Prof Viljoen brings prestigious SFE-Zandu Award home

Phaphama Tshisikhawe

He was awarded the SFE-Zandu Award 2023 for his outstanding scientific contribution in the field of medicinal plants at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). Viljoen holds the DSI-NRF Chair in Phytomedicine.

The award that was constituted by the Emami and Indian Conglomerate Company, was conferred on him during the 10th International Congress of Society for Ethnopharmacology held on 24-26 February in Imphal, the capital of Manipur, a state in northeastern India.

International SFE-Zandu Award

A proud Prof Vijoen said he was thrilled to be awarded this international award for research on South Africa’s medicinal flora in a recent interview. South Africa’s Materia Medica has been documented as safe, effective, and of high quality, according to him. 

A plenary lecture was presented by Prof Viljoen at the Congress. Professor Viljoen, who is also the Director of the SAMRC Herbal Drugs Research Unit at TUT, gave a lecture entitled “Compiling the first South African Herbal Pharmacopoeia – an important step in the globalization of South African medicinal plants”. He talked about the scientific journey involved in creating the South African Herbal Pharmacopeia that was published in November 2022. SFE-Zandu Award

The book launch is planned for later in the year, and Prof Viljoen and other TUT colleagues will be the editors.

• Phaphama Tshisikhawe, Corporate Affairs and Marketing at Tshwane University of Technology, can be contacted for more information.
• Tel: +27 12 382 4711
• Email: [email protected]