Over the last few decades there has been a worldwide increase in the percentage of people with allergies and asthma. Curcumin found in the herb Turmeric, a frequently used spice in Asia has anti-inflammatory activity and anti-allergy activity. In this study mice with an allergy to latex were treated with Curcumin.

According to researchers at the University of Connecticut, taking Echinacea at the first signs of a cold reduces the duration and even the risk of developing it. They pooled information from 14 studies involving almost 3,000 patients. They found that using Echinacea decreased the risk of developing a cold by a whopping 58%.

Scientists at the School of Pharmacy, University of Colorado at Denver studied the effects of Grape Seed Extract (GSE) against colorectal cancer. In the first part of the study, exposing various colon cancer cell lines to GSE slowed the growth of colon cancer cells and also caused the cancer cells to die. In the second part of the study mice lacking immune function were given human colon cancer in a surgical procedure called a xenograft.

H pylori is a bacterium that infects the lining of the stomach often leading to gastritis, duodenitis, peptic ulcers, and sometimes cancer. The bacterium releases a protein called VacA that causes gastritis and ulceration; some sources state that only 50% of the strains of H pylori create this protein. Research is showing that specific polyphenols block the effects of VacA and may be useful in preventing inflammation caused by the bacterium.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type of kidney cancer accounting for 85% of all cases. In this cancer a tumor grows on the filtering apparatus known as tubules. The diet and habits of 767 men and women with RCC were compared to those of 1,534 cancer free hospital patients in a case-controlled study.