WASHINGTON—The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a grant to Iowa State University (ISU) to study botanicals used as ingredients in dietary supplements. A multidisciplinary research team will study Hypericum (St. John’s wort), Prunella (Self heal) and several types of Echinacea for their anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties. The newly funded center will be headed by Diane Birt, Ph.D., an ISU distinguished professor, and will bring together researchers from ISU, the University of Iowa and Yale University.
“The work of all of the NIH-sponsored botanical research centers has proven to be important in advancing science in this area,” said Paul Coates, Ph.D., director of ODS. “We expect that this center at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa will continue to provide new insights into factors that can influence levels of bioactive components in plants and thereby modify the biological effects of botanicals used in dietary supplements.”
Currently, NIH (http://ods.od.nih.gov/) funds six dietary supplement research centers focused on botanicals, emphasizing basic and preclinical research of potential benefit to human health. The studies at ISU will focus on identifying compounds and chemical profiles for anti-viral and anti-inflammatory activities; this work is intended to complement research at the other botanical centers studying inflammation, which has been identified as a common denominator of a number of chronic diseases, such as heart disease.
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