[DIYbio] A beginners question about a medicinal plant

Hi everyone, i kind of stumbled onto the diy bio movement and it seems really interesting. I don't really know where to start so some recommended reading or tips would be really appreciated.

I got interested in this because there is a plant in my country that is supposed to have a positive effect on the immune system of someone who has a weakened immune system, for what ever reason. I saw it work on my mother when she had dengue fever a few months ago. Long story short, after the results from a blood analysis came back, it showed that her immune system wasn't doing too well, she came back home grounded the leaves and put them in water and drank it through a metal straw that we call "bombilla" that has a metal filter at the end. After which her immune system rebounded and got better, I've heard of other people doing this same thing and getting similar results.

So my question is, where can i start? i want to analyse this plant for it's medicinal properties and maybe turn it into some type of medicine. If what i've observed and heard is possible then many people could be benefited with this kind of medicine. And it's not the only one, many plants and the like are said to have medicinal properties around here, i've used some of them and they've been pretty effective. I would like to start testing and analysing them.

Btw im a Comp sci student, if i can make a good case i might be able to persuade my principal into getting the people in biotech and biology involved(my campus is about 200km from the main university campus where the dept. of science is located, which is why i haven't been able to go to them with this idea)


Thanks for taking the time to respond
-Cristian from Paraguay