Herbs such as echinacea have been used all over the world for centuries to cure disease and keep people healthy, but modern medicine is just beginning to understand how.

“I challenge you to show me the plant that only has one gene and only [affects] one gene or protein function in your body,” said Kevin Spelman, a biochemist withTai Sophia Institute for the Healing Arts in Baltimore. “New research shows many genes need complementary action in other genes or proteins to function.”