Meconium Drug Testing: method of testing infants for exposure to drugs during pregnancy - discovered and developed by a Filipino

Meconium

Meconium is the earliest stools of a mammalian infant. Unlike later feces, meconium is composed of materials ingested during the time the infant spends in the uterus: intestinal epithelial cells, lanugo,mucus, amniotic fluid, bile, and water. Meconium begins to form between the 12th and 16th week of gestation. Meconium is normally stored in the infant's bowel until after birth, but sometimes it is expelled into the amniotic fluid (also called "amniotic liquor") prior to birth or during labor and delivery. The stained amniotic fluid (called "meconium liquor" or "meconium stained liquor") is recognised by medical staff as a sign of fetal distress, and puts the neonate at risk of meconium aspiration. Medical staff may aspirate the meconium from the nose and mouth of a newborn immediately after delivery in the event the baby shows signs of respiratory distress to decrease the risk of meconium aspiration syndrome.

Dr. Enrique “Buddy” Ostrea pre-discovery

The use of meconium in the testing the mother’s abuse of drugs during the course of pregnancy is pioneered by Dr. Enrique “Buddy” Ostrea, a Filipino medical doctor known for his researches in pediatrics. He studied medicine in the University if the Philippines specializing Pathology and Pediatrics where he graduated cum laude in 1965.

He had chosen pediatrics because he wants to study not just the illnesses of infants and children but also their development.  After he graduated, he spent his first years of being a doctor in the Philippine General Hospital and cured mostly adult patients. Due to this, he thought of studying in the United States and landed in Boston Children's Hospital Medical Center in Harvard University in 1969. Dr. Ostrea learned various approaches in the field of medicine. Here, he learned how to do autopsy in deceased person to know the exact cause of his death. He also found out that knowing ten types and cases of illnesses in not enough, a doctor must do further readings and does research about the nature of the particular type of disease.

One event that opened another opportunity of his life of being a doctor was having met a child diagnosed with diabetes insipidus that come-and-go to the hospital for the treatment of the disease. He found out that the patient has a low serum potassium level which is not a common condition of the disease. He did extensive readings and research on the illness until he discovered that the condition of the child is the same with the symptom of the Bartter’s syndrome. He told his discovery to the child’s attending physician and he recommended the patient to undergo serum rennin test (serum rennin is a kind of hormone from the kidney). Coincidentally, the expert in rennin was located in a nearby hospital (Peter Bent Brigham Hospital), Dr. John Merrill. He proved that the claim of Dr. Buddy is correct. The level of the child’s rennin is high and the child’s disease is Bartter’s Syndrome contrary to the early diagnosis. This event paved the way in earning a fellowship in Neonatology (a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn infants) in 1972 in John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland where he was under the supervision of Dr. Gerald B. Odell, an expert in bilirubin (commonly related to jaundice). He learned more in being detailed in the laboratory, investigating for facts and doing extensive scientific data evaluation.

In the following years, he was able to work in Children's Hospital of Michigan. He was granted with a high salary, free fare, and access to advanced laboratory equipment, apparatus and facilities.

The Research

Dr. Buddy continued to serve in different hospitals in the US until he became colleague with Dr. Stryker who studied the effect of opium in pregnant monkeys. After the mother monkeys gave birth to their youngs, Dr. Stryker gave Dr. Buddy the newborn monkeys to study the effect of opium accumulation in infant monkeys. Dr. Buddy’s hypothesis was that the opium accumulated and has an effect in the newborn’s brain, liver and kidney. He was not able to include the possibility of the accumulation in intestines and stomach. He nearly forgot to include these parts in his experiment yet he accidentally found the opium in the intestine. Better he was able to remember the statement: If the data does not agree with the hypothesis, then the hypothesis is false.

These findings served as the basis of his recommendation that the first stool (meconium) of newborn infants is the best sample to test the effect of drug taken by the pregnant mother. It was in the year 1992 that he was given funding worth $100,000 by the Michigan Department of Public Health to do further research and prove his claim that drug accumulation can be effectively found in meconium compared to saliva, urine,or in the blood of the infant. After a successful research, he called a press conference that made his discovery known to the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

He invented the Mec test kit or Meconium Test Kit to test if the mother is taking drugs like cocaine, opium, marijuana or being exposed with nicotine through smoking in the course of pregnancy.

