Caring for nature
Green Solutions for a Healthy Future
Nature protection and sustainable development policy
When processing «Ajuga Turkestanica», only 1-1.5% of the extract from the mass of dry grass is obtained, so when collecting so-called fresh grass weighing 1 ton, it is dried up to 100 kg of which 1 kg of extract is actually obtained in the end. Therefore, it is very important for “Bioplantek” and our partners to preserve the «Ajuga Turkestanica» in the wild nature and to comply with all the necessary terms and requirements for the proper and legitimate collection of this plant.
International cooperation for sustainable production of natural extracts
Our companies are jointly preparing a work plan and proposals for international donors and international financial institutions in order to organize the cultivation of not only Ajuga Turkestanica, but also other Uzbek wild plants from which it is planned to produce extracts for food supplements and cosmetics. We intend to cultivate these plants in their natural, native habitat in order to obtain high-quality natural raw materials in terms of composition of key chemical substances.
These plans shall address not only agronomy issues, but also provide financial assistance to our partners who are engaged in collecting plants: forestry and farmers living in remote and mountainous areas. In general, all these measures shall help us establish a stable supply chain, help low-income farmers and their families increase their incomes and strengthen the material and technical base of forest farms for the effective protection of our country’s nature in the future.
Ajuga Turkestanica
An environmentally friendly product with a rich historical heritage, from Avicenna’s manuscripts to modern research and exports
History, tradition and modern extraction technologies
The Ajuga Turkestanica plant (Latin: Ájuga Turkestánica) is endemic and grows in an ecologically clean zone of mountain ranges in the south of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. However, only the shoots growing in the area of the mountains of the Boisun district of the Surkhandarya region contain a rich composition of phytoecdysteroids and produce the most active ecdysteroid – Turkesterone. The laws of Uzbekistan prohibit the export of Ajuga Turkestanica in the form of raw materials, its collection is subject to mandatory licensing and obtaining a quota for collection from the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Ecology and Environmental Protection.
Thus, by buying the extract of Ajuga from the «Bioplantek» company, you support the preservation of this plant in nature, help protect the Uzbek nature as a whole and support the sustainable development of our Uzbek households, since part of our revenue goes to forestry and their subcontractors for collection – private farmers and their families living in remote and mountainous regions of Uzbekistan.
Many fitness and bodybuilding enthusiasts, especially professionals, have long been aware of the functionality of the extract of ” Ajuga Turkestanica”. Moreover, on the Internet you will find more than one already patented food product or cosmetic product that contains the extract of Ajuga Turkestanica.
Turkestan Larkspur: From Avicenna’s Ancient Manuscripts to Modern Scientific Discoveries
The history of Ajuga, as many write on the Internet, does not begin with the history of its use by Soviet athletes in preparation for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Its history in fact is very ancient. Moreover, athletes in 1980 were not able to use the Ajuga Turkestanica for a simple reason. At that time, Soviets could not yet work out the technology of its extraction and purification, as well as obtaining a high concentration of Turkesterone and Exdisterone. This is, of course, a beauty legend that is used by foreign sellers, but it is also true that the study of Ajuga began within the framework of research on the development of possible natural sport supplements for athletes in the USSR. Ajuga was first mentioned in the manuscripts of Avicenna (Abu Ali Ibn Sino). He described it as “Kapalak-kunmas”, indicating the name used by the local population of southern Termez. “Kapalak-kunmas” means in Uzbek “a plant on which a butterfly does not land”. The Ajuga emits strong repulsive pheromones and odors, which helps it protecting not only from harmful insects, but also from domestic ruminants. Avicenna, describing this plant, pointed out that the local population uses it to strengthen health and endurance, brewing it into tea, and women make liquid mixtures for the skin of the face to retain moisture in the skin and protect it from wilting due to the southern, hot and dry climate.
At the same time, Uzbek scientists drew attention to the study of Japanese scientists, who were the first in the world to isolate and describe the ecdysteroids that they found in the tissues of beetles. It turned out that ecdysteroids help insects to be hardy and lift or move and carry objects by weight that exceed their own weight by three to four times. Japanese scientists have come to the conclusion that ecdysteroids are not produced by the beetles themselves, but appear in their tissues together with the tissues of the plants they feed on.
All this prompted Uzbek scientists to start research on the study of plants, primarily those that have already been described by Avicenna. As a result of the great work of many scientists, a large concentration of ecdysteroids was found in the grass “Kapalak-kunmas” (Ajuga Turkestanica), but this happened much later than 1980. Then experiments began to develop and fine-tune the technology for obtaining the most powerful ecdysteroids: Turkesterone and Ecdysterone, which lasted and ended in the period 1999-2003. It was these experiments that were led by Murodbek Turakhodjaev, who then worked as the Director of the experimental and technological laboratory of the Institute of the Chemistry of Plant Substances named acad. S. Yu. Yunusov of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan (ICPS UA RUz).
Ecditon: direct access to the original extract of Turkestan Larkspur from Uzbekistan
And from 2010 to 2015, the technology of processing Ajuga Turkestanica was further improved in the «Bioplantek» company and the food supplement named «EKDITON» was developed. Until recently, no one could buy the extract of the Ajuga, so to speak, first-hand and directly from Uzbekistan. Now our foreign clients and partners have such an opportunity – you can buy an extract of Ajuga Turkestanica or the substance «EKDITON» (with the content of Ajuga Turkestanica and succinic acid) from Uzbekistan.
At the same time, it should be noted that various extracts obtained from Ajuga Turkestanica of very dubious origin and quality are offered on the international market, which is confirmed by the conducted chemical analyses on HPLC.