Alternative Medicine Repertory

The Bastyr University AIDS Research Center (BUARC) was established in October 1994 under a cooperative grant from NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) and the National Center on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). The mission of BUARC is to: Describe forms and patterns of use of complementary & alternative medicine (CAM) for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; Screen and evaluate therapies from the NCCAM's program areas of CAM; Provide consultation and support to the medical and research community in the scientific evaluation of CAM therapies.

Researchers will conduct basic and clinical studies to determine how selected botanicals may influence molecular, cellular and physiological mechanisms by which select botanicals may prevent or reverse the development of insulin resistance, the key pathophysiologic feature of the metabolic syndrome. Investigators will study Russian tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus), Shilianhua (Sinocrassula indica) and grape anthocyanins.

NCCAM Research Centers

This basic research center organizes and maintains a multidisciplinary program for experimental research on botanicals as dietary supplements with an emphasis on polyphenols for age-related diseases. Polyphenols encompass a diverse group of chemical components widely distributed in plants, many of which 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 clinically relevant to the leading cause of death in the United States, heart disease, and to three leading causes of diminished quality of life, osteoporosis,

Information on federal grants and funding resources from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health.