UH Professor Studies Rain Forest Plants For Anti-Cancer Compound

From the bottom of deep oceans to the tops of tall trees, Dr. Maktoob Alam, an associate professor at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy, researches plants for the presence of anti-cancer compounds.

Dr. Alam, who receives support from the Moody Foundation, is currently researching plant species from South American rain forests. "Rain forests provide over one-quarter of the medicines currently available on the market," he says. "In addition, about 80 percent of all prescribed drugs come from a natural resource, and 75 percent of the plants known to have anti-cancer activity are found in rain forests."

Dr. Alam began working at the University of Houston in 1976 where he currently teaches courses in physiological chemistry, functional group analysis, and advanced pharmacology. He also conducts research on plant life, research he hopes will lead to the development of anti-cancer drugs. Dr. Alam and his colleagues have screened over 198 plants and identified 13 plants that inhibit cell function in solid tumors, such as colon and breast cancer. He has also talked to shamen - medicine men - in Peru about effects that plant species have on cancer cells. Recently, he found a compound which has significant activity in cancer cells.

Conducting research can be frustrating, however. It may take as many as two to three years to collect and screen a plant sample and, then, isolate and chemically identify the compound. An additional four to six years may be needed to determine the correct prototype of a potential anti-cancer drug. Only one out of 1,000 potential drugs is commercially marketed. In addition, the number of plant species that can be researched is quickly dwindling as a result of the immense destruction of rain forests caused by human development.

"Until a few years ago, rain forests have been a virtually untapped area to research. Now, the potential of finding an anti-cancer drug from them is greater than ever," says Dr. Alam.

- JENNIFER DURAND

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Courtesy of Texas Medical Center News

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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