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This Calophyllum tree has been carefully incised with a rubber tapper into the bark, and latex is being collected.
© D.D. Soejarto |
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Dried chopped plant samples are ground and then extracted with solvents.
© Tim McCloud, SAIC Frederick |
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Bio-prospectors collect plants that are already known by the local people to have medicinal properties, but they also take material from lots of other trees and plants. The tree Dr. Burley sampled that day, Calophyllum , had no known healing properties.
A Double-Check, and a Discovery
Back at NCI, plant samples are tested against biological screens for a variety of illnesses. Dr. Burley's branch was initially checked for anti-cancer properties, and came up negative. Four years later it was tested for anti-HIV properties. The results were remarkable: "The Calophyllum extract provided 100 percent protection against the cytopathic effects of HIV-I infection and essentially halted HIV-I replication." In other words, the plant extract arrested HIV-related cell degeneration and stopped the virus from multiplying.
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