Current Research at HMREC
HMREC's vision is to promote high quality scholarship and research excellence in herbal and complementary medicines for the benefit of the community through research, education and international linkage.
The Centre is a focal point for research and education of value to health care professionals, industry, government and the community on the quality, safety and efficacy of herbal and complementary medicines.
Research expertise of HMREC staff includes:
- cardiovascular
- pain and inflammation
- anti-cancer agents
- neuropharmacology
- isolation and identification of active components
- liver toxicology
- quality analysis
- pharmacokinetics
- drug-herb interactions
- diabetes and lipid management
Key Projects
1. Anti-inflammatory Activity of Medicinal Plants
Currently at HMREC, an active research project is focusing on the development of herbal products for use as anti-inflammatory and analgesic therapeutic agents from several plants including ginger (Zingiber officinalis) and pennywort (Centella asiatica). The aim of the project is to identify active extracts and/or components from plants for the development of the herbal products and to provide leads for structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis. The extracts and synthetic substances are examined on various biological assays including vanilloid pain-mediating receptors and COX-2 to evaluate their potential anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect. This research is also intended to provide insight into the mode of action of synthetically prepared active constituents and analogues, which are then used to evaluate the activities of herbal extracts for herbal product development and for the selection of potential candidates for pharmaceutical drug discovery. Certain elements of this project were carried out in collaboration with an industry partner, Thursday Plantation Laboratories, as part of the Strategic Partnership with Industry – Research and Training (SPIRT) program. Subsequently the product intellectual property has been licensed by ZingoTX, a biotechnology company under the umbrella of the publicly listed company EqiTX.
2. Mode of action of anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular and CNS herbal components on receptors (vanilloid TRPV1, PPAR) and enzymes (COX-1 and –2, glucosidase).
3. Mechanisms and Development of plant-based therapeutic products for the treatment of hyperlipidemia and diabetes based on traditional knowledge.
Type 2 Anti-diabetic activities of herbs from India and Asia Salacia oblonga and Punica granatum. Phytochemistry and extract optimisation, anti-diabetic mechanisms (in vitro and whole animal studies), PPAR’s, LXR, meatbolic gene regulation, and prevention of cardiovascular fibrosis, lipotoxicity and related diabetic complications.
Results are published in International journals British Journal of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Life Sciences.
4. Potential Anticancer Drugs or Immunomodulatory agents from Medicinal Plants
5. Evaluation of Herb-Drug Interactions; development of a database and in vitro and clinical studies. Warfarin-herb interactions in healthy volunteers.
The use of herbal medicine products is increasing, and in a community where prescription medications are also consumed, the potential for herb-drug interactions is becoming an important public health issue. Indeed, herb-drug interactions have been identified as a significant safety issue by a number of national and international regulatory organisations.
There is a recognised lack of evidence-based resources providing accessible information regarding complementary medicines to pharmacists and GPs, and there is a very real need for the provision of a resource relating to herb-drug interactions to aid in clinical decision making and prescribing for patients.
In recognition of a need for this information, HMREC is in the process of establishing an evidence-based Herb-drug Interactions Database providing accessible, current information to healthcare professionals. The development of this database has been achievable by the generous support from the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation.
The database comprises the majority of herbal and complementary medicines commonly used in Australia and Europe today and describes all documented potential interactions with pharmaceutical medicines. A concise recommendation for each interaction provides a suggestion of appropriate action to be taken by the healthcare professional in regard to the patient. The database is unique in that the interaction recommendations are based on evidence which has been collected from original research papers and case reports only, and expertly critiqued and assessed for its clinical relevance.
The project has involved effective collaboration between key members of HMREC and research and health informatics consultants to produce a high quality, interactive user-friendly resource.
Currently, the database is in the process of undergoing review and evaluation by potential partners with a view of sharing the database with existing health information providers or providing it as a complete resource.
6. Quality assurance and analysis and the HMREC Medicinal Herb Herbarium Database
Quality assurance and analysis of popular herbal medicinal products and Chinese medicines in the Australian market were carried out using planner chromatography and HPLC: Aristolochic acid, Panax ginseng, Ginkgo biloba, propolis, Echinacea.
The Herbal Medicines Research and Education Centre has a Herbarium, which holds specimens of medicinal herbs. Currently there are 228 specimens in the herbarium, examples of medicinal herbs mainly from Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic medicine and Western herbal medicine.
In consultation with HMREC staff, a database has been set up to log and organise these specimens, including relevant information on each specimen. The database contains information such as the scientific, common and pharmacopoeia names of the specimen, when the specimen was obtained, where it was obtained from (whether purchased or collected on a field trip), who it was obtained by, and whether the specimen has been used in any scientific studies.
Each specimen record is also printed out as a Herbarium Data Sheet and kept in a folder in the HMREC office. An example of a data sheet is shown in Figure 1. The database also has the ability to generate herbarium labels for new specimens logged into the herbarium, from the data entered.
The database will be a useful tool to any researchers needing to locate particular HMREC specimens, and will allow them to see if the specimen has been used in studies before
7. Effect of St John’s wort components, the hyperforins, on the CYP450 drug metabolism enzymes
8. Influence of ginkgolides and related components on GABA central nervous system functions
9. Effect of flavonoids on multi-drug resistance in cancer
10. Syntheses of natural products and analogues and the use of structure-activity relationships in drug design
11. Development of drugs interacting with GABA and nicotine receptors, from natural products and synthetic chemistry