Herbal routes to cancer management

Researchers have enlisted scent leaf,
cannabis, bitter leaf, sausage tree, and
pawpaw leaf in the quest for effective
treatment for cancers.
IN recent times, more Nigerians are coming
down with different kinds of cancers. The
situation has been blamed on exposure to
chemicals, unhealthy lifestyles, and genetic
mutation.
However, this disease that is believed to
cause at least 13 per cent of all deaths
worldwide has no conventional cure, but
palliatives. Some of the known treatments
such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy
have been shown to have serious side
effects.
But natural products have shown promise
in preventing, treating and managing
cancers without adverse side effects. Top
on the list are scent leaf (Ocimum
gratissimum), bitter leaf (Vernonia
amygdalina), sausage plant (Kigelia
africana/pinnata), pawpaw/papaya (Carica
papaya), and cannabis/marijuana (Cannabis
sativa).
Commonly called scent leaf or tea bush,
Ocimum gratissimum is of the plant family
Lamiaceae. Ocimum gratissimum is a shrub
commonly found around village huts and in
gardens. It is known as efinrin ajase in
Yoruba, ebavbokho in Bini, aai doya ta gida
in Hausa, nchuanwu in Igbo.
Chinese, United States, and Nigerian
scientists from Department of Biology
Jackson State University, Jackson and
College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering,
Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, P.R. China
have explored the cancer-fighting potential
of scent leaf extracts.
The study is titled: “ Potential Cancer-
fighting Ocimum gratissimum (OG) leaf
extracts: Increased Anti-proliferation
Activity of Partially Purified Fractions and
their Spectral Fingerprints ” was published in
Ethnicity & Disease, Volume 20.
The researchers wrote: “In previous in-vitro
studies, we have shown that the aqueous
extracts of the medicinal herb Ocimum
gratissimum (Og) inhibit the proliferation of
several cancer cell lines, especially prostate
adenocarcinoma (PC-3) cells. Therefore, Og
leaf extracts may harbor novel cancer-
fighting compounds that need to be
isolated, purified and characterised.
“In this study, we investigated the anti-
proliferation activity of Og leaf extract on
prostate cancer (PC-3) cells in-vitro, because
we believe that Og leaf extract may contain
novel cancer-fighting compounds. Our
results show that aqueous Og leaf extract
inhibits proliferation of treated PC-3 cells in
a concentration dependent manner.”
Scientists have also found that the sausage
tree (Kigelia africana/pinnata) could be
effectively used to treat cancers.
According to ethnobotany and recent
scientific work of Professor P. J. Houghton ?
of the Pharmacognosy Research
Laboratories, ?Department of Pharmacy,
King ’s College London, “experiments into the
effect of Kigelia extracts and some of the
pure compounds contained therein, on
micro-organisms and cancer cells have
shown that the traditional use of this plant
is given considerable justification. In
addition, there exists evidence for its anti-
inflammatory reputation.”
Investigation into the biological activity of
Kigelia pinnata has focussed on its
antibacterial activity and its cytotoxic
effects against cancer cell lines. These are
related to the traditional uses of bark and
fruit extracts for treating diseases caused
by micro-organisms and as a remedy for
skin cancer.
Also, a Nigerian born Professor of Biology,
Ernest Izevbigie has patented a formula
made from bitter leaf (Vernonia
amygdalina).
This bitter leaf-based formula is a proven
anti-diabetic and anti-cancer formula in
laboratory and clinical trials. This formula
product can also benefit HIV/AIDS patients.
It has been patented: U.S. Patent 6,713,098
in 2004 and the second 6,848,604 in 2005.
Izevbigie said, “we found that in using the
plant material (from Vernonia amygdalina),
some compounds from the extracts were
able to inhibit the growth of breast cancer
cells. Later through collaborative research,
we found they were also effective in other
tumor cells. ”
Izevbigie explained that evidence from cell
culture and animal studies research and
reports from individuals reveal that bitter
leaf formula supplement may abate or
improve the health conditions or symptoms
of Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS) patients including abrosia (wasting
away), nausea and vomiting, compromised
immune systems etc. Bitter leaf supplement-
induced stimulation of the immune system
offers hope to many suffering with AIDS
related diseases.
The professor further explained that
available data shows that bitter leaf extracts
might be effective against herpes virus, and
against Kaposi sarcomas (KS), a tumour
caused by Human herpes virus 8 (HHV8).
Some of the principal chemical compounds
found in the bitter leaf herb are known as
steroid glycosides – type vernonioside B1.
These compounds possess potent anti-
parasitic, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, and
anti-bacterial effects.
Also, researchers have found that papaya
leaf extract and its tea have dramatic
cancer-fighting properties against a broad
range of tumors, backing a belief held in a
number of folk traditions.
University of Florida, United States
researcher Nam Dang and colleagues in
Japan, in a report published in the Journal of
Ethnopharmacology, documented papaya ’s
anticancer effect against tumors of the
cervix, breast, liver, lung and pancreas.
The researchers used an extract made from
dried papaya leaves, and the effects were
stronger when cells received larger doses of
papaya leaf tea.
