"The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of rigorous science; training CAM researchers; and disseminating authoritative information." Source = Homepage 30/08/01
An online database - 'global botanic exchange' - listing over 29,000 species of plants and their theraputic uses. Useful ways of searching are provided.