Northern Michigan University and Shimadzu Partner to Support Medicinal Plant Chemistry Program

NMU and SSI collaborated to establish the Shimadzu Analytical Core Laboratory for Medicinal Plant Sciences for NMU’s undergraduate degree program in medicinal plant chemistry.

A couple years ago, Northern Michigan University (NMU) established the first undergraduate degree program in medicinal plant chemistry, providing students an opportunity to conduct research on cannabis, herbal extracts, and other botanicals. Now, in collaboration with Shimadzu Scientific Instruments (SSI), NMU established the Shimadzu Analytical Core Laboratory for Medicinal Plant Sciences to give students and faculty access to cutting-edge equipment and technology for medicinal plant research within the chemistry program.

“Having access to the same top-caliber equipment used in the industry gives our students a real advantage heading into their careers,” said Fritz Erickson, president of NMU.

As part of the Shimadzu Partnership for Academics, Research and Quality of Life (SPARQ) program, SSI gave an in-kind donation of instrumentation for the laboratory and a framework for research collaborations and internships. The Shimadzu instruments include multiple mass spectrometers, gas and liquid chromatography (GC-MS and LC-MS/MS), and inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS). These instruments perform cannabis and hemp potency testing, terpene profiling, and contaminate testing for pesticides, residual solvents, heavy metals, and mycotoxins/aflatoxins.

“The serious education and research on medicinal plants undertaken in this unique undergraduate program will help to overturn the misinformation and stigma associated with hemp and cannabis as it applies to human and environmental health,” said Scott Kuzdzal, vice president of marketing, SSI. “NMU students in the medicinal plant chemistry program now have access to the same level and quality of analytical instrumentation that they will encounter after graduation in commercial, academic, and medical research labs.”

Original Source: Shimadzu Scientific Instruments