SSW08:NIH Botanical Center Research Update

Diane Birt, Ph.D., director of the Iowa Center for Research on Botanical Dietary Supplements, a multidisciplinary center including Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and Yale University, outlined her centers work on the anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties of St. John's wort, prunella and several species of Echinacea. Her team has found various Echinacea species have differing bioactivities, leading the research team to search for the active constituents in each species that could explain the differences. She identified three species with anti-inflammatory properties, in addition to one species with anti-HIV actions. Additionally, she noted St. John's wort's anti-depression, -inflammatory and –viral benefits, noting it appears to be particularly effective against envelope viruses.

Floyd "Ski" Chilton, Ph.D., director of the Wake Forest & Brigham & Woman's Center for Botanical Lipids, detailed his team's progress on polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) research and inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). He confirmed fish oil is effective and safe, but said people have big issues with taking them, from taste to dosage. Further noting flax does not convert well to the long chain omega-3s crucial to anti-inflammation benefits, he heralded echium oil as a potent alternative. The center's progress on echium oil reveals it can lower triglycerides, decrease expression of hepatic genes involved in fatty acid and triglyceride synthesis, and limit expression of genes involved in the inflammation process.

Elsa Janle, Ph.D., co-director of the Purdue University-based Botanical Center on Age-Related Diseases, reviewed some ongoing research on polyphenols and age-related health conditions. On osteoporosis, isoflavones from soy, kudzu and red clover are being studied against bone loss, with a particular focus on the isoflavone genistein. Additional research is progressing on isoflavones and both hypertension and glucose tolerance, with some positive results in on genistein and daidzein. Other work is investigating possible botanical extracts for neuroprotection, especially in Parkinson's disease (PD); blueberry extract and green tea have shown some specific positive results. Additional brain health study on grape polyphenols and Alzheimer's disease are showing positive cognitive function and neuroprotective benefits.

Michael Lefevre, Ph.D., a principal investigator in the Botanical Research Center on Metabolic Syndrome—a multidisciplinary group involving Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University and Rutgers University—covered three current research projects involving Russian tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus), Shilianhua (Sinocrassula indica) and grape anthocyanins. The team is focused on botanical preparations, animal research and botanical screening. Lefevre reported tarragon appears to lower plasma glucose, and insulin resistance comparable to two current drug treatments. He noted Shilianhua can lower body weight. On grape anthos, he said despite previously published results showing benefits, the team's work has thus far found the commercial grape extracts they used have had a negative effect on metabolic syndrome; they are currently researching why these results would differ from prior literature.

Gary Deng, M.D., Ph.D., assistant director of the Sloan-Kettering Botanical Research Center on Immunomodulators outlined his team's the focus and goals relative to five botanicals—Echinacea, astragalus, curcumin, coriolus mushroom and maitake mushroom. The center aims to identify active consituents and even combination of actives from these botanicals, in addition to screening for other possible botanical immunomodulators. He noted the possible role of botanicals as immune adjuvants in cancer vaccination. Using maitake as an example, Deng also explained there are dose issues, such as how maitake affects breast cancer differently depending on the dose—the lowest and highest doses were less effective than intermediate doses.

Guido Pauli, Ph.D., project leader of the University of Illinois, Chicago, Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research in Women's Health, discussed the pharmacognosy angle of his center's research, including standardization and quality control (QC) of botanical supplements. He said the team is targeting source materials, phytochemical standardization and biological standardization. He discussed the pros and cons of certificates of analysis (CofAs) in QC, concluding they are one tool, but manufacturers need to re-approve the data contained in these CofAs.