The South West's Peninsula Medical School has been given a grant of �500,000 to pay for the study of complementary medicine.

A total of about �2m has been donated to the school since it opened its doors to medical students in September 2002 at its teaching sites in Exeter, Plymouth and Truro.

Professor Edzard Ernst established a Chair of Complementary Medicine in 1993 at the University of Exeter but it is now part of the Peninsula Medical School.

The School of Complementary Medicine recently monitored 30,000 acupuncture treatments to demonstrate that the form of treatment is safe.

Research questions

Researchers have also carried out an extensive study of the medicinal herb Kava, establishing it reduces anxiety.

The school's medicine research group is the largest of its kind in Europe.

The institution said of the work to receive the grant: "We conduct research into all areas of complementary medicine.

"Our main research questions relate to the effectiveness, the efficacy and safety, as well as the costs of complementary medicine."