FW: NIH funds a Center for Research on Ayurvedic Medicine

[Guest guest]

Namaskar! The announcement below is exciting. However,

we do hope that US researchers will not try to patent

India's products and techniques.

 

 

NIH OLIB (OD) [sMTP:olib]

Wednesday, September 20, 2000 7:06 AM

NIH ANNOUNCES TWO ADDITIONAL CENTERS FOR

DIETARY SUPPLEMENT RESEA RCH

 

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

 

Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)

 

NIH NEWS RELEASE

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, September 20, 2000

 

Contact:

Marc Stern

(301) 496-2535

 

 

 

NIH ANNOUNCES TWO ADDITIONAL CENTERS FOR DIETARY

SUPPLEMENT

RESEARCH

 

Bethesda, MD -- The Office of Dietary Supplements

(ODS), in

collaboration with the National Center for

Complementary and

Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), two components of the

National

Institutes of Health (NIH), announce plans to

establish two

additional Centers for Dietary Supplement Research

with an

emphasis on botanicals.

 

Today's announcement of research awards to Purdue

University

in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the University of

Arizona at

Tucson, will bring the total to four NIH-supported

Centers

studying the health effects of botanicals. In 1999,

ODS and

NCCAM funded two dietary supplement research centers

at the

University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the

University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).

 

"These competitive awards of approximately $1.5

million each

per year for five years were made as a result of

efforts by

Congress to promote the scientific study of botanicals

and

to explore more fully the potential role of botanical

dietary supplements," said Paul Coates, Ph.D., of

the ODS. He continued, "The Centers for Dietary

Supplement

Research also represent the realization of several

scientific goals developed in the ODS Strategic Plan."

 

According to national surveys, approximately one-

third of

Americans use complementary and alternative medicine

(CAM),

such as botanical dietary supplements. "The popularity

of

supplements such as soy isolates, green tea extract,

garlic,

echinacea, St. John's wort and ginkgo has increased

dramatically in the last decade; however, current

standards

regulating use of these supplements, coupled with

sparse

information concerning their safety or effectiveness,

pose

problems for health practitioners and consumers," said

Stephen Straus, M.D., Director of NCCAM. "These

centers will

critically evaluate various botanicals presently in

use, and

provide valid information to aid the American public

in

making informed decisions," Dr. Straus concluded. To

address

these issues, Congress appropriated funds for the ODS

in

fiscal year 1999 to develop a botanical research

center

initiative and expanded that support in 2000.

 

The University of Arizona Center (UA), directed by

Barbara

Timmermann, Ph.D., will focus on three botanicals

(ginger,

turmeric, and boswellia) widely used in Ayurvedic

medicine

for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Ayurveda,

a

medical system primarily practiced in India for 5,000

years,

includes diet and herbal remedies, while emphasizing

the

body, mind and spirit in disease prevention and

treatment.

The UA researchers propose to identify the active

constituents of these three herbs and study their

pharmacological activity. This research will lead to

clinical studies of arthritis and other chronic

inflammatory

conditions including respiratory diseases such as

asthma.

The UA group is recognized for their work in natural

products chemistry research. It is anticipated that

their

future research efforts also will be important to the

field

of complementary and alternative medicine.

 

The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) strengthens

knowledge and understanding of dietary supplements by

evaluating scientific information, stimulating

and supporting research, disseminating research

results, and

educating the public to foster an enhanced quality of

life

and health for the U.S. population. For additional

information about ODS, please visit our website at

http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov.

 

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative

Medicine (NCCAM) is dedicated to exploring

complementary and

alternative healing practices in the context of

rigorous

science; training CAM researchers; and disseminating

authoritative information. For additional information

about

NCCAM, please visit our website at

http://nccam.nih.gov.

 

The Purdue Center for Dietary Supplement Research on

Botanicals, directed by Connie Weaver, Ph.D., will

study the

health effects of polyphenols (a diverse group of

chemical

components widely distributed in plants) -- many of

which

are consumed both for their nutritive value and

medicinal

properties. Examples include soy, grapes, green tea,

and

several herbs. The speculated health-promoting effects

of

polyphenols are generally attributed to their

antioxidant

action, but other biological mechanisms may be

involved and

will be explored. Soy isoflavones, for example,

function as

phytoestrogens that may play a role in bone

metabolism.

 

The proposed research agenda of the Purdue Center is

clinically relevant to the two leading causes of death

in

the U.S., heart disease and cancer, and to two leading

causes of diminished quality of life, osteoporosis and

cognitive decline. The Purdue researchers will

collaborate

closely with investigators at the University of

Alabama at

Birmingham (UAB). The UAB research efforts will be

directed

by Stephen Barnes, Ph.D.

 

 

 

 

 

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