Patents

Dr. Enrique Ostrea received US patents #5015589 and patent #5185267 for methods of testing infants for exposure to drugs or alcohol during pregnancy. The abstracts are as follows:

• US 5015589 A: Method for detecting maternally transferred drug metabolites in newborn infants

Abstract: A method for detecting the presence of drug metabolites in the meconium of newborn infants is described. The method involves separation of the drug metabolites from meconium in solution and then assaying the solution for the presence of the drug metabolites. The method is particularly useful for detection of cocaine, morphine and cannabinoids; however, any drug metabolite in the infant meconium can be tested. Conventional assay methods are used for the drug metabolites in the solutions derived from the meconium. The method provides for early detection of drug presence in infants which contribute to infant illness.

• US 5185267 A: Method for detecting maternally transferred drug metabolites in newborn infants

Abstract: An improved method for detecting the presence of durg metabolites in the meconium of newborn infants is described. The method involves a single step extraction of the drug metabolites from meconium using a buffered aqueous solution containing methanol in an amount between about 10 and 30% by volume and buffered to a pH between 6 and 7 and then assaying the extract individually for the presence of the drug metabolites. The method is particularly useful for detection of cocaine, morphine, cannabinoid and amphetamine metabolites; however, any drug metabolite in the infant meconium can be tested if it is extracted by the solution from the meconium. Various assay methods are used for the drug metabolites in the solutions derived from the meconium, including immunoassays, fluorescent assays and mass spectroscopy. The method provides for early detection of drug presence in newborn infants which contribute to infant illness.

The Meconium Drug Testing

Meconium drug testing can detect maternal drug use during the last 4 to 5 months of pregnancy. A negative result does not exclude the possibility that a mother used drugs during pregnancy. Detection of drug use depends on the quantity and quality of the specimen tested as well as the pattern and frequency of drug(s) used by the mother. Although not likely, drugs administered during labor and delivery may be detected in meconium. Interpretive questions should be directed to the laboratory.  The concentration at which the screening test can detect a drug or metabolite varies within a drug class. The concentration value must be greater than or equal to the cutoff to be reported as positive.

Dr. Ostrea’s meconium drug-testing formula is now widely used by hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. The formula detects the presence of prohibited drugs – such as narcotics like morphine, shabu, marijuana and opium – in the baby’s first poops (meconium), which is a green matter. High concentration of any of these drugs or a combination of these drugs in the meconium shows that the mother had been taking the drugs while she was pregnant. There are several adverse effects of the fetus’s exposure to these drugs which include abnormal development, caesarian delivery and cerebral palsy.

The first of its kind to be used by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), Ostrea’s formula can also be applied in other medical fields. His continuing clinical-chemistry research found that his formula can detect the presence of toxins, nicotine, non-narcotics drugs and other substances in the meconium. High concentration of toxins in the tot’s first stool indicates that the mother had been exposed to environmental toxic elements from insecticides and/or herbicides. Doctor Ostrea said that the exposure of a pregnant mother to the excessive use of home insecticides, like Baygon, may cause the abnormal development of the fetus’s motor system.

This particular finding seems to give credence to reports from the Philippines that some babies in localities in Mindanao, where there are large banana and pineapple plantations, were born with physical defects. These plantations have been extensively using insecticides, including DDT, to control pests. Doctor Ostrea said that a series of field tests he had conducted at the Bulacan Provincial Hospital in the Philippines validated earlier findings of the lethal effects of pesticides on children.

Likewise, the formula can determine the presence of nicotine in the meconium. A pregnant mother who is a heavy smoker is exposing her fetus to nicotine, which contains, among others, carcinogenic elements. Second-hand and third-hand cigarette smoke has the same adverse effects on babies, although in lesser degree. Doctor Ostrea, who is a professor of pediatrics at Wayne State University, advised parents that when they come home from work or parties where smoking is tolerated, they should change their clothes before they hug their baby. The cigarette smoke sticks to clothes, he said.

