Five New Botanical Centers Grants Announced
NCCAM and the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements recently announced five new research centers grants that will focus on botanicals (plants and their products), including their safety, effectiveness, and how they may work.
Botanical Center for Age-Related Diseases
Principal Investigator: Connie Weaver, Ph.D.Partner Institutions: Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana; University of Alabama at Birmingham; Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Researchers will investigate the health effects of polyphenols (a diverse group of chemical components in plants), from sources such as soy and kudzu, for their potential to prevent and treat osteoporosis, cognitive decline, cataracts, and other diseases and conditions.
Botanical Dietary Supplements for Women's Health
Principal Investigator: Norman Farnsworth, Ph.D.Institution: University of Illinois at Chicago
The center will focus on herbal supplements that may have benefits for women's health, such as black cohosh and red clover for menopausal symptoms. In addition, research training will be supported.
Botanicals and Metabolic Syndrome
Principal Investigator: William Cefalu, M.D.Partner Institutions: Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, Baton Rouge; Center of Agriculture and the Environment of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Researchers will study the effects of herbal extracts (Russian tarragon, Shilianhua, and grape) on metabolic syndrome. In this syndrome, patients have a clustering of abnormalities, including insulin resistance, elevated triglycerides, high blood pressure, and obesity, that increase the risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
MSKCC Research Center for Botanical Immunomodulators
Principal Investigators: Barrie Cassileth, Ph.D., and Philip Livingston, M.D.Partner Institutions: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City; Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York City; The Rockefeller University, New York City; the Institute of Chinese Medicine and the Chinese University, Hong Kong, China
This center will investigate botanicals that may affect immune function—echinacea, maitake, astragalus, turmeric, and a traditional Chinese formula—and their possible relevance to the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases.
Wake Forest and Harvard Center for Botanical Lipids
Principal Investigator: Floyd Chilton, Ph.D.Partner Institutions: Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
This center will study polyunsaturated fatty acids derived from botanicals, such as flaxseed, echium, and borage, for their anti-inflammatory actions and their potential to treat inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and asthma.
