BY Fast Company < 1 MINUTE READ

South African company Afrinat, an innovative pharmaceutical company focused on providing natural solutions – and a large player in the Industrial- Agri sector, have developed an alcohol-free hand sanitiser that provides almost 3 hours of protection against virus-causing germs.

While the World Health Organisation has called for the use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers, Afrinat believes they could have an innovative and natural alternative, particularly with the current shortage of alcohol-based sanitisers.

The company has in fact created an entire range of  flavonoid-based sanitisers called Vibacsan. Flavonoids are nature’s anti-microbials derived from plants and offers protection against bacteria, moulds, fungi and viruses, and the products provide clinically-tested high efficacy rates of up to 99.998%.

According to Afrinat CEO, Dr Abdusamad Sidar the sanitisers have been widely tested.“The active ingredient in the Vibacsan range of sanitisers has been tested against H5N1 (SARS), HIV, Influenza and more which shares its genetic make up with the Coronavirus and many other highly virulent viruses,” he said.

The sanitiser has also been tested against bacteria both internationally and locally. “The Vibacsan range active ingredient has been dermatologically tested and verified by the NRCS in South Africa and the surface sanitiser has also been approved by the NSF in the USA,” said Sidar.

The sanitisers have a residual effect which means it stays on your hand and gives you protection of up to 3 hours on your hands and up to 5 hours on surfaces. In comparison, alcohol provides only around 120 seconds of protection before it completely evaporates.