[U-Need]

AFP BANGKOK Wednesday January 11, 2006 11:40 - (SA)- Thailand and China are set to release an herbal drug which they claim can strengthen the immune systems of people with HIV and help control the virus, Thai health authorities said.

The drug, called SH Instant, combines three medicinal herbs from China and two from Thailand and is the result of a six-year, 80 million baht (two million dollar) research project, according to the Medical Science Department of Thailand's public health ministry.

The drug combines the Chinese herbs yingchen, huangqi and ganchao with pluak rak mon (part of the mulberry root) and dok kham foi (extracted from safflowers).

"Based on our research, the herbal product SH Instant will effectively enhance immunity against HIV infection and will also create immunity in cases of drug-resistant HIV," the department's deputy chief Pongpan Wongmanee said in a statement.

Researchers based their findings on a study of 60 patients, which found that the 40 taking the drug fared better in fighting the virus than the 20 who did not.