Tomsk State University and Siberian State Medical University have signed an agreement under which joint research in experimental pharmacology will be conducted to assess the antitumor activity of dry extracts of genus Spiraea plants. The results will be the basis for a new drug for cancer.

- Some species of the genus Spiraea are used in folk medicine and have significant resource potential,- explains Vera Kostikova, senior researcher at the Herbarium Laboratory at the TSU Biological Institute. - Phenolic compounds with high biological activity - flavonols, flavones, flavans, and phenol carboxylic acids - were found in Spiraea. Spiraea extracts have a cytotoxic effect, which suggests their effectiveness as antitumor agents.

In the summer of 2021, the staff of the Herbarium Laboratory will go on an expedition across Siberia to collect the necessary raw materials. Scientists plan to work in the Tomsk Region, Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk and Altai Territories, and the Altai Republic. Dry extracts will be prepared from the collected medicinal plants and transferred for research to specialists of the Siberian State Medical University.

Earlier, in the course of joint research with colleagues from the Central Siberian Botanical Garden of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Novosibirsk) and specialists at the State Scientific Center of Virology and Biotechnology Vector (Novosibirsk), TSU biologists discovered high antiviral and antioxidant activity in Spiraea, which makes this plant promising for use in medicine. At present, Vera Kostikova is investigating the content of biologically active substances in Spiraea, depending on the habitat, stage of development, and phenological phase. These data can also be useful for creating a new drug based on Spiraea extract to fight cancer pathologies.