indian camphorweed, that grows in lowlands and swamps, may hold the key to a cure for amoebiasis, a disease caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica that mostly hits the poor. A team of researchers from Jadavpur University and Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, both in Kolkata, have isolated a compound from the root of this plant that stops the growth of the parasite.

Among the seven compounds isolated from the root extract of the shrub (Pluchea indica) is r/j/3. "This pure compound, chemically a thiophene derivative, was most effective in checking the proliferation of the parasites,' says lead researcher Tapan Kumar Chatterjee.

This could be a potent anti-amoebic drug, he says. The findings of the study will be published in a forthcoming issue of Phytomedicine.