David Pasco (left), former associate director of the UM National Center for Natural Products Research, and Nirmal Pugh, a principal scientist at the center, began studying the immune properties of compounds found in aloe vera more than 20 years ago. The team has been issued a joint patent for one of those compounds used by Woodcliff Skincare Solutions Inc. in its line of skin care products. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services