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NIH Botanical Research Centers Program

The Office of Dietary Supplements, in collaboration with the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), funds six Dietary Supplement Research Centers focused on botanicals, collectively referred to as the NIH Botanical Research Centers Program. The Centers identify and characterize botanicals, assess bioavailability and bioactivity, explore mechanisms of action, conduct preclinical and clinical evaluations, help select botanicals to be tested in clinical trials and provide a rich environment for training and career development. The Centers are expected to advance the scientific base of knowledge about botanicals, including issues of their safety, efficacy, and biological action.

The Botanical Research Centers Program for 2005-2009 includes the following grantee institutions:

University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research in Women's Health

Center Director: Norman Farnsworth, PhD
Center Website: http://www.uic.edu/pharmacy/centers/uic_nih_botanical_dietary_supplement_research/

Research Projects:
  • Standardization
  • Mechanisms of Action
  • In Vitro and In Vivo Studies of Metabolism, Bioavailability, Toxicity
Description: The center will focus on several botanical ingredients used in herbal supplements that have potential benefits for women’s health, particularly therapies for symptoms of menopause. The researchers use in vitro and in vivo bioassays to investigate mechanisms of action. Active constituents are then identified and products standardized accordingly. The clinical team is conducting a Phase II clinical trial of black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) and red clover (Trifolium pratense) and will also conduct a Phase I study of hops (Humulus lupus). In addition to conducting basic and clinical research, the UIC group will support research training in pharmacognosy (the study of drugs of natural origin).

Purdue University and the University of Alabama Botanicals Research Center for Age Related Diseases

Center Director: Connie Weaver, PhD
Center Website: http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/fn/bot

Research Projects:
  • Isoflavones: Metabolism and Bone Health
  • Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) Polyphenols: Cardiovascular and Cognitive Function
  • Polyphenol Antioxidants and Eye Health
Description: This Center organizes and maintains a basic research multidisciplinary program for the study of botanicals as dietary supplements with an emphasis on polyphenols for age-related diseases. Polyphenols encompass a diverse group of chemical components widely distributed in a number of plant species that are consumed both for their nutritive value and purported medicinal properties. 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. The proposed research agenda of the Purdue Center is relevant to the leading cause of death in the United States, heart disease, and to three leading causes of diminished quality of life, osteoporosis, cognitive decline, and cataracts. The Purdue researchers collaborate closely with investigators at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), under the direction of Dr. Stephen Barnes.

Iowa State University and University of Iowa Botanical Supplements Research Center

Center Director: Diane Birt, PhD
Center Associate Director: Wendy Maury, PhD
Center Website: http://www.nwrc.iastate.edu/botanical/

Research Projects:
  • Studies of diversity in Echinacea, Hypericum and Prunella in relation to anti-viral activities
  • Studies of diversity in Echinacea, Hypericum and Prunella in relation to anti-inflammatory activities
  • Pain receptor mediated anti-inflammatory activity of Echinacea and Hypericum species
Description: The Iowa Center will focus on two widely used botanicals, Echinacea and Hypericum performatum (St. John's wort); and on Prunella (commonly known as Self-heal). The investigators propose to identify the anti-viral and anti-inflammatory constituents of each and determine the factors (genetic, growth, environmental, harvest) that influence quantity and quality of bioactive constituents. Mechanism of anti-viral and anti-inflammatory activity will be explored, including interaction of constituents with pain receptors that mediate anti-inflammatory activity. A hallmark of the Iowa Center is research on the genetic, developmental, and biochemical diversity of botanical supplement species to improve our understanding of the key constituents that contribute to their bioactivity.

The Pennington Botanical Research Center: Metabolic Syndrome

Center Director: William Cefalu, MD
Center Website: http://www.botanical.pbrc.edu

Research Projects:
  • Actions of Russian tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) on Insulin Action
  • Anti-obesity Potential of Shilianhua (Sinocrassula indica)
  • Grape Anthocyanins and Insulin Sensitivity
Description: Researchers will conduct basic and clinical studies to determine how selected botanicals may influence molecular, cellular and physiological mechanisms by which these botanicals may prevent or reverse the development of insulin resistance, the key pathophysiologic feature of the metabolic syndrome. The metabolic syndrome, which consists of obesity, insulin resistance, development of type 2 diabetes, and accelerated cardiovascular disease has reached epidemic proportions worldwide. The Pennington research group collaborates closely with the Rutgers University Center of Agriculture and the Environment under the direction of Dr. Ilya Raskin.

The Wake Forest and Brigham and Women's Center for Botanical Lipids

Center Director: Floyd Chilton, PhD
Center Website: http://www.mydietaryfats.org

Research Projects:
  • Mechanisms of Atherosclerosis Prevention by Flaxseed Oil
  • Echium Oil Triglyceride Metabolism and Atherosclerosis
  • Mechanism of Leukotriene Inhibition by Botanical Oils
  • Treatment of Bronchial Asthma with Borage Seed Oil
Description: All projects in the center focus on specific fatty acids derived from a single biochemical pathway involving the elongation and desaturation of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids. Center scientists will conduct studies to examine biological mechanisms and clinical applications of botanical sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids which may have benefit in the prevention and treatment of anti-inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis and asthma.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Research Center for Botanical Immunomodulators

Center Co-Director: Barrie Cassileth, PhD and Philip Livingston, MD

Research Projects:
  • Botanicals as Adjuvants or Immunomodulators with Vaccines Against Cancer
  • Modulation of Antibody Based Cancer Immunotherapy by Botanicals
  • Regulation of Pathogen-Specific Immune Defense by Botanicals
  • Development of Biomarkers for Study of Botanical Immunomodulators in Humans
Description: The thematic focus of this center is botanical immunomodulators relevant to the treatment of cancer and infectious disease. The investigators will study echinacea (Echinacea purpurea), astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus), turmeric (Curcuma longa), maitake and selected additional botanicals used in Traditional Medical systems for their immunomodulatory activity. Center institutions include Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, The Rockefeller University, and the Institute of Chinese Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.


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This page was last modified on Monday, October 06, 2008.

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