Dr Seeseei Molimau-Samasoni publishes in PNAS

 Biologist and Meryl Williams Fellow Dr Seeseei Molimau-Samasoni publishes paper on Matalafi Tree in prestigious PNAS Journal.

With traditional medicines from Samoa being relatively understudied, researchers including Dr Molimau-Samasoni have made great strides with their recent publication on the medicinal properties of the Matalafi tree in the prestigious US journal, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The paper is the culmination of a decade of research into Matalafi which is traditionally used in Samoa as an anti-inflammatory treating fever, swelling wounds and skin and respiratory infections. Molimau-Samasoni began her research in 2013 during her PhD at the Victoria University of Wellington under the supervision of Dr Andrew Munkacsi.

Molimau-Samasoni explains that Matalafi is an iron chelator, which means it binds iron and reveals a very exciting potential for cancer, Parkinsons and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Initially sceptical Molimau-Samasoni shared, "I was thinking they are just plant materials with beliefs that don’t necessarily work. And then, I had to eat my own words when the research proved there is scientific merit to these traditions. These are traditional medicines our people have been using for hundreds of years, and we are now finding science that supports that there is genuine activity in some of our medicines. I do want to stress that traditional medicines need to be investigated scientifically before they are administered widely… there are still more steps to be done".

Molimau-Samasoni, who is also the Senior Researcher at the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa (SROS), also commented on the personal satisfaction of having her research included in the PNAS journal.

“There are not that many Pasifika women in science. So to be two Pasifika women conducting scientific research and publishing it, that is an achievement we should be proud to highlight".

Read the paper via PNAS HERE.