Compounds from yet another Chinese herb (Ai Wei/F. Assafoetida) were found to be potent inhibitors of the H1N1 class of viruses. They were also shown to kill breast cancer and liver cancer cells as well. Chinese herbs have been used for millenia to help fight off a wide variety of epidemics. In fact, there are entire schools of Chinese herbal medicine dedicated to identifying infectious disease patterns and treating them. We will be finding many more novel compounds in the future from herbal medicine. Unfortunately, as conventional researchers get a hold of these, they mass produce them, use them inappropriately and then organisms develop resistance to them. In the mean time, herbal medicine extracts are novel enough to our pathogens to be very effective. If you want to learn some of the ancient Chinese strategies for dealing with epidemics, including the use of herbs, you can learn about it here.
 
J Nat Prod. 2009 Sep;72(9):1568-72.