Studies ponder powers of a plant derivative

A biochemist at Rutger's Biotechnology Center says that the plant derivative Aframomum melegueta may include the most powerful anti-inflammatory known. Scientist Ilya Raskin was attracted to the rare derivative, which grows in West Africa, during her studies of plant-derived therapeutics. Aframomum figures into a number of home remedies in Africa and its absence in the diet of zoo gorillas is considered a possible cause of various diseases. One species of the plant has also been shown to work against MRSA. Phytomedics has licensed Aframomum for cosmetic purposes and Interleukin Genetics has been conducting clinical trials of the material to inhibit cytokine modulators, a component of the immune system.

- check out the article from The Washington Post on Aframomum