KUALA LUMPUR: Three primary school pupils here have done the country proud when they received international recognition in three separate platforms for inventing a herbal lotion that helps to give relief to skin ailments.
Suthiksha Baloo, 12, her brother Narashimma Naidu Baloo, 10, who attend SK Taman Megah, and their friend Chelsea Janani James, 10, who attends Tanarata International School, invented the item dubbed 'PS Herbal Fit' by using a leaf which has long been regarded as having healing properties.
Suthiksha said the main ingredient for the lotion was 'Acalypha Indica', or Indian copperleaf, which is native to Asia and Africa.
This leaf has special properties that can ease skin problems like psoriasis, cuts, and burns.
She said the other ingredients used were traditional organic items, which when mixed together, helps to sooth discomfort felt due to psoriasis and other skin problems.
"Acalypha Indica has been used by our ancestors to cure skin ailments for years."
Thanks to this invention, the three won two gold awards and one bronze in three back-to-back competitions this year.
The 'PS Herbal' team won the bronze prize in the 2021 World Youth Innovation Invention Award from Aug 18-20 in Indonesia, which involved 450 teams from 35 countries.
Then they won a gold award at the 2021 Covenant University and Organisation for Creativity, Innovation and Invention Promotion, Nigeria (CU-OCIIP) Expo on Sept 18 this year.
Their second gold medal was from the 2021 World Invention Competition and Exhibition (WICE) hosted by SEGI University and Colleges Malaysia and the Indonesian Young Scientist Association (IYSA) on Sept 23.
Narashimma and Chelsea said the lotion was not intended to replace medical treatment, but stressed their remedy was to complement such treatments.
Meanwhile, the student's coordinator-cum-science teacher, Jegathis Ravi Chandran said he was very proud of the students for their forward thinking idea.
He hoped they would continue collaborating with each other and with others to develop more products like this in the future.
He said the students intended to get their product tested with the Health Ministry and obtain a patent for intellectual property rights.
"They also made their point to the judges that this discovery is at its infancy stage and that there is still a lot more they need to do before commercialising it.
"Nevertheless, the persistent trio have made a name for Malaysia at the international stage and should be highly commended for their creativity, innovation and perseverance."
Suthiksha and her team also thanked Malaysian Innovation, Invention and Creativity Association (MIICA) president Ganesh Jeyabalan; and their mentors Rajeswari Narasingam and Dr Punitha Silivarajoo.
They also expressed their gratitude to their teacher Jagathis for his guidance and confidence in them.