Dr. Ostrea became rich for his discovery and invention?

Today, the meconium drug testing formula that Dr. Ostrea discovered and developed is widely used in hospitals and pharmaceutical industries, but did he receive large amount of money for it? It is sad to say that he is not profiting at all from his invention, which is the product of his 10-year-long research on meconium (infant’s first stool) and mothers who take drugs during pregnancy.

“Many people may think that I am now a rich man because of my patented drug testing,” he told a motley crowd who attended his recent lecture at the Philippine American Community Center of Michigan (PACCM) in Southfield. “The truth is that I am not rich because I’m not making any money from it.”

He had secured a patent for his very useful invention, but the infringement on his patent was widespread and rampant. If he goes after the violators, he would be caught up in a gargantuan legal tangle that would require much of his time and resources. Thus, he cancelled his plan to fight for his rights in court.

Did he try to find out how much money the people illegally using his invention are raking in? He said, “No, I did not because I do not want to know how much I’m missing.” This indicates that for Doctor Ostrea, whose father hails from Balaoan, La Union, money is not everything. But he is happy in the thought that the product of his painstaking research for 10 long years at Wayne State University has become a big boost to the efforts to improve healthcare of people all over the world.

Source: http://www.filipinostarnews.net/opinion/plain-rice/why-doctor-ostrea-is-not-a-rich-man.html

            http://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/path_handbook/handbook/test2732.html
                http://inventors.about.com/od/astartinventors/a/Asian_Inventors.htm
            http://www.google.com/patents/US5015589 
            http://www.google.com/patents/US5185267
            http://www.childrensdmc.org/enriqueostrea
            http://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Ostrea
            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neonatology
            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meconium

Induce fruiting of mangoes by spraying with Potassium nitrate discovered by a Filipino

Mango is one of the most priced tropical fruit in the world. Technically, mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. It is native to Asia such as India, Philippines, Pakistan and Bangadesh. It has been distributed worldwide to become one of the most cultivated fruits.

Mango Consumption

Mangoes are generally sweet, although the taste and texture of the flesh varies across cultivars, some having a soft, pulpy texture similar to an overripe plum, while the flesh of others is firmer, like a cantaloupe or avocado, or may have a fibrous texture. Mangoes are widely used in cuisine. In the Philippines, unripe mangoes may be eaten with bagoong. Dried strips of sweet, ripe mango (sometimes combined with seedless tamarind to form mangorind) are also popular. Mangoes may be used to make juices, mango nectar, and as a flavoring and major ingredient in ice cream and sorbetes, and milkshakes. Sweet glutinous rice is flavored with coconut, then served with sliced mango as a dessert. In other parts of Southeast Asia, mangoes are pickled with fish sauce and rice vinegar. Green mangoes can be used in mango salad with fish sauce and dried shrimp. Mango with condensed milk may be used as a topping for shaved ice.

Eating mango fruits are good for one’s health. Raw mango consists of about 81.7% water, 17% carbohydrate, 0.5% protein, 0.3% fat, and 0.5% ash. A 100 g (3.5 oz) serving of raw mango has 65 calories and about half the vitamin C found in oranges. Mango contains more vitamin A than most fruits.

Production and Cultivation

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates worldwide production at nearly 35,000,000 tonnes (39,000,000 short tons) in 2009. The aggregate production of the top 10 countries is responsible for roughly 80% of worldwide production. India is the biggest producer of mangoes.

Mango tree is well adopted to tropical and subtropical environmental conditions. It can be cultivated until up to 1300 m above mean sea level. However, commercial cultivations are limited to areas below 600 m above mean sea level. Optimum temperature for mango cultivation is 27-30C. Mango is successfully cultivated in areas where annual rainfall range from 500-2500 mm. For a successful crop, most important thing is the distribution of rainfall rather than the amount. A dry period of 3-4 months is an essential prerequisite for successful flowering of mango. Rains at flowering may affect yield due to pollen wash off. Mango can be cultivated in a wide range of soil conditions. A well drained soil with 2 M depth is the best. Soil pH must be 5.5-6.5. Soils with high clay content or with frequent water logging are not suitable for successful cultivation of mango.

