South Korean scientists have developed an herbal medicine for treatment of the A/H1N1 flu, a state-run research institute announced Monday.

The Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM) said it successfully extracted materials commonly used in traditional herbal remedies that showed immediate results of recovery when injected to mice infected with the disease.

The medicine, known by its scientific name KIOM-C, has been developed by combining such extracted materials from a dozen of common herbal substances, according to KIOM.

"Laboratory tests conducted at the local company BioLeaders Corp. revealed the strong anti-viral qualities of the drug made from a substance found in oriental medicine," said Ma Jin-yeul, head of KIOM's Center for Herbal Medicine Improvement Research.

Ma said that more detailed tests would have to follow to corroborate his recent findings, but medicine in a tablet form would be available in about three years, much like the Tamiflu anti-viral drug currently in the market.

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2010)