A herbal tea that could combat malaria is due to start its first clinical trial in July, researchers have announced. The brew, called Saye, will be trialled against the conventional malaria drug artemisinin with funding from the Ministry of Health in Burkina Faso. The Saye tea has been used in the country for more than 30 years. Saye is a mixture of three plants, including the root of the local N’Dribala plant (Cochlospermum planchonii), and was first licensed as a herbal medicine in Burkina Faso ten years ago. But the compounds it contains that might act against malaria have yet to be identified.