However, erratic fruiting habits make mango cultivation challenging: being very seasonal, mango trees bear fruit only one month in a whole year. Sometimes they bear fruit well in one year, but do not bear fruit at all in the next year. To overcome these challenges and make mango cultivation more commercially viable, in the early 1970s Philippine horticulturalist Dr. Ramon Barba set out to develop a chemical solution to induce early flowering in mango plants.

Research and Development of Potassium nitrate Flower Induction

Already as a student, Dr. Barba, who holds degrees in plant propagation and horticulture, was very interested in the problems of mango production: “We already had a unique practice in the Philippines of using smoke to bring on flowering. But it was a tedious practice, and expensive. So as students we were all thinking, ‘how can we make the mango flower?’” he recalls.

During in his years as a BS in Agriculture student in the University of the Philippines Los Banos in Laguna, he did research and established that the presence of ethylene in the smoke was responsible for the flowering effect. “But you cannot just use ethylene – it is a gas, you would have to cover the tree”, Dr. Barba points out. So, he started experimenting with other chemicals: “Potassium nitrate was low on the list, but I included it because I know from other studies that there is a link between potassium nitrate and ethylene”, he says.

To deepen and continue his research, he entered and got a scholarship in the University of Georgia where he had done various experiments to induce flowering of plants using gibberillic acid and Potassium nitrate. He finished his degree in MS in Horticulture (with distinction) in the year 1962. He continued his studies in the East-West Center in Hawaii and got his doctorate degree in Plant Physiology, specializing in Tropical Fruits and Tissue Culture in 1967.

He encountered many criticisms of his proposal to induce flowering of mangoes. However, with the help of Mr. and Mrs. Jose Quimson of Quimara Farms in San Antonio, he had continued his research. Out of 400 trees of 10-20 years old, he succeeded in conducting his experiments and got good results. Mango trees bear flowers from 1 week to a month after being sprayed with Potassium nitrate. “The process was very simple. You just get one kilo of potassium nitrate, put it in 100 liters of water, spray it on the plant once – and within a week you can see the buds forming. In two weeks the buds are already forming into flowers. It was... unprecedented. I have never seen any reaction so spectacular”, he said. Spraying mango trees with the liquid doubles or triples the yield, in addition to making them fruit at different times of the year.

In further research, Dr. Barba analyzed whether forcing mango trees beyond normal fruiting had any impact on them and found that they were affected: “After eight years of induction they are 15 percent smaller than those that are not treated. But there was no bad effect, no damage to the mango. Trees that have been sprayed with potassium nitrate for more than 30 years are still producing”, he reports. He published his research in a paper entitled Induction of Flowering of the Mango by Chemical Spray.

Patents

Overjoyed with his revolutionary invention that any grower could use, Dr. Barba completely forgot to protect his discovery: “I forgot all about the patenting aspect – until I read in the paper that somebody else had patented potassium nitrate for mango flower induction. I said, ‘But how can this be? I think I discovered it; everybody in the scientific community thinks I discovered it; and here it is patented!’”

He immediately contacted the Philippine patent office, who confirmed that they had received an application, but that no patent had been granted yet. With the help of a lawyer, he applied for a patent and contested the existing application. “Fortunately because of the records I had, I could show that the invention was mine. So the process went through and the patent office gave me the patent”, he recalls.

However, he is well aware of the risk he incurred in not protecting his invention straight away: “If a patent had been granted, then the other person would own my invention. I would not be recognized as the inventor, so would lose the credit scientifically and lose any financial possibility”.

During the process, he learnt that patents can do many things: “Patenting both protects your rights and helps you make the benefits of your invention available. Patents give some inspiration because the reward is there, and the recognition. In the Philippines there needs to be more information, more education about it. If we could introduce the subject in school science classes it would be a big step”, he says.

