The multi-volume encyclopedic work of the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, the National Leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov «Medicinal Plants of Turkmenistan», translated into many languages of the world, serves not only as a reference book for scientists and physicians, but also awakens among young people an interest in science and phytoengineering - the joint use of high potential of medicinal plants and modern innovative technologies. One of its representatives, a post-graduate student of the Institute of Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan, Berdi Berdiyev, recently received the third copyright certificate from the State Service for Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan for developing a dissertation research related to the characteristics and significance of organic compounds in endemic species of Kopetdag wormwood.
Wormwood, which the Turkmens call «yovshan», is one of the medicinal plants that mankind has been using for medical purposes for more than one millennium. Of the 32 species of wormwood found on the territory of Turkmenistan, 17 grow in the mountains and foothills of the Kopetdag, and four of them are endemic, that is, local species that are not found anywhere else. Their study with the isolation of the unique organic compounds contained in them became the subject of research by graduate student B. Berdiyev.
Extractives obtained from wormwood, which is an oil-containing plant, can be used in the medical and cosmetic industries. Together with one of his supervisors - Doctor of Chemical Sciences D. Gadamov and specialists from the Technology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan, the young scientist worked to identify various properties of organic compounds of endemic wormwood and new areas of their application.
In particular, a method was developed for the preparation of medical briquettes from the raw materials remaining after the extraction of essential oils. When they are burned, smoke is released, the main component of which is eucalyptol, which is used as a disinfectant, antiviral and antibacterial agent. From the Kopetdag endemic, a preparation for combating agricultural pests and a means for protecting mild steel from corrosion were also obtained.
Developed by scientists of the ANT Technology Centre, whose group of authors included B. Berdiyev, methods for obtaining a briquette, Asteromycin compounds, davan compounds from an endemic plant of tarragon citrus for use in cosmetology and as a mild steel corrosion inhibitor are registered by the State Service for Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Finance and Economy Turkmenistan as inventions related to medicine, in particular to pharmacy. The pharmacopoeial article received from the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan confirms the practical significance of these developments and the possibility of their medical application.
