KarunaNews Story

Scientists often look to the natural world to find compounds that can be used to improve our health. For years, undergraduate students at the University of Portland painstakingly ground up flowers and isolated different molecules from them in an effort to find the next big breakthrough. The students were specifically looking for a compound that would block a harmful substance called hyaluronidase, which can encourage the progression of multiple sclerosis and some cancers. A couple years back, the students found something promising in the plants: a compound called sulfuretin. Scientists at Oregon Health and Science University then started testing sulfuretin on cells in the lab. They found the plant-derived compound was able to successfully inhibit a key form of the problematic hyaluronidase; the most potent form of sulfuretin came from coreopsis flowers and dahlias. Next, they plan to expand their research beyond isolated cells in the lab to animals, to test for effectiveness and potential side effects.