Tran Duy Chien, a freshman of Faculty of Pharmacy, Ton Duc Thang University (TDTU), has achieved the First Prize in The National Science and Technology Contest 2019, at the field of Chemistry with the project “Study on the chemical composition and antioxidant, alpha-amylase inhibition activity of ethyl acetate fraction from the leaf of Sterculia foetida”

Trom (Sterculia foetida, Malvaceae) is widely cultivated in Vinh Hao, Tuy Phong, Binh Thuan to produce a unique local beverage. However, the chemical composition and bioactivity of this plant have not been investigated. Therefore, the two high school students Tran Duy Chien and Nguyen Thi Thanh Dung have conducted the study on the leave of S. foetida under the supervisor of Mr. Pham Dinh Thuong, the teacher of Department of Chemistry, Duc Linh High School.
Duy Chien said that the study group had the hard-working to conduct the study. From 10/2017, fresh leave was collected and identified by Dr. Dang Van Son (Institue of Tropical Biology, Ho Chi Minh City). The raw material was extracted and subjected to normal phase column chromatography to obtain five ethyl acetate fractions. Fraction 4 showed the most potent bioactivity on alpha-amylase inhibition, 2 compounds were collected and identified as fraxetin and aesculin:
 

With the outstanding achievement in scientific research, Duy Chien was directly enrolled to Faculty of Pharmacy, TDTU with the 100% first-year tuition scholarship.

With the outstanding achievement in scientific research, Duy Chien was directly enrolled to Faculty of Pharmacy, TDTU with the 100% first-year tuition scholarship.