The lives of Sabine Fanta and Daïrou Hadidjatou run parallel. Both were born in a rural area of Cameroon. From a young age they instilled a love for science with a vocation for service. The first is the daughter of a nurse; the second, as a veterinarian. In their homes they found strong support to pursue their dreams. The two studied biology in Ngaounderé, the capital of Adamawa, a region in the north of the Central African country. There they shared notes and concerns. They were forging a common will to dignify African natural remedies. Above all, providing an empirical look at supposed properties of fruits or roots, dressing ancestral wisdom in neat lab coats.
After graduating, Fanta and Hadidjatou ended up, somewhat by chance, sharing test tubes and microscopes at the Institute of Medical Research and Studies of Medicinal Plants, located in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. In their early thirties, another alignment of destiny has brought them together again: at the end of 2023 they were winners (in different categories) of a award awarded by UNESCO and the L'Oréal Foundation to young scientists from around the world. “During the awards ceremony, the jury was surprised that we were friends and worked in the same organization. “They didn't know anything!” Fanta says via videoconference while she sends knowing smiles to Hadidjatou, who sits next to her.
The belief continues that it is better for us to devote ourselves to the humanities. “It is often assumed that science is too difficult for us.”
The projects that have earned them their respective awards have, of course, a common denominator: they study potential health benefits of agricultural products widely consumed in Cameroon. Hadidjatou's focuses on the positive effects of garcinia kola (a dried fruit also known as bitter kola or orobó) to prevent or treat cardiovascular diseases. “It seems to prevent the accumulation of fat in the arteries, thus promoting normal blood circulation,” he emphasizes.
Fanta, for her part, investigates the extent to which horchata helps prevent memory loss. “If we better understand how it slows down the processes of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation that cause the death of neurons, it could serve as an excellent dietary supplement for patients with diseases such as Alzheimer's,” she explains.
According to UNESCO, at a global level only one in three graduates in science or technology are women. Hadidjatou has seen first-hand the gender stereotypes that continue to scare Cameroonian women away from scientific careers. She “she continues the belief that it is better for us to devote ourselves to the humanities. It is often assumed that science is too difficult for us. In high school we were a group of six friends. I was the only one who followed scientific studies,” she says. Luckily, she enjoyed the encouragement of her family, who always gave her wide margins of freedom to decide her life path. “When I chose biology, my father told me that my choice would be his. He only added one piece of advice: to work hard because good science requires a lot of effort.”
Fanta says that the context in which she grew up was decisive when it came to defining her favorite focus of interest: “The vast majority of Cameroonians use medicinal plants to heal ourselves. I wanted to contribute to demonstrating whether, in fact, they contain those properties that tradition attributes to them or others that we find along the way.” In recent times, Fanta continues, studies have proliferated—in Africa and around the world—focused on analyzing the “active principles and mechanisms of action” of the home remedies. According to the World Health Organization, 80% of the African population He turns to them to address his basic health needs.
“It is about providing credibility to the knowledge that different cultures have accumulated over the centuries,” adds Hadidjatou. “Before,” he continues, “we advanced in the dark, little by little discovering therapeutic or toxic effects, without knowing much about doses or forms of administration. “Scientific research sheds light, allows us to go further.”
Awarded with 15,000 euros (Fanta's) and 10,000 euros (Hadidjatou's), the two awards have provided an incentive for these two biologists to delve deeper into the dissection of the garcinia kola and horchata. “We are acquiring new material, learning other techniques… It has been like a breath of fresh air,” Fanta highlights. Hadidjatou values an extra associated with the award: greater visibility as scientists. “Many more people know us now, which greatly opens up the possibility of collaborations. And science is, to a large extent, about that: sharing knowledge and working together.”
In the opinion of both, collaboration is also the key to reconciling two areas that some understand as antagonistic. On one side, pharmaceutical companies and on the other, scientists who investigate whether some ailments may not require the intake of medications, since the cure could be found in nature. “It is a controversial issue,” admits Fanta, who nevertheless sees multiple ways of understanding.
Precisely, Fanta and Hadidjatou are evaluating some proposals to join forces – through joint projects – that come to them from different corners of Africa, such as Nigeria or South Africa. Thanks to their award, they are being contacted by professional colleagues who admire their work and are, like them, dedicated to focusing on the African medicinal heritage.
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