Makassar — A 2026 study by Islawati, Eli Rohaeti, and Erfan Priyambodo from Universitas Negeri Makassar shows that modern analytical chemistry techniques can scientifically validate traditional chemical practices while improving their safety and environmental sustainability through green chemistry principles. The research highlights how integrating analytical technology with sustainability metrics supports the standardization of traditional products across medicine, food systems, and biomaterials.
Traditional chemical practices have long been applied in herbal medicine, food processing, and natural material production. However, many of these practices developed through empirical experience rather than systematic scientific documentation. As global industries increasingly demand reproducibility and safety assurance, scientific validation becomes essential for integrating traditional knowledge into modern systems.
The study applied a systematic literature review using the PRISMA framework to analyze 19 international studies published between 2015 and 2025. From an initial pool of 314 articles identified in the Scopus database, only 19 met the inclusion criteria after multi-stage screening. The selection workflow is illustrated in the PRISMA diagram on page 5 of the article.
Results show that advanced analytical methods such as HPLC–PDA, LC–MS/MS, GC–MS/MS, HPTLC, and SEIRA enable precise identification and quantification of bioactive compounds across herbal formulations, traditional medicines, food products, and biomaterial systems.
The review also confirms measurable biological activities associated with traditional formulations, including antacid, antibacterial, antioxidant, and prebiotic effects. These findings demonstrate that traditional chemical practices can be evaluated using reproducible scientific metrics and integrated into modern research frameworks.
Publication trend analysis reveals a significant increase in scientific attention toward sustainable validation of traditional chemistry after 2018. As summarized in the dataset table on page 7, most studies focused on herbal matrices, followed by medicinal formulations, biomaterials, and traditional food systems.
Beyond analytical accuracy, the integration of green chemistry principles significantly improves environmental performance. Fifteen of the nineteen reviewed studies incorporated sustainability indicators such as process mass intensity, E-factor, DOZN, AGREE, and life cycle assessment.
Several studies reported reductions in chemical waste ranging from 24 to 50 percent through solvent optimization and environmentally friendly extraction strategies. These findings highlight the growing role of green chemistry as a core component of modern analytical workflows.
Modern spectroscopic and physicochemical characterization techniques including FTIR, XRD, SEM, and NMR were also widely used to improve structural understanding of complex natural matrices. These tools enable deeper insight into compound composition and transformation pathways within traditional systems.
According to Islawati from Universitas Negeri Makassar, combining analytical precision with sustainability metrics allows traditional practices to be translated into standardized and reproducible scientific systems.
Eli Rohaeti from Universitas Negeri Makassar explained that integrating modern analytical chemistry with traditional knowledge supports industrial transparency and environmentally responsible production systems.
Erfan Priyambodo from Universitas Negeri Makassar emphasized that sustainability indicators can contribute to future regulatory frameworks for traditional products based on measurable scientific evidence.
The study also identified important research gaps. Most validation studies remain limited to laboratory experiments and animal models, indicating the need for expanded clinical validation in human contexts.
These findings provide strategic implications for healthcare innovation, food technology development, biomaterial engineering, and chemistry education. Integrating analytical chemistry and green chemistry principles strengthens the scientific credibility of traditional practices while supporting environmentally responsible production systems.
Islawati is affiliated with Universitas Negeri Makassar. Eli Rohaeti is affiliated with Universitas Negeri Makassar. Erfan Priyambodo is affiliated with Universitas Negeri Makassar.
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