The demand for swine flu (H1N1) antiviral drugs has brought about a shortage of star anise, the spice used in bobotie and many other African, Chinese and Indian dishes.
The active ingredient of Tamiflu, the drug used against swine flu, is oseltamivir. This is synthesised from shikimic acid. The first commercially viable source of this organic acid was the seed pod known as star anise, which comes from a small tree native to southern China and Indochina.
Star anise was brought to Africa along the spice route to Zanzibar before the 1700s. It was incorporated into traditional dishes in countries ranging from Ethiopia to Tanzania and eventually arrived in South Africa with the Cape Malay slaves.
In 2005 star anise supplies were nearly exhausted globally because of Tamiflu stockpiling in response to avian flu fears. A shortage of Tamiflu, manufactured by the drug giant Roche and its partners, ensued.
Since then other sources of shikimic acid have been developed. Some use genetically modified versions of Escherichia coli bacteria (not the same type found when South African waterways are contaminated with human sewage.)
But even new technologies are unlikely to satisfy the demand for shikimic acid to manufacture Tamiflu. The spike in demand for star anise precipitated by the arrival of swine flu, for example, will affect any Chinese dishes which use the traditional five spice powder.
Some countries are stockpiling millions of doses of Tamiflu in preparation for a flu pandemic, with reports of panic-driven personal stockpiling as well. The drug has a fairly short lifespan, so watch out if you’re buying it on the internet. It will be almost definitely counterfeit.
This mass buying of Tamiflu will mean that a lot more has to be made. This will require huge amounts of the ingredients to produce it. In fact, futures trading means that star anise is being bought before it’s even grown on the trees.
So maybe you should check what’s in your kitchen cupboard. Who knows, if the economic crunch continues, you might soon be able to sell your star anise on Gumtree or in the classifieds. — www.scienceinafrica.com