically sustainable healthcare sector in Sri Lanka.
Testing the Performance
These locally produced starches were assessed for their physical and chemical properties and drug-excipient compatibilities, and in order to assess their safety and efficacy with commonly used medicines. To test their performance, these starches were used to formulate paracetamol tablets,one of the most commonly used medicationsby patients in Sri Lanka.The outcomes of the study were beneficial showing better starch mixing ability with other ingredients (flowability), easily forming solid tablets with less risk of breaking and crumbling (compressibility), helping tablets to break and dissolve quickly and faster drug release in the body (disintegration and swelling ability),and ensuring no unfavourablechemical interactions that could compromise the effectiveness of the drug (drug-excipient compatibility).
The study findings indicated that these starches work well as a binder, disintegrant, and filler at different concentration levels, fulfilling multifunctional behaviour within a single, locally sourced ingredient. These starches showed not only functionally comparable or betterthan maize starch, but also substantially more cost-effective due to their local availability, high yield and reduced processing, and transportation costs.
Step Towards Self-Reliance
The absence of published data or on-going commercial initiatives related to industrial levelstarch production within Sri Lanka was a key difficulty that we faced. This highlights the clear research and development gap and opportunity for local development. If scaled up, this research could contribute to Sri Lanka becoming self-sufficient and self-reliant not only in the production of pharmaceutical excipientsbut also in the food-grade ingredients.
This is a practical and sustainable approach since Sri Lanka is rich in starch-producing plants and it makes use of local crops that are already widely cultivated or easily grown. These plants do not require specific conditions to grow, and most of them are already well-known in rural communities.
Broader Impact
This study is not merely a scientific breakthrough; it has practicalapplicationsby opening the doors to reduce medicine production costs, strengthening the local Pharma industries, and improving access to affordable medicines through the use of locally sourced starch alternatives. It can help to cut down importation costs and save millions of dollars to balance the pharmaceutical trade deficit.
Encouraging the use of local starch sources could createnew income opportunities for farmers and empower their communities. Healthcare security improves with a reliable, local supply of quality starch, reducing interruptions in medicine production. This study provides clear facts and numbers that can help the governmentto make better decisions to support local raw material production for the pharmaceuticalindustry and encourages the local expertise in starch processing and pharmaceutical excipient technology.
Moving Forward
We have taken the first step with this research, but the collaboration and collective actions areessential for a real change to unlock the potential of locally sourced starches. Not only scientists and researchers, but also pharmaceutical companies, funding bodies, agricultural stakeholders, and policymakers must collaborate to increase local starch production, set quality standards, and make investments in manufacturing infrastructure.
Food and pharmaceutical companies need to be encouraged to use and experiment with locally sourced native and modified starches in their formulations in order to reduce the dependence on imported starches. It is important to train and support farmers, entrepreneurs,and agricultural cooperativesin using sustainable farming techniquesto cultivate starch-rich crops like yams, rice, lotus and water lily on a large scale.
The government and regulatory bodies can promote pharmaceutical-grade starchesby developing national standards andquality testing facilities,providing tax incentives and funds to companies that purchasetheir raw materials locally.Sri Lanka possesses the natural resources and scientific capability. Therefore, these scientific findings would undoubtedly strengthen the country’s economy.
By
Prof. Dilanthi Herath
University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Prof.Banukie Jayasuriya
University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Senior Professor RN Pathirana
Kotelawala Defence University
Upekshi Kankanamge
Kotelawala Defence University
