Laboratory
A rural excellence pole in Coconi
Inaugurated in 2020, the Rural Excellence Pole is located in the municipality of Coconi. The centre-west of the island is the driving force of the green economy: it brings together many stakeholders committed to protecting and enhancing the natural resources of Mayotte, as well as local producers (vanilla, ylang-ylang, turmeric, ginger…).
The REP comprises three poles spread over more than 700 m²: the Ecotourism Pole, represented by the Centre-Ouest community of municipalities (3CO), the Economic Pole and the Research Pole.
REP · COCONI · INAUGURATED IN 2020
RESEARCH POLE · PLATFORMA platform dedicated to natural substances
The Research Pole supports the aromatic and medicinal plant sectors and identifies innovative topics that highlight untapped local development opportunities, while preserving the unique ecosystem of Mayotte. These topics require technical and scientific support with a view to commercial use, and contribute to the island’s reputation in the research world.
PI²M runs this innovative and increasingly comprehensive platform, specifically dedicated to the extraction and analysis of natural substances and equipped with modern instruments.
Two main activities
Equipment sized for process development, to be scaled up afterwards. The emphasis is on green and innovative processes and solvents.
From terrestrial and marine plants to the extract
A wide range of extractions using simple, traditional techniques (maceration, decoction, hydrodistillation…) or more advanced ones: high-temperature pressurised extraction, which avoids toxic solvents and reduces the quantities used. Small-scale drying with two solar dryers and a bench-top freeze dryer.
Two chromatography systems
Quantitative and qualitative analysis of extracts produced on the platform or supplied by our partners: essential oils (ylang-ylang, vanilla, coconut…), chromatographic profiles of extracts from plants used locally for their medicinal and cosmetic properties. In-depth analyses through the UPVD Bio2Mar platform.