Arney,

You are correct in your analysis of this particular program. The lab (since the early 80’s) screens samples (soil, marine, plants, etc.) from around the world to find a potential agent/chemical contained within the natural product, which can then be identified and synthetically reproduced for therapeutic applications. Not all agents can be synthetically reproduced, but many have. A good example of the use of a natural product is Taxol in fighting breast cancer. It is derived from yew trees.

The type of research utilizing herbal medicine to which you are referring is through the NIH- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine which lists the potential health benefits of numerous herb supplements and also links to other NIH Institutes which are investigating treatments/health benifts with respect to herbal/alternative medicine.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine


Pete