But just like you can call salicylic acid willow bark extract, corporations can package, market and sell homeopathic and natural alternatives to mainstream medicine, too.
The extract contains oleic acid, a compound that can bind with the stone and protect it, according to Dr. Karen Wilson of the Cardiff School of Chemistry at Cardiff University in Wales.
When they mixed their artificial biochemicals (including the unnatural amino acid) with a bacterial extract that contained ribosomes and all the appropriate enzymes, Dr Hirao and Dr Yokoyama found that the unnatural additions were treated just like their natural analogues.
He added that the exact chemical make up of the herbal extract and its effects on the gullet were unclear, and that the anti-acid drug used was one of the least effective available to doctors.