Stanford University scientists have successfully produced a common cancer drug in a common laboratory plant. Scientists hope that their work could lead to a more stable supply of the drug and will allows scientists to manipulate that drug to make it even safer and more effective.

Presently, most of the drugs we taken today to treat pain, fight cancer or thwart disease were originally identified in plants, some of which have now become extinct or are endangered. Such plants are still source of a number of medicines.

Scientists believe that the technique of shifting medicinal properties from rare plants to laboratory plants could be applied to a wide range of other plans and drugs. This could results in a more stable supply of drugs derived from rare plants.

Elizabeth Sattely, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Stanford and the study's lead author sad she along with her team was successful in identifying the genes that enable the leafy Himalayan plant mayapple to produce the chemicals key to producing a widely used cancer-fighting drug called etoposide.

Sattely said the tobacco relative was used as a host for the experiment because it has been widely studied by plant biologists and is easy to engineer. Researchers said they can insert that gene into a more easily-grown laboratory plant to have that plant grow the same chemical

Sattely believes that by using this technique, the threat of the chemical becoming unavailable nearly diminishes, allowing for a less expensive and more easily controlled source.

She said, "My interests are really identifying new molecules and pathways from plants that are important for human health".