Business Results

The use of potassium nitrate to induce flowering in mango plants has revolutionized the Philippine mango industry: “It has been said that no single plant commodity has benefited as much from a single technology as the mango has from potassium nitrate induction. From 1974, when it was virtually neglected, it has become our number one fruit crop”, reports Dr. Barba. “The effects are felt in all areas related to mango production. Everybody has benefited: the companies selling pest control chemicals, the people who harvest, the people who package, the people who bring the fruit to market, and the people who make baskets for mangoes”, he continues.

Today, with an annual production of about 900,000 tons, the Philippines are among the top ten mango producers worldwide, making the crop one of the country’s top exports. Dr. Barba’s mango flower induction method is now used in many countries around the world. He has received numerous prestigious awards for his research, including the IBM-DOST Award in 1989, the DA-Khush Achievement Award in 1995, the Crop Science Society of the Philippines Best Paper Award in 1974 and 1981, and the Gamma Sigma Delta Achievement Award in 1995. What he finds most rewarding is the impact of his discovery: “I am very proud of having invented the potassium nitrate technology. As a scientist, I feel that one technology that has a positive impact on agriculture justifies a lifetime of research”.

One Creative Idea, One Patent, Many Positive Effects

Patenting helped Dr. Barba disseminate his invention: the security that he had all the rights to his discovery enabled him to share his technology with a maximum number of people by choosing not to enforce his patent. His ingenuity has contributed to increasing food security and has benefited a wide range of communities involved with mango growing, in particular in developing countries, where most mangoes are grown.

Source: http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2008/03/article_0001.html

            http://www.wipo.int/ipadvantage/en/details.jsp?id=2516

            http://www.agridept.gov.lk/index.php/en/crop-recommendations/1087

            http://www.extento.hawaii.edu/kbase/crop/crops/i_mango.htm

            http://www.nabard.org/modelbankprojects/plantation.asp

            http://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Barba

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mango

Banana Ketchup/Catsup - delicious Filipino product and innovation

Filipinos are known for ingenuity and innovativeness. We work on what we have. We tend to be contended with the resources available. However, we are still capable of creating and developing things that some changed the shape of the world.

During the Second World War (WWII), destruction in many areas of the Philippines was evident. Filipino lives at the time were miserable. Roam from place to place to hide from the Japanese invaders. Necessary things were scarce – food, medicines, clothing, utensils. But Philippines is blessed with natural resources, many flora and fauna are endemic to us and not totally destroyed during the war. 

Due to the shortage of imported goods, Filipinos are dependent on the resources at hand. Condiments and food flavoring were modified. One of these modifications was done in catsup or ketchup. Catsup is introduced to the Philippines by the Americans and originally made from tomatoes. Yet, tomatoes at that time were in short of supply. Thus, a Filipino food technologist, chemist, pharmacist, humanitarian and a war heroin Maria Ylagan-Orosa formulated ketchup from bananas together with her other developed food products such as calamansi nip, a desiccated and powdered form of calamansi that could be used to make calamansi juice, banana ketchup, and a powdered preparation of soya-beans called Soyalac, a "magic food" preparation which helped save the lives of thousands of Filipinos, Americans, and other nationals who were held prisoner in different Japanese concentration camps during World War II. She also made contributions in the culinary realm and taught proper preservation methods for native dishes such as adobo, dinuguan, kilawin and escabeche.

Maria Orosa invented the recipe for banana ketchup following the tomato ketchup recipe, more or less. She used a banana variety known as Saba’, vinegar, sugar and spices. Basically, the product is not very appealing because it doesn’t look like the traditional ketchup. It has brownish color. Thus, recent developments in banana ketchup added dye to the sauce to make it more appealing and look like the original tomato counterpart.

Banana ketchup is an ubiquitous condiment in Filipino households and part can be a part in a wide variety of dishes - omelettes (torta), hotdogs, burgers, fries, fish and other meats. It is also a vital and distinct ingredient in Filipino-style spaghetti (sweeter than the traditional Italian spaghetti).

