To overcome the shortage of Tamiflu - the World Health Organization's drug of choice for treating people infected with the H1N1swine flu virus - and the controversial swine flu vaccine, Chinese and Egyptian scientists have turned to a herbal remedy used to combat the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.
They have discovered the roots of a plant commonly called "devil's dung" for its foul smell contain substances with powerful effects in killing the H1N1 swine flu virus in laboratory tests.
Lead researcher Yang-Chang Wu, from the Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan, and colleagues identified a group of chemical compounds, sesquiterpene coumarins, in extracts of the devil's dung plant that showed strong antiviral properties against the H1N1 swine flu virus in test tubes.
The devil's dung plant, Ferula assa-foetida, grows and is used in folk medicine in Mediterranean and central Asian countries, particularly Iran, Afghanistan and mainland China.
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Source: University World News, Issue No: 0097 18 October 2009
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