Unripe grapefruit that was usually discarded became the subject of a research project that helped Pharmacy students at Dai Nam University generate nearly 100 million VND in revenue.

Every grapefruit season, thousands of unripe fruits are cut off and become waste after the process of caring for the trees. Few would have imagined that from those seemingly worthless small grapefruits, a group of students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Dai Nam University created natural essential oils and soaps that generated nearly 100 million VND in revenue while still students.

With their research topic "Study of the chemical composition of essential oils from discarded young pomelo peels during cultivation and processing into applied products," the student group consisting of Dang Mai Thien Ha, Nguyen Thu Huyen, Luong Thi Hien Luong, Nguyen Thu Hien, and Vu Thi Hoa excellently won first prize at the University-level Student Scientific Research Conference in the 2025-2026 academic year, demonstrating their ability to transform specialized knowledge into practical products and contributing to spreading the spirit of applied research and innovation among Dai Nam University students.

The group of students from the Faculty of Pharmacy, including Dang Mai Thien Ha, Nguyen Thu Huyen, Luong Thi Hien Luong, Nguyen Thu Hien, and Vu Thi Hoa, excellently won first prize at the 2025-2026 University-level Student Scientific Research Conference.

When discarded agricultural products become a "raw material mine" for scientific research.

During our field research in grapefruit-growing regions, the team observed that each season, farmers have to prune a large number of young fruits to ensure the quality of the main fruit. Most of these young grapefruits are discarded or used at very low prices, resulting in a waste of agricultural resources.

“Could these young grapefruits create new value?” – that question spurred the group to embark on their research. Under the guidance of MSc. Do Van Hieu and MSc. Nguyen Hoang Viet, the students spent months studying the chemical composition of essential oils extracted from the peel of young grapefruits, while also testing their potential application in natural personal care products.

Instead of choosing the familiar path of using grapefruit blossoms or ripe grapefruit peel like many products on the market, the group decided to exploit a less-noticed raw material: the peel of unripe grapefruit that is discarded during cultivation.

The soap product, made from essential oils extracted from young grapefruit peel and developed by a group of students, has been put into practical use.

This product is an essential oil extracted from young grapefruit peel.

The experiments lasted until late at night in the laboratory.

Behind the finished products are countless trials and optimizations of the extraction process. At times, the team had to constantly adjust the temperature, distillation time, and ingredient ratios to ensure the essential oil achieved the desired purity. Many times, the results were unsatisfactory, and the entire team had to start over from scratch.

"The most challenging thing is how to maintain a good essential oil content while minimizing impurities during the extraction process ," shared Nguyen Thu Huyen, representing the group.

After numerous trials, the team created a line of highly pure essential oils with natural scents and continued to develop additional applications such as natural soaps made from young grapefruit essential oil.

The group of students conducted numerous research experiments to produce a high-quality product.

“What is noteworthy is not only the innovative idea, but also the ability to persistently research, optimize the extraction process, and gradually develop a product with practical applications. This is clear evidence of the training orientation linked to practice, applied research, and innovation that the Faculty of Pharmacy and Dai Nam University always encourage students to pursue, ” shared Dr. Nguyen Thi Vinh Hue - Head of the Faculty of Pharmacy.

The journey of bringing research to market and creating practical value.

What makes this project particularly valuable is not just the research results or the laboratory test results, but the fact that the student group boldly took their product out of the classroom to reach the real market.

After researching, optimizing the formula, and perfecting the product, the team began implementing a pilot business model with lines of natural essential oils and soaps extracted from young grapefruit. From the first orders introduced to friends and relatives, the product gradually received positive feedback thanks to its natural origin and distinctive scent. To date, total product revenue has reached nearly 100 million VND.

This figure is not simply a business statistic, but a clear testament to the practical applicability and commercialization potential of a research project conducted by students themselves. It also indicates that today's students are not just learning for the sake of knowing, but are beginning to think like researchers, product developers, and creators of value for the community.

From a material once considered agricultural waste, the group of students has opened up a new avenue for exploitation, helping to increase the value of local agricultural products and demonstrating the ability to connect professional knowledge with the practical needs of life.

Beyond its academic significance, the project also embodies the spirit of sustainable development by contributing to the utilization of agricultural by-products, reducing resource waste, and moving towards environmentally friendly and safe products for consumers. This is also the value that many scientific research projects of Dai Nam University students are striving for: research not just to complete an academic task, but to create products that benefit society.

Student scientific research is no longer just "on paper" topics.

What is valuable in the journey of the Pharmacy students is not just the awards or revenue achieved, but also the spirit of daring to try new things and the ability to see opportunities in the very things around them in life.

The fact that students at Dai Nam University can research chemical composition, essential oil extraction, product formulation, and market access while still in university demonstrates their ability to apply knowledge to practice.

No longer confined to academic reports, scientific research activities at Dai Nam University are increasingly linked to practical applications, encouraging students to create products with practical applications and community value.

This is also the training orientation that the school consistently pursues: learning goes hand in hand with practice, research is linked to application, and opportunities are created for students to participate in real-world projects from an early age.

An environment that fosters research and innovation among students.

Behind the students' research journey is the unwavering support of the faculty members of the Faculty of Pharmacy and the research-oriented training approach of Dai Nam University.

Throughout the project's implementation, the research team not only received professional support and access to laboratory facilities and equipment, but also benefited from the professors' persistent guidance on research methodology, closely monitoring each experimental stage, refining the process, and developing the product. More importantly, students were always encouraged to boldly experiment with new ideas, given opportunities to conduct independent research, gain experience, and grow through the process.

At Dai Nam University, student scientific research is not seen as a "playground" exclusively for a select few outstanding students, but is gradually becoming a rich learning environment where students can develop creative thinking, problem-solving skills, and innovation capabilities. The university always focuses on creating conditions for students' ideas to go beyond academic reports and continue to develop into applied products, linked to the practical needs of the community and society.

The highly practical training environment, the spirit of "learning by doing," and the dedicated support of lecturers have helped Dai Nam University students confidently embark on research, dare to experiment, dare to fail, and gradually transform ideas from the classroom into real value.