The Modern Medicine Man
Combines Science with Herbs

John Arnason collecting   samples at Trout Lake   Farm, WA

For centuries Indigenous Peoples from all over the world have used medicinal herbs for all types of ailments. From generation to generation the medicine man has used magical, powders from his pouch to care for the sick. Today's medicine man wears a lab coat and uses advanced technological tools to elucidate the healing powers of these medicinal herbs.

Echinacea, ginseng, and feverfew are some of the very popular herbal medicines studied by John Arnason, professor at the Department of Biology, and his team in the Laboratory of Phytochemistry, Medicinal Plants, and Chemical Ecology. Arnason's research is not only concerned with fundamental science but also with applied science which is a result of his collaborations with industry and small businesses.

One of Arnason's larger collaborations is with Trout Lake Farm LLC., located in the Cascade mountains in Washington State. Founded in 1973, Trout Lake Farm is the largest producer of organically grown medicinal plants in the United States. Trout Lake Farm is committed to providing "wholesome and effective organically grown herbs," explains Robert Deering, Product Development and Assurance Manager. The company is involved in R & D for improving crops for maximum efficacy and product quality.

Trout Lake Farm provides over 70 species of raw material to herbal manufactures, Echinacea being by far their largest crop. "Echinacea is North-America's premiere ethnobotanical material," says Arnason. Unlike fabricated drugs which are usually developed with specific active ingredients, herbal medicines have an array of active ingredients. Echinacea has over 20 active ingredients which will induce different effects: various ingredients will either provide immunostimulant action, create anti-inflammatory activity, or inhibit bacterial defenses. The modern medicine man is interested in understanding how all of theses ingredients interact with the human system and explores the best combinations for maximum medicinal effect.

During the 1960's, 11 species of Echinacea were identified, three of which are now commercially used and the other eight are wild. This classification was based on methods which have now been superceded by both numerical and DNA fingerprinting techniques. Trout Lake Farm is funding the Echinacea Germplasm Project with Bernard Baum at Agriculture Canada and Professors Arnason and Johnson at the University of Ottawa. The aim of the project is to re-examine both the taxonomy and phytochemistry of the entire Echinacea genus. Doctoral students Shannon Binns and Subbaiah Mechandia are working on this project and have re-analysed over 100 Echinacea populations collected by Binns in three years of field work. John Livesy, the group's chromotography expert, has developed the methods for the project. While this kind of research is fundamental in nature, it will assist Trout Lake Farm to identify and develop the most effective Echinacea varieties for medicinal use.

In addition to the Germplasm Project, Raftik Assabgui, a plant scientist in Arnason's lab, provides a variety of scientific services to Trout Lake Farm. This includes the study of the best growth conditions in the field for yield of medicinal principles, their stability during harvest, and analyses of raw materials by high pressure liquid chromatography for quality control. Trout Lake Farm is really pleased with their collaboration with the University of Ottawa: "We know that our testing is in great hands, and that the standards are at the highest level. We are also getting the best possible customer service, John is always ready to answer our questions," says Deering.

In addition to his collaborations with larger corporations, Arnason's lab has become a well sought after facility by many small farms growing medicinal herbs. Part of his mandate is to help Canadian farmers by providing phytochemical services which help test the medicinal efficacy of the farmer's crop. This type of service is not readily available in the Canadian private sector due to the lack of scientific expertise.

Arnason's Lab has also been involved in the American Botanical Council's Ginseng Evaluation Program which was established because of a concern for adulteration and lack of quality control of commercial ginseng products on the North American market. In a blind study of over 500 products conducted independently at the University of Ottawa and the University of Illinois, it was found that 20% of the products failed for identity or claimed content of phytochemical ingredients. However, once the manufacturers were informed of this, the majority rectified the problem and resubmitted samples for testing. "There is a great willingness out there to make herbal products better, says Arnason," and much of Arnason's research is to facilitate this process.

The regulation of medicinal herbs in Canada has only recently received serious attention with the establishment of the Office of Natural Health Products which will bring quality assurance standards into practice. Research in the use of herbs for medicinal purposes is still in its pioneering stage and much research is still required to appreciate the diversity and complexity of their action.