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[00:01.00]American research scientists have found a new use for a wild plant commonly found in the United States.
[00:10.71]The researchers say the mayapple plant produes a substance used for making a drug to fight cancer.
[00:22.08]They say it can produce more of the cancer-fighting substance than anything else known to scientists.
[00:31.06]The mayapple grows in the forests of the southern and central United States.
[00:39.47]Many Americans consider the plant undesirable.
[00:44.57]However,scientists have found that the mayapple produces a substance called podophyllotoxin.
[00:53.66]Podophyllotoxin is used to produce the cancer drug etoposide.
[01:01.23]Etoposide is used to treat lung cancer and cancer of the testicles.
[01:09.07]It has been shown to restrict the activity of an enzyme necessary for the reproduction of cancer cells.
[01:18.92]This prevents the spread of the disease.
[01:23.73]Traditionally,podophyllotoxin has been collected from the roots of podophyllum emodi.
[01:32.06]It is a wild plant that grows only in the Himalayan Mountains.
[01:37.91]However,the plant has been declared endangered
[01:42.82]Because too much of it has been collected in India.
[01:48.10]Attempts to make copies of the cancer-fighting substance have proven costly.
[01:55.86]Now,researchers from the United States Agriculture Department and the University of Mississippi have developed a way to get podophyllotoxin from the mayapple plant.
[02:13.10]The researchers believe that both the mayapple and podophyllum emodi produce the substance as a form of protection against insects and other plant-eating creatures.
[02:30.34]The plants store the substance until they are attacked.
[02:35.43]The American researchers say their method is successful because it makes the mayapple think it is being attacked.
[02:46.22]This results in the release of large amounts of podophyllotoxin.
[02:53.12]They say their system to remove podophyllotoxin from the mayapple is fast,effective and low cost.
[03:04.85]The researchers say the mayapple plant provides a plentiful and renewable supply of the substance.
[03:14.98]And they add there may be increased demand for the mayapple plant as a crop if the method becomes widely used.
