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HEAD
Marija Karapandzova, PhD, Assistant Professor
Specialist in Pharmacognosy
Tel: (++ 389) 2 3126 024, ext. 103
E-mail: marija_karapandzova@ff.ukim.edu.mk; marijakarapandzova@yahoo.com

ADDRESS
Majka Tereza 47,
PO Box 36,
1000 Skopje, R. Macedonia

HUMAN RESOURCES

  • Svetlana Kulevanova, Dean, PhD, Full Professor
  • Gjoshe Stefkov, PhD, Associate Professor
  • Marija Karapandzova, PhD, Assistant Professor
  • Ivana Cvetkovikj Karanfilova, PhD, Consultant for the research centers
  • Aneta Dimitrovska, PhD, Full Professor
  • Tatjana Kadifkova Panovska, PhD, Full Professor
  • Jelena Acevska, PhD, Assistant Professor
  • Srgjan Vujikj, Laboratory technical staff

ABOUTH THE CENTER

The Center for Natural Products (CNP) was established in 2009, within the Faculty of Pharmacy – Skopje, and today it a separate unit at the faculty. The need for opening this type of laboratory is a result of the increasing interest and analysis of natural products and their different products, not only on the market, but also in the everyday life.

For first head of the Center was elected Prof. Gjoshe Stefkov. From 2014 till today, this position is held by Asst. Prof. Marija Karapandzova.

The main goal of the CPP is to perform analyzes, both within the framework of the application and educational activity, as well as within the scientific and research activity. All analyses and services performed within this Center are in accordance with the national and international standards for quality. They are carried out on demand of The Ministry of Health; The Macedonian Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices; The Food and Veterinary Agency; The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy and The Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, as well as on the request of other governmental institutions and private enterprises. In addition, CNP collaborates also with other laboratories that perform similar activity and work on complementary issues, both on national and international level. In the domain of its technical capabilities and professional competence, the CNP is ready to meet all customers’ requests.

 CAPACITIES

The Center for Natural Products has a total area of ​​~ 95 m2, which includes one laboratory of ~ 62 m2 and a warehouse of ~ 33 m2, both located in building 2 (new building) within the Faculty of Pharmacy.

The laboratory is equipped with modern equipment including:

  1. Agilent 7890A Gas Chromatograph coupled to an Agilent 5975C Quadrupole Mass Detector (Agilent Technologies, USA) and Shimadzu AOC 5000 Plus Headspace autosampler (Shimadzu Corporation, Japan),
  2. Agilent 1200 Series HPLC System equipped with quaternary pump G1311A, autosampler G1329A, degasser G1322A, column thermostat G1316A and UV-Vis detector with a series of diode G1315D (Agilent Technologies, USA),
  3. Ultrasonic bath (Selecta, Spain),
  4. Water bath (GFL, Germany),
  5. Rotary evaporator (Rotavapor, Switzerland),
  6. Refractometer (Carl Zeiss/Jena, Germany),
  7. Centrifuge (Hettich, Germany),
  8. Microscopes (Optika, Italy),
  9. Other laboratory equipment: digital scales, magnetic and vortex stirrers, heating body, thin-layer chromatography equipment and etc.,
  10. Specific and ordinary laboratory glassware: Clevenger apparatus for distillation of essential oils, Soxhlet extractor, apparatus for determination of water in plants and other.

ACTIVITIES

The main activity of the Center for Natural Products is providing services and analyzes in the field of natural products (Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry and Phytotherapy), giving expert opinions and consulting services, as well as preparation of expert reports, methodological procedures and laboratory analyzes. Within the CNP, the following activities are performed:

  • Scientific and research activity – aims to perform basic, developmental and applied research,
  • Educational activity – it aims to train the research and technical staff, organize and conduct seminars, workshops and lectures, writing and publishing articles intended for different groups of consumers and clients,
  • Applicative activity – it aims to examine the quality of natural products, performing pharmacognostic and phytochemical analyzes, developing analytical methods, expertise, as well as providing professional laboratory and consulting services.

OFFERED ANALYSES AND SERVICES

The following analyzes and services are performed within the CNP:

  • Determination of ash,
  • Determination of foreign matter,
  • Determination of the stomatal index,
  • Determination of swelling index,
  • Determination of water in essential oils,
  • Determination of fatty acids in essential oils,
  • Organoleptic essential oil testing,
  • Determination of the residue on evaporation of essential oils,
  • Solubility in alcohol of essential oils,
  • Determination of the essential oil content,
  • Determination of water content in plant material,
  • Determination of pesticide residues,
  • Determination of tannins,
  • Determination of the bitterness value,
  • Determine the concentration of an extracts,
  • Determination of loss on drying of extracts,
  • Taking a representative sample of plant material,
  • Examination of plant material (PH. EUR.),
  • GC/MS analysis of the sample,
  • GC/MS analysis of cannabis and different cannabis products,
  • HPLC sample analysis,
  • Spectrophotometric analysis of the sample,
  • Extraction of active principles,
  • Identification of herbal substances and herbal remedies,
  • Examination and quality control of herbal substances and herbal remedies according to PH.EUR. and other quality standards,
  • Expert report on the safety and efficacy of a traditional herbal drug,
  • Assessment of plant resources,
  • Consulting services,
  • Projects, development of methodological procedures, expert opinions and etc.