Herbal Mask made from 21 local herbal ingredients including Perumkayam, Cedar, Cinnamon Bark, Pawatta Root, Red Onion, Ginger, Coriander, Venivel Knot, Kohomba, Clove, Ginger Peel, Raw Turmeric was presented to Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and Covid Disease Control by an innovator Deshabandu Saman Hettiarachchi at the Ministry of Health.
The mask is patented as a new invention and Industrial Technology Institute of Sri Lanka (ITI) also offers a quality certificate. It has also won the Gold Award at the Sahasak Innovation Competition organized by the Innovation Commission of Sri Lanka and has been selected as the Best Invention at the Sahasak Productions International Competition.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that this new invention is important as a Made in Sri Lanka product and even though she is a Western doctor, she humbly appreciates this invention as she is a positive thinker about indigenous medicine and Ayurvedic treatments.
The Minister also proposed to submit this product to the National Drug Regulatory Authority for approval. Mr. Saman Hettiarachchi said that as an innovator, he had been creating a face mask using local medicine since before the onset of the Covid epidemic and was exploring the possibility of using it as a treatment for respiratory ailments. He said that the best guarantee for its success was given by the Institute of Industrial Technology and that the research conducted by that institute had ensured that bacteria and viruses did not pass through the mask. So far, Saman Hettiarachchi has obtained patents for 22 inventions.
Gotabhaya Sumanasekara, Media and Communication Consultant – Chamber of Commerce, Colombo and Chamal Hettiarachchi, Director, O2 Herbal Hela International were also present at the occasion.