Today, banana catsup are being one of the famous Filipino food product that foreigners admire. It comes in different variety like the hot and spicy version. It is marketed in the brands of Del Monte, UFC, Papa, Jufran, Baron, among others; and exported to countries where considerable Filipino population are located such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Hong Kong, France, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand.

Source: http://www.lemanger.fr/en/index.php/saba-banana-can-do-anything-even-ketchup/          
            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Y._Orosa
            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_ketchup

ASCOF Lagundi - medicine for cough and asthma: a pure Filipino product

As interest in phytomedicines continues to grow, both patients and physicians alike are searching for new products that are as reliable as traditional alternatives, based on their quality, safety, and efficacy.

In the Philippines, the leading proponent of phytomedicines is backed by a company with 63 years of experience in the field of pharmaceuticals, the Pascual Laboratories, Inc. who introduced to the country an organic and all-natural cough and asthma remedy, ASCOF Lagundi, derived from the lagundi plant (Vitex negundo L.) and now available in syrup, tablet, and capsule forms.

Raw Material

Lagundi (Vitex negundo L.) leaves is the main component of the ASCOF Lagundi cough and asthma medicine. It is a large native shrub that grows in the Philippines. Lagundi has been traditionally used as herbal medicine by Philippine folks. Filipino mothers would boil freshly-picked green leaves and strain them to produce an herbal tea, which is then given to an ailing member of the family. The efficacy of Lagundi has also been verified by the Philippine Department of Health and other Philippine based scientists which concentrated on its use to ease respiratory complaints.

Lagundi is generally used for the treatment of coughs, asthma symptoms, and other respiratory problems. It is also known for its analgesic effect that helps alleviate pain and discomfort. Other traditional benefits that are derived from the use of Lagundi are as follows:

• relief of asthma & pharyngitis
• recommended relief of rheumatism, dyspepsia, boils, diarrhea
• treatment of cough, colds, fever and flu and other bronchopulmonary disorders
• alleviate symptoms of chicken pox
• removal of worms, and boils

History, Manufacturing and Marketing

During World War II, the country was devastated and, as a result, many Filipinos fell ill and were badly in need of medicine. It was sometime in 1946 that the husband-and-wife team of Isosceles and Leonora Pascual, who both graduated from the University of the Philippines with degrees in Chemistry, put up Pascual Laboratories in a single-room facility in their home on Balut, Tondo. Together, they developed products to treat tuberculosis and vitamin deficiency—two of the most pressing health concerns back then—in order to help thousands of people all over the country.

Eight years later, they produced antibiotics, as well as cardiovascular medicines. At about the same time, Pascuallab changed from a single proprietorship to a corporation, and strategic partnerships were formed with foreign-based principals. In the 1970s the manufacturing plant moved from Tondo to Bulacan and its head office was established in Edsa, where the marketing and distribution of products were devolved to Pharex.

Through the years, the effectiveness of Lagundi was proven through intensive studies in modern medicine led by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). Recognizing the efficacy of Lagundi as a natural remedy for cough and asthma, Pascual Laboratories (PascualLab), in collaboration with the National Integrated Research Program of Medicinal Plants (NIRPROMP) introduced ASCOF Lagundi as the first herbal medicine in the country in 1996. Licensed by the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) and DOST.

This became the company’s major thrust. A major reorganization happened at Pascual, wherein Metro Drug was assigned as product distributor, Pharex was appointed to market the Pascuallab generic products, and the Consumer Products Division was established. ASCOF Lagundi is currently the most successful phytomedicine (or plant-based therapeutic product) in the Philippines.

The initial production of ASCOF Lagundi that began over a decade ago was done through a technology transfer from the DOST and NIRPROMP. This made it possible for PascualLab to manufacture quality medicine from organic lagundi leaves. ASCOF Lagundi is currently the most successful phytomedicine (or plant-based therapeutic product) in the Philippines. Syrups, capsules, and tablets are available in drugstores nationwide.

Product Description and Indication

ASCOF Lagundi tablet and syrup is the only extensively researched and clinically proven natural medicine for cough and asthma in the Philippines. ASCOF Lagundi is natural. 

