A new way of obtaining shikimic acid, the compound needed to make Tamiflu, has been discovered. Shikimic acid is normally obtained from star anise, a Chinese cooking spice. The shortage of star anise caused Roche problems a few years ago, when the demand for Tamiflu peaked during the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, so new sources are constantly being sought.
Toyonobu Usuki, from Sophia University, Tokyo, found that shikimic acid could be isolated from ginkgo biloba leaves using an ionic liquid. Ginkgo biloba is a tree mainly found in China and has often been used in Chinese medicine.
Find out more – read Usuki’s ChemComm communication.
