Farnsworth Norman R, Mahady Gail B
Director, University of Illinois at Chicago/National Institutes of Health Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy.
Pharm Biol. 2009 Aug 1;47(8):755-760. doi: 10.1080/13880200902988637.
In 1999, the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy at the College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois (UIC) at Chicago was funded to establish a Botanical Dietary Supplements Research Center from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The emphasis of the UIC/NIH Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research (CBDSR) is botanical dietary supplements (BDS) for women's health. Center's research has focused on BDS that may improve women's health and quality of life, specifically in the areas of menopause, premenstrual syndrome, and persistent urinary tract infections. Center investigators have overcome many challenges associated with botanical dietary supplements research, including acquiring and identifying plant species for investigation, isolating and identifying active constituents, elucidating the mechanisms of action of these botanicals, and conducting phase I and phase II clinical studies. Black cohosh [Actaea racemosa L. (Ranunculaceae)] has been used as a model to illustrate the steps involved in taking a botanical dietary supplement from the field, all the way to clinical trials. Bioassays are described that were necessary to elucidate the pertinent biological studies of plant extracts and their mechanisms of action. The Center has used an innovative multidisciplinary approach to this type of research, and thus has been very successful in fulfilling its specific aims.
1999年，位于芝加哥的伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校药学院的药物化学与生药学系获得美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）资助，成立了植物性膳食补充剂研究中心。伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校/国立卫生研究院植物性膳食补充剂研究中心（CBDSR）的重点是针对女性健康的植物性膳食补充剂（BDS）。该中心的研究集中在可能改善女性健康和生活质量的植物性膳食补充剂上，特别是在更年期、经前综合征和复发性尿路感染等领域。该中心的研究人员克服了与植物性膳食补充剂研究相关的许多挑战，包括获取和鉴定用于研究的植物物种、分离和鉴定活性成分、阐明这些植物的作用机制，以及开展I期和II期临床研究。黑升麻[Actaea racemosa L.（毛茛科）]已被用作一个模型，来说明从田间获取植物性膳食补充剂一直到进行临床试验所涉及的各个步骤。文中描述了阐明植物提取物相关生物学研究及其作用机制所必需的生物测定方法。该中心对这类研究采用了创新的多学科方法，因此在实现其特定目标方面非常成功。
