The Medicinal and Aromatic Plants and Food Technologies Laboratory is an advanced shared practice center where botany, food safety, pharmaceutical product components, and microbiological analyses are conducted within an interdisciplinary ecosystem, transforming theoretical academic knowledge into industrial production.
What Is the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants and Food Technologies Laboratory? / What Is Its Purpose?
Primary Purpose: The primary purpose of the laboratory is to train qualified assistant technical personnel and food technicians who are competent in the identification of the biological, ecological, genetic, and systematic characteristics of medicinal and aromatic plants with high economic value in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries, as well as in quality control, R&D, and microbiological analysis processes of food products.
Key Features: This laboratory is jointly and synchronously used by the Food Technologies Program and the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Program within Üsküdar University School of Health Services (SHMYO). Its infrastructure offers a wide range of practical applications, from the processing of plant-based raw materials to analyses conducted in compliance with food legislation.
Academic Contribution: The laboratory environment enables students to develop their ability to apply food regulations and legislation in practice. Students gain hands-on experience in preparing herbal drugs, developing essential oil formulations, determining dry matter content, and conducting microbiological inoculation procedures, while also developing teamwork skills and internalizing professional ethics through practical operations.
Equipment and Technical Infrastructure Available in the Laboratory
The laboratory is equipped with the following technical equipment and analytical instruments, enabling the implementation of plant extraction processes, food quality control, and microbiological practices in accordance with international standards:
- Extraction and Oil Extraction Systems: Distillation and heating equipment used to separate volatile (essential) and fixed oils from medicinal and aromatic plants through hot and cold extraction methods.
- Microbiological Inoculation and Incubation Station: Laboratory equipment that provides sterilization and controlled growth for bacterial inoculation and microbiological culture medium preparation.
- Ovens and Dry Matter Analysis Equipment: Precision drying ovens used to remove moisture and perform constant-weight measurements for the determination of dry matter and organic matter in legumes, baked goods, and spices.
- Titration and Chemical Analysis Sets: Laboratory equipment, including burettes, indicators, and glassware, used for acidity determination in milk, dairy products, and liquid/solid fats, as well as for determining precipitate quantities.
- Precision Balances and Solution Preparation Units: Analytical balances used for diluting pure ethyl alcohol with distilled water at desired ratios and for weighing cosmetic/pharmaceutical formulations at milligram-level precision.
Research and Application Areas
The main application and research areas carried out in the laboratory in line with the curriculum objectives of the two programs and industrial requirements are as follows:
- Cosmetic and Perfume Formulations: Within the scope of the Evaluation of Perfume Plants course, students perform the dilution of pure ethyl alcohol with distilled water, analysis of plant-based essential oils, and preparation of personalized perfume trials.
- Phytotherapy and Natural Product Formulations: Within the scope of the Phytotherapy course, students prepare tinctures, ointments, and creams; formulate herbal tea blends; and apply infusion, decoction, and hot oil extraction techniques.
- Food Microbiology Applications: Preparation of microbiological culture media in accordance with food safety standards and controlled bacterial inoculation procedures.
- Food Quality Control and Component Analysis: Studies involving acidity and precipitate determination in milk and dairy products; determination of acidity levels in vegetable and animal fats; and determination of dry matter and organic matter in legumes, baked goods, and spices.
Contributions to Students and the Industry
- Multidisciplinary Industry Competence: Through the shared laboratory model, students graduate with knowledge of both food technology analyses and the processing of medicinal plants used as raw materials in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
- Hands-on R&D and Entrepreneurship Experience: Students' ability to formulate personalized perfumes, ointments, or creams using different essential oils according to their own interests directly supports their innovative product development skills.
- Industrial Quality Assurance Skills: Dry matter, acidity, and microbiological tests performed in the laboratory provide students with the practical competencies required to work directly in quality control departments at food factories, pharmaceutical laboratories, and cosmetic production facilities.
