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News & Events
Hop bush has potential as a natural medicine
Published: 13-Jan-09
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
A hardy and easy to harvest native plant found commonly across Australia could have potential as a natural medicine according to a preliminary study produced by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC).
Dodonaea viscosa, more commonly known as hop bush, was used in traditional medicine and has now been found to contain anti-oxidants and wound healing properties. The RIRDC research identifies the likely components in the hop bush that are responsible for these beneficial activities and also outlines the methods of extraction of these beneficial components.
RIRDC’s General Manager of New Rural Industries, Dr Roslyn Prinsley, said while the hop bush research was in its infancy, there was potential for the development of a new natural medicine product and a new industry for rural Australia.
“The complementary medicine market provides a real opportunity for alternative crops for primary producers. There’s a large and growing consumer demand for natural products that relieve pain and contain wound healing properties and often those products can be found in traditional plant remedies.
“Hop bush is one such plant. It is commonly found throughout the country, is evergreen and hardy, and research indicates that it can be domesticated fairly easily without losing any of its beneficial properties. It also appears that harvesting and extraction are relatively straightforward.
“This project assessed extracts from this species for their application as a topical anti-inflammatory and characterised their active chemical ingredients.
“While anti-inflammatory components could not be identified, this early research confirms the presence of sufficient levels of active constituents to account for its traditional anti-oxidant and wound-healing use.”
Dr Prinsley said further research would be needed before a hop bush industry could be developed including ongoing testing and analysis of chemical compounds in the leaves, monitoring of seasonal variations and small field and greenhouse trials.
Further research could also include testing on humans in small clinical studies and a potential application to have the species listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.
The report was funded out of RIRDC’s New Rural Industries portfolio which aims to provide knowledge for the diversification of Australia’s rural industries and aid the development of new industries and products.
Full copies of the report are available at www.rirdc.gov.au.