Can this work against cancer?

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) there is a herb that has been used for patients with cancer.

Preparation needed to prepare the medicine from the herb is laborious. Relatives of the patients are willing to make the effort in the hope that the medicine will help the patient

The collaboration of UK and Chinese researchers who utilized DNA sequencing technology to piece together the genomic sequence of the skullcap plant (Scutellaria barbata), commonly known as banzhilian in China has enabled them to identify a cancer fighting compound.

Professor Cathie Martin, Group Leader at the John Innes Centre, and one of the authors of the study hopes that further research will enable them to synthesize larger quantities of compounds more rapidly and sustainably by using a host such as yeast.

It is too costly to plant the herb on a large scale and to prepare it based on TCM methodology.

If there is a demand for scutebarbatine A, the natural form of it cannot be produced in sufficient quantities and its costs will be too high.

Will synthetic scutebarbatine A be as effective  as the natural compound?

Many synthetic  vitamins have been around for a long time but the preference for natural vitamins from food we eat is still prevalent.

Natural scutebarbatine A may very well prove to be better and more effective than the synthetic  product.

The research on the skullcap plant (Scutellaria barbata) and the compound scutebarbatine A which appears in the journal Molecular Plant is led by CEPAMS, a partnership between the John Innes Centre and the Chinese Academy of Science and supported by The Royal Society.

The drug has not been certified  by the FDA yet.

Do you believe in traditional medicine? Perhaps we can have a discussion  on the role of traditional  medicine in the modern age. Should the use of TM be discouraged?

Are natural vitamins and drugs better than synthetic ones? This is another area of debate. Which do you prefer?