An interest in medicine led Brian Burtch of Cleveland to choose an area of undergraduate research at Ashland University that could ultimately benefit humanity. The flavonoids are anti-oxidants which battle free radicals in the body.
Free radicals are harmful because they are very reactive and damage vital parts of the body's cells.
The son of Brian and Susan Burtch of 3463 W. 151st St. in Cleveland, Burtch is a 1994 St. Edward High School graduate. He is a senior majoring in biology and chemistry at Ashland University. An honor student at AU, Burtch said he originally considered doing his undergraduate research project on ragweed, but a literature search revealed much research has already been done on that plant. At the suggestion of his adviser on the research project, Dr. Jeffrey Weidenhamer, professor of chemistry, Burtch decided to attempt to develop an analytical method to separate and identify the flavonoids found in the perennial shrub Calamintha ashei. The shrub is found in the scrub region along Florida's Lake Wales ridge and while it is not yet endangered, many endemic scrub species are threatened by rapid habitat loss due to development.