• Made from 100% Lagundi leaves which were nurtured organically in a quality-certified farm untainted by synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
• ASCOF Lagundi is safe. 
• No side effects were reported in the clinical trials for the syrup.
• No known contraindications.
• No risk of overdose. 

ASCOF Lagundi is clinically-proven effective. ASCOF Lagundi relieves cough through a "three way alis-ubo action": 

• Bronchodilating effect (lumuluwag)
• Mucolytic (natutunaw)
• Anti-histaminic / Cough Relief (gumiginhawa)

And since it is natural, you won't experience the harmful side effects of common chemical cough and asthma drugs.

It is used for the relief of cough due to common colds and flu. It also used in the treatment of bronchospasm in acute bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis & other bronchopulmonary disorder. It is also prescribed for the relief of reversible, mild to moderate bronchospasm (prophylactic/maintenance medication) in adults & children w/ obstructive airway disease.

Current Thrust

Today, the company is into backward integration through the planting, harvesting and processing of herbal medicines in its certified organic farm in Nueva Ecija. PascualLab is the only local pharmaceutical company in the country today with an advanced herbal research facility that is tasked to study and develop technology for phytomedicines, thereby opening up a world of possibilities in the future of healthcare. "With our second-generation technology, our production process is more efficient and more standardized, ensuring that ASCOF’s phytoactive contents are consistent in every batch that is produced. It is now the second-largest Filipino pharmaceutical company that has been providing employment to families, and has broken into the Top 10 of the largest pharmaceutical companies operating in the Philippines based on a pharmaceutical and health-care report during the first and second quarters of 2009.

PascualLab takes quality care to the next level by developing more advanced production technologies for ASCOF. It’s Herbal R&D and Product & Process Development team collaborates with independent medical and research institutions and consultants both here and abroad, to continuously improve its products. PascualLab is committed to intensify its researches on lagundi, and is set to launch new product innovations within the year.

Source: http://ascof.com.ph

            http://medicalhealthguide.com

            http://www.science.ph

            http://alum.up.edu.ph

            http://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph

Jeepney - only in the Philippines

When you say “Jeepney”,  it means only one place --- Philippines. Jeepney is a Filipino innovative public utility vehicle (PUV) and the most popular means of public transportation in the country though it come in many variants. They are dubbed as the "King of the Road" and known for their crowded seating and flamboyant decorations, which have become a ubiquitous symbol of Philippine culture and art.  However, this transportation is proof of the Filipinos’ creativity and ability to improvise technology into more useful forms.

History

When American troops began to leave the Philippines at the end of WWII, hundreds of surplus jeeps were sold or given to the Filipinos. The jeeps were stripped down and altered by the locals; metal roofs were added for shade; and they decorated the vehicles with vibrant colors with chrome-plated ornaments on the sides and hood. They reconfigured the back seat into two long parallel benches with passengers facing each other to accommodate more passengers. Its size, length and passenger capacity had increased as it evolved though the years.These were classified as passenger-type jeeps. The non-extended, original-seat configuration jeeps were labeled owners, short for owner-type jeeps, and are used non-commercially. The original jeepneys were refurbished military jeeps by Willys & Ford. Modern jeepneys are now produced with surplus engines and parts coming from Japan.

Manufacturers

Unfinished jeepney in Sarao Motors Assembly Area ( 06-27-2013)

The brand name that has actually come to mean jeepney is Sarao, the company that first started making them in 1953 and became famous the world over for doing so. Before the growth of backyard builders, Sarao Motors and Francisco Motors, both in Las Piñas were the largest manufacturers of jeepneys. Other current independently owned small jeepney workshops and factories include Tandenrich Motors (Nagcarlan, Laguna), Armak Motors (San Pablo, Laguna), Celestial Motors (San Pablo, Laguna), Hebron Motors, LGS Motors, Malagueña (Imus City), Mega (Lipa City), and Morales Motors (San Mateo, Rizal. Another manufacturer, PBJ Motors, manufactured jeepneys in Pampanga using techniques derived from Sarao Motors. Armak now sells remanufactured trucks and vehicles as an adjunct, alongside its jeepneys. The largest manufacturer of vintage-style army jeepneys is MD Juan.

