Natural Products Center
The mission of the Natural Products Center (NPC) is to conduct interdisciplinary research leading to the discovery, development and commercialization of useful natural products from plants and micro-organisms found in the arid and semi-arid lands of the world.
NPC was established in 1996 in the former Bioresources Research Facility on Valencia Road. Today NPC is engaged in research on anticancer, anti-HIV, anti-infective, and anti-inflammatory drug discovery 
from Sonoran desert plants and their associated microorganisms, genetic investigation of natural product biosynthesis in selected microorganisms, commercialization of Hesperaloe fiber, and development of alternate agricultural systems. Most of these projects are targeted for improving the longevity of agriculture in Arizona, the Southwest, and semiarid lands throughout the world and to understand the complex ecology of arid land ecosystems.
• Recent and Ongoing Projects include:
• Discovery and development of anti-cancer agents from plants
• Targeting heat shock function for cancer therapy
• Studies on anti-prostate cancer herbal supplement “PC SPES”
• Discovery, evaluation and development of anti-cancer drugs from rhizosphere microflora of desert plants
• Anticancer agents from endophytic fungi of desert plants
Contact Information
Contact Person: Leslie Gunatilaka
Contact Email Address: leslieg@cals.arizona.edu
Contact Phone Number: 520-621-9932
Contact Address:
Natural Products Center
250 E. Valencia Road
Tucson, AZ 85706 US