Dang and the other scientists showed that
papaya leaf extract boosts the production
of key signaling molecules called Th1-type
cytokines, which help regulate the immune
system.
This could lead to therapeutic treatments
that use the immune system to fight
cancers, they said in the February issue of
the journal and released Tuesday by the
university.? Papaya has been used as a folk
remedy for a variety of ailments in many
parts of the world, especially Asia.
Deng said the results are consistent with
reports from indigenous populations in
Australia and his native Vietnam. The
researchers said papaya extract did not
have any toxic effects on normal cells,
avoiding a common side effect of many
cancer treatments.
Researchers exposed 10 different types of
cancer cell cultures to four strengths of
papaya leaf extract and measured the effect
after 24 hours. Papaya slowed the growth
of tumors in all the cultures. Dang and a
colleague have applied to patent the
process to distill the papaya extract through
the University of Tokyo.
Also, cannabis has shown promise as an
effective remedy for cancers. According to
a study conducted by researchers from the
Complutense University in Madrid, Spain,
and published in the Journal of Clinical
Investigation, the active ingredient in
marijuana appears to target cancerous
brain cells for destruction while leaving
healthy cells alone.
Researchers first conducted an experiment
in mice that had been engineered to carry
three different grafts of human brain
cancer. They injected the mice daily with the
molecule tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) near
the site of the tumors once each day. The
chemical appeared to stimulate the
cancerous cells to engage in a process
known as autophagy, in which cells initiate
their own breakdown.
Leader of the team of researchers, Guillermo
Velasco, said, “these results may help to
design new cancer therapies based on the
use of medicines containing the active
principle of marijuana and/or in the
activation of autophagy. ”
THC belongs to a class of chemicals known
as cannabinoids, named after the cannabis
(marijuana) plant in which they occur. It is
the chemical responsible for the
psychoactive effects of marijuana
consumption.
The findings add to mixed evidence about
the effects of marijuana on human health.
Studies have suggested the drug can raise a
person ’s risk of heart attack or stroke and
cause cancer.
Other research has shown benefits, such as
staving off Alzheimer ’s, and many doctors
view THC as a valuable way to treat weight
loss associated with AIDS, and nausea and
vomiting associated with chemotherapy in
cancer patients.
Velasco and his team’s study included an
analysis of two tumours from two people
with a highly aggressive brain cancer,
which showed signs of autophagy after
receiving THC.
The researchers said the findings could
pave the way for cannabinoid-based drugs
to treat cancer, although that approach has
so proved unsuccessful when it comes to
obesity.
The active compound in marijuana, THC, can
slow the growth of lung tumours and
reduce the spread of the cancer in mice, a
preliminary study reveals.
Human lung cancer tumours grew less than
half as fast in mice that received moderate
doses of the compound, the researchers
reveal. They hope that drugs mimicking the
apparent anti-cancer effects of THC could
one day help treat patients. The team
strongly discourages people from self-
medicating by smoking marijuana, noting
that doing so could potentially encourage
tumour growth.
U.S. scientists led by Dr. Sean McAllister have
said that a compound found in cannabis
may stop breast cancer spreading
throughout the body. The research team
from the California Pacific Medical Center
Research Institute is upbeat that cannabidiol
or CBD could be a non-toxic alternative to
chemotherapy.
There more than 400 active chemicals in
cannabis. CBD is one of those major
chemical compounds with active healing
properties found in cannabis. The other
major compound is known as THC. CBD is an
anti inflammatory that restores the normal
homeostatic balance of the human cells.
It has been reported for several years now
that CBD offers the hope of a non-toxic
therapy that could achieve the same results
without any of the painful side effects. This
latest research appears to prove another
solid confirmation of this age-old claim.
CBD works by blocking the activity of a
gene called Id-1, which is believed to be
responsible for the aggressive spread of
cancer cells away from the original tumour
site – a process called metastasis.
Past work has shown CBD can block a range
of aggressive cancers including human
brain cancers. This latest study found CBD
appeared to have a similar effect on breast
cancer cells in the lab.
Several cancer drugs based on plant
chemicals are already used widely, such as
vincristine – which is derived from a type
of flower called Madagascar Periwinkle and
is used to treat breast and lung cancer. It
will be interesting to see whether those,
who have banned and demonised cannabis,
will permit CBD to be used to heal women
with breast cancers.
Following the growing interest in medical
benefits of cannabis, a new study finds that
the compound can help fight prostate
cancer. According to the study published in
the British Journal of Cancer, chemicals
found in cannabis can stop prostate cancer
cells from growing in the laboratory.
Its active chemicals known as cannabinoids
— methanandamide and JWH-015 — are
also reported to be effective in reducing the
size of the tumor in mice.
The compound is believed to block CB2
receptors on the surface of the cancerous
tissue, preventing the division and growth
of the tumor cells. It is reported to be more
effective in treating aggressive prostate
cancer cell types, which do not respond to
existing hormone treatments.
Scientists hope that cannabis-based
medicines could help fight prostate cancer
in the near future. They, however, stressed
that an individual should not start smoking
cannabis with the aim of fighting the
disease, as its use is associated with
psychotropic effects.