In the central island of Cebu, the bulk of jeepneys are built from second-hand Japanese trucks, originally intended for cargo. These are euphemistically known as "surplus" trucks. Popular jeepney manufacturers in Cebu are Chariot and RDAK, known for its "flat-nosed" jeepneys made from surplus Suzuki minivans and Isuzu Elf trucks, which are no longer in use in Japan. These are equipped with high-powered sound systems, racing themes, and are allegedly bigger and taller than those in Manila.

In Iloilo City, jeepneys called passad are known for being replicas of sedans or pickup trucks. The vehicles' body has a much lower profile which resembles more of a sedan chassis with an elongated body.

Nelson type jeepneys are manufactured in Davao City and are known there as "uso-uso". The designs of these jeepneys are very different from the traditional style. These jeepneys feature modern front grille and body designs, lowered ride height, and industrial quality paint jobs. Newer models of Nelson type jeepneys feature chrome wheels, equipped with radial tubeless tires.

Many local manufacturers are moving to build modern-looking jeepneys such as Hummer-look-alikes and oversized Toyota van-style passenger jeepneys with Toyota headlights, hoods and bumpers. Manufacturers in Nueva Ecija also started making jeepneys with fronts resembling AUVs like the Honda CR-V or the Toyota Tamaraw.

Jeepney's Unique and Attractive Design

Jeepney's typical interior decorations

What makes these Philippine jeepneys attractive are the decorations that adorn its exterior and interior. The various ornaments used include moving horse figurines, flags, colorful and blinking lights, mirrors, paintings and stickers with various sayings ranging from the funny to the serious ones. Stereos that play loud music are another attraction in the PUJs which many young passengers go for. Other improvisations have also been made such as buttons on the interior’s walls which passengers have to push to make the driver stop the jeepney. Sometimes, the pushing of the button will coincide with the blinking of a light or a sound that will alert the driver. If not a push button, a string to be pulled is another way of making the PUJ stop once reaching your destination.

Future of Jeepney

Recently, the jeepney industry has faced threats to its survival in its current form. Most of the larger builders have gone bankrupt or have switched to manufacturing other products because of the economic situation, with the smaller builders, forced to go out of business. Jeepneys are now facing stiff competition against other transportation modes such as taxis, buses, rapid transits and other. Passenger jeepneys are also facing increasing restrictions and regulations for pollution control, as they increase traffic volume and consume lots of fuel. Thus, jeepney manufacturers think of jeepney designs that meet the current trend in Filipino society today especially environmental and economical concerns.

Jeepney generations can be classified according to structural and design enhancements. 

• Second Generation: Fully assembled from refurbished engines, some also have air-conditioning units, most popularly in Makati City. Most of these jeepneys have radically expanded passenger capacities, and are flamboyant and noisy. Many jeeps from this generation are notorious for belching smoke and almost all run on diesel fuel.
• Third Generation: These are jeepneys manufactured using new engine components. Many of these come with improved air-conditioning and closely resemble a minibus.
• Future generations: Here, E-jeepneys comes into play. The E-jeepney, short for electrical jeepney, was the brainchild of Green Renewable Independent Power Producers, Inc. or GRIPP in partnership with Mr Robert Puckett, President of Solar Electric Company in the Philippines. Primary manufacturer of e-jeepneys in the Philippines is the PhUV Inc ., the business arm of the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Assn. of the Phils. (MVPMAP). It is equipped with either a 5 kW, 72-volt electric motor or a 7 kW, 84-volt one, either with or without transmission, with front end (hood & fender) or none, side or rear entry and front-facing or center-facing rear seats. It is the first electric vehicle granted an orange license plate by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to operate on Philippine roads. 

Though jeepneys come in many types, its uniqueness poses a great symbol of Filipino innovative mind.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

            http://www.reuters.com

            http://laspinascity.gov.ph

            http://www.greatoffers4u.com

Photo Credit: http://www.jeepneygang.com
                    http://www.imagephilippines.com
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