Topic: Materia Medica --Anti Cancer

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Natural Plant Chemicals Work Together in Herbal Remedy to Halt Cancer Growth



Skullcap

The traditional Chinese herb Scutellaria (called skullcaps in the West) contains a combination of plant chemicals that together can significantly slow the growth of several different cancers, according to a study published in the January 2009 issue of Planta Medica.

The authors say this herb might prove an important addition to current cancer treatments. “On the basis of our preliminary results, we expect maximum benefit from Scutellaria…in combination with standard therapy such as surgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy,” says Prahlad Parajuli, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Wayne State University and Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan.

Past studies have shown that Scutellaria has potent antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties, which come primarily from natural plant chemicals (phytochemicals) called flavonoids. Most of the research conducted on Scutellaria so far has focused on the roots of the herb, which are rich in the flavonoid wogonin. However, the leaves and stems are also thought to be high in cancer-fighting phytochemicals, according to study co-author Nirmal Joshee, PhD, assistant professor of Plant Science at Fort Valley State University in Georgia.

To learn more about this herb and how it might combat cancer, the researchers analyzed leaf, stem, and root extracts from 13 different Scutellaria species. They found that each extract contained different combinations of six flavonoids: apigenin, baicalein, baicalin, chrysin, scutellarein, and wogonin. Most extracts contained three or four different flavonoids. Two extracts contained all six flavonoids.

They then treated human breast, prostate, and brain cancer cells, as well as non-cancerous cells, with the Scutellaria extracts. Nine of the extracts significantly halted the spread of cancer cells. The higher the dose and longer the duration of treatment, the more effectively the extracts killed cancer cells. Four extracts—all from the Scutellaria leaf—were particularly effective at triggering the death (apoptosis) of brain cancer cells.

The researchers also looked at how the flavonoids in Scutellaria—both individually and in combination—affected cancer cells. A combination of four flavonoids, each at a low dose, blocked the growth of brain cancer cells by almost 50 percent. However, when those same flavonoids were given individually at the same dose, they had no effect on the cancer, which suggests that each one possesses a different anti-cancer mechanism and the effects are amplified when the different flavonoids work together.

Future studies will help determine which combination, or combinations of phytochemicals have the greatest cancer-fighting ability. “Combining phytochemicals with synergistic anti-cancer activity would allow use of individual components at a very low dose, which would eliminate or reduce toxicity,” explains Dr. Parajuli.

Certain flavonoids in Scutellaria also appeared to target specific types of cancer. For example, baicalein significantly slowed the growth of brain cancer cells. This may be because individual flavonoids affect mechanisms that are unique to each cancer, the authors say.

Based on the promising results of studies done so far, the researchers say they may launch a human clinical study to investigate Scutellaria as an adjuvant cancer treatment within a few years.

Source:
Parajuli P, Joshee N, Rimando AM, Mittal S, Yadav AK. In vitro antitumor mechanisms of various Scutellaria extracts and constituent flavonoids. Planta Medica. 2009;75:41-48.

http://www.cancermonthly.com/iNP/view.asp?ID=239

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Harkach Kanta for Liver Cancer

Rarely found early, liver cancer has a poor prognosis because there are no highly effective treatments. But a new study has raised hope that an Asian herb could offer a natural, side effect-free way to prevent the deadly malignancy.

Research recently published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology (volume 13, issue 48) shows the aqueous leaf extract (ALE) of a plant that grows in India, A. ilicifolius, prevents cancer-related DNA alterations and chromosomal damage in mice specifically bred to develop liver tumors. In addition, the animals lived far longer than they were expected to survive.

Prof. Malay Chatterjee of Jadavpur University, who headed the research, says his findings suggest A. ilicifolius could be used to prevent liver malignancies in people because the plant's ALE appears to be a chemoprotector - a substance that protects the body from the effect of chemicals and diseases like cancer. What's more, the herb appears to have no toxicity.

Known in India by the traditional name "Harkach Kanta", A. ilicifolius grows widely throughout the mangroves of that country, including in the Sunderbans in West Bengal and along the west coast. It also flourishes in other Asian countries including Singhal, Burma, China and Thailand.

Prof. Chatterjee points out additional studies are needed to isolate and characterize the specific anti-cancer mechanisms of the herb. If successful, he says, "... we will have the beginning of a new chemoprevention program with herbal supplements that could have the broadest implications for the well-being of society."

A toxic-free herb found to prevent liver cancer would be a major breakthrough in the fight against liver cancer, which is the fifth most common cancer in the world. The disease is on the rise in the U.S. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 19,160 new cases of liver cancer and bile duct cancer were diagnosed in the United States last year and approximately 17,000 Americans died of liver malignancies in 2007.

What causes liver cancer? While there's no definitive answer so far, researchers have identified several risk factors including a chronic liver infection such as hepatitis, cirrhosis (a disease that develops when liver cells are damaged by alcohol, drugs and other chemicals, and certain viruses), and exposure to the toxic mold aflatoxin which sometimes forms on corn, peanuts and other nuts. The cancer is most common in those 60 and over and men are twice as likely as women to develop liver tumors. A family history of the disease also increases the risk.

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Wisteria



Efficacy

Extracts from galls grown on Wisteria floribunda are used as an anti-tumoral preparation in oriental traditional medicine. The gall extract delayed wound healing in a dose- and time-dependent manner, indicating that one or more components of the fraction inhibited cell migration. Examination of two molecules known to be involved in metastasis, CD44, and RhoA-GTP, revealed that the gall extract decreased CD44 expression in a concentration-dependent manner, and also increased RhoA-GTP activity in comparison to untreated controls. Taken together, these results suggest that the Wisteria gall extract may inhibit cancer cell migration via inhibition of CD44 mRNA expression and activation of the GTP-RhoA protein