[MPWG] Western and African medicine grant

Patricia_Ford at fws.gov Patricia_Ford at fws.gov
Wed Dec 28 13:57:05 CST 2005


Published on Oct 17, 2005
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=13804

$4.4 million, 4-year grant aims to bridge gap between Western and African
medicine
Medical Research News


Described as a hotspot of botanical diversity, there are more than 20,000
indigenous plant species in South Africa. Several thousand of them are used
by traditional healers every day in that country for treating a range of
problems from the common cold to serious diseases such as AIDS.

How safe and effective these treatments are will be the focus of The
International Center for Indigenous Phytotherapy Studies (TICIPS), a
collaborative research effort between the University of Missouri-Columbia
and the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. The center will be
funded by a $4.4 million, 4-year grant from the National Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicines (NCCAM), a division of the National
Institutes of Health.

"The American and South African citzens have strong interests in
complementary and alternative medicine practices, but little is known of
their safety and effectiveness," said Bill Folk, senior associate dean for
research in the School of Medicine, principal investigator of the grant and
co-director of TICIPS.

Folk and U.S. research teams from MU, University of Missouri-Kansas City
(UMKC), Missouri Botanical Garden, University of Texas and Georgetown
University will partner with Quinton Johnson, director of the South African
Herbal Science and Medicine Institute and co-director of TICIPS at the
University of the Western Cape, University of Cape Town, University of
Kwazulu-Natal (UKZ-N) in South Africa, and South African traditional
healers. Together, they will study the medicinal properties, safety and
effectiveness of several African plants in use today by traditional
healers. South Africa is home to more than 200,000 traditional healers who
care for more than 27 million people.

"TICIPS is especially significant, since it presents the very first
opportunity for medical doctors, scientists and traditional healers to
internationally cooperate as equal partners in exploring indigenous African
phytotherapies for AIDS, secondary infection and immune modulation,"
Johnson said. "Furthermore, TICIPS creates a unique bridge between Western
and African medicine systems, with the aim of bringing hope, health and
healing to all."

The Center's first projects will examine two plants used widely in South
Africa. One of those projects, led by Kathy Goggin of UMKC and Doug Wilson
of UKZ-N, will investigate whether Sutherlandia, or Lessertia frutescens,
is safe in HIV-infected patients and prevents wasting. A previous, small
pilot study by TICIPS researchers studied the safety of Sutherlandia in
healthy adults. This was the first study of its kind, according to Folk.

Other projects will focus on Artemisia afra, which is widely used to treat
respiratory infections. There is suggestive evidence that A. afra might be
useful in treating Tuberculosis, which will be explored by TICIPS
researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch - Galveston and the
University of Cape Town. Another project will examine the plant's potential
for preventing or treating cervical cancer. TICIPS researchers from Mizzou,
Georgetown University, UKZ-N and the University of the Western Cape will
collaborate on the project.

"A real strength of TICIPS comes from the contributions of colleagues
outside of the life sciences. Communication is a strong component in order
to let the public know what we find," Folk said. "Working with the MU
School of Journalism and colleagues at the University of the Western Cape
will ensure that our findings about the safety of these plants are
distributed among the public, not only in South Africa, but throughout the
world. Also, we enjoy a very strong partnership with the Missouri Botanical
Garden, one of the world's outstanding botanical centers. Nature has
thousands of secrets that we have yet to discover. This is a big first step
in uncovering some of those secrets and seeing how we can better understand
these alternative medicines."

http://www.missouri.edu/





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