International Investing

Can a rare African plant hold one of the “most powerful anti-inflammatory substances ever discovered”? Ilya Raskin, whose company has licensed the product to Avon, thinks so.

The Washington Post gives background on the substances transformation from a spice to potential for medicine:

Raskin first became interested in Aframomum during an international effort to search for medicines from plants. “Aframomum contains compounds called gingerols, which are chemically similar to other anti-inflammatory compounds,” he said. “That’s what initially drew our attention to the plant, and was confirmed in the lab.”
…
For humans afflicted with inflammatory diseases, scientists are taking their cue from native African healers, who have used Aframomum for centuries to treat infections of all kinds, said biochemist Christopher Okunji of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“In the West African culture in which I was raised,” Okunji said, “Aframomum is an important part of daily life. For example, when a visitor arrives at someone’s home, no discussion begins until all partake of Aframomum seeds. People far back in African history likely knew that Aframomum was a good thing to eat if you didn’t want to get sick.”

Mr. Raskin’s company, Phytomedics, is private but micro-cap Interleukin Genetics has a patent pending using the plant. The stock is volatile but may be worth a flyer.