A plant has been found to halt the deadly Ebola virus in its tracks in laboratory tests, scientists have said.They used a compound from Garcinia kola, a plant commonly eaten in West Africa. Compoundsfrom the plant have also proved effective against some strains of flu.If the anti-Ebola compound proves successful in animal and human trials, it will be the first medicine to successfully treat the virus that causes Ebola haemorrhagic fever - an often-fatal condition.The discovery was announced atthe 16th International Botanical Congress in St Louis in the US.Four deaths per five casesThe Ebola virus was first documented in 1976 after an outbreak in Zaire - now the Democratic Republic of the Congo - where 88% of the 318 human cases died.More recently, a 1995 outbreak in the same country had a death rate of 81% of the 315 infected.There are four types of the virus - Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan and Ebola-Ivory Coast all affect humans, while Ebola-Reston has so far only affected monkeys andchimpanzees.However, doctors have been unable to stop the virus once infection has taken hold - hence the disease has gained a terrifying reputation.Traditional originsDr Maurice Iwu, who set up and heads the Bioresources Development and Conservation Programme, led the research.It started 10 years ago when researchers were led to the plantby traditional native healers who have used the plant for the treatment of infectious diseases for centuries."This is a very exciting discovery," said Dr Iwu, who himself comes originally from a family of traditional healers."The same forest that yields the dreaded Ebola virus could be a source of the cure."The extract can be eaten or rubbed into the skinFighting chanceThe virus multiplies rapidly in thehuman body and quickly overwhelms it, and in advanced cases the patient develops high fever and severe bleeding.The Garcinia kola compound hasbeen shown to halt multiplicationof the virus in the laboratory. If repeated in humans, this would give the body a chance to fight off the virus.The active compound is what is known as a dimeric flavonoid, which is two flavonoid moleculesfused together.Flavonoids are non-toxic and can be found in orange and lemon rinds as well as the colourings of other plants.Drug hopesThe tests are in the early stages still, but the researchers hope that if they continue to prove successful the compound the USFood and Drug Administration will put it on a fast track - makinga drug available to humans within a matter of years."The discovery of these important properties in a simple compound - flavonoids - was very surprising," said Dr Iwu."The structure of this compound lends itself to modification, so it provides a template for future work."Even if this particular drug does not succeed through the whole drug approval process, we can use it to construct a new drug forthis deadly disease."*I got this off BBC website so i am assuming this is authentic,however dont quote me please.