Findings On Plant-Derived Cancer Medicines

[flashl]

The next cancer-fighting therapeutic could be growing in your garden, according to research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Sixth Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held from December 5 to 8 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

For example, a black raspberry-based gel might offer a means of stopping oral lesions from turning into a particularly dangerous and disfiguring form of cancer. And new studies show that cancer prevention might come in drinkable form: green tea extract, a powerful antioxidant, shows efficacy against colorectal cancer; and a new berry-rich beverage, made from a combination of known plant-based antioxidants, could prevent or slow the growth of prostate cancer.

Chemopreventative effects of a topically applied black raspberry gel on oral premalignant tumors. Abstract no. B35:

Oral squamous cell carcinoma is a deadly cancer that, even when treated successfully, often leaves patients permanently disfigured. Other than radical surgery, there are few known treatments. Researchers at Ohio State University, however, report a Phase I/II trial demonstrating that a gel made from black raspberries shows promise in preventing or slowing the malignant transformation of precancerous oral lesions.

"Black raspberries are full of anthocyanins, potent antioxidants that give the berries their rich, dark color, and our findings show these compounds have a role in silencing cancerous cells," said Susan Mallery, D.D.S., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery and Pathology at Ohio State University's College of Dentistry. "This gel appears to be a valid means of delivering anthocyanins and other cancer-preventing compounds directly to precancerous cells, since it slowed or reduced lesion progression in about two-thirds of study participants."

Read More ....

[mtnester]

1. Black raspberries are dang tasty too

and most people do have the space to grow them, they need little to no effort to plant and grow, and about the only thing you have to do is net the bushes in order to prevent "robin theft"...trust me, they will come in up UNDER the netting once they figure out the weakness in your net...devils...

Many times every year I come home from work and go to the patch and dozens of robins fly out from UNDER the netting...never saw a single bird IN the netting either...the fake hawks/owls and balloons and flashy waving shiny things do NOT keep them out. In fact, I think they scoff at those....perhaps tell jokes about them to other birds.

All that said, they can take over a place too.

[flashl]

2. More each day, I am convinced

that nutrition and other non-allopathic sources should be given greater emphasis as a balance to high health care costs.

[TZ]

3. that would work if you have the right GENES...

More and more its being shown that genetics plays a bigger role in health cancer/prevention than even good nutrition/exercise..

edited to add study that illustrates this point:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071127080344.htm

[flashl]

4. Isn't not all about genes. Approaches perhaps?

The Women's Health Initiative Randomized Controlled Dietary Modification Trial

Racial Disparities Affect Breast Cancer Treatment

Johanna Budwig Revisited

My hope is, we will actively seek means to provide access to health care using vehicles that are not based soley on ones ability to pay.

[Toots]

6. But then how would the Big Pharmaceuticals makes such enormous Net Profits?

Then Congress would not receive the kickbacks it now does and well then our Representatives just wouldn't know how to conduct business. There is a reason the great majority of our Representative are millionaires ten times over..

[knitter4democracy]

8. We have some growing wild in the wood plot next to our house.

I'm thinking of planting more--I don't get enough for a whole batch of jam. I'd like as many as we had growing up. My mom's pond was surrounded by raspberry canes. I loved picking every year, and Mom would make a pie every year that was just unbelievably good.

[SpiralHawk]

5. "D'oh" - Generations of herbalists

"But now Global agencies like Codex Alimentarius, backed by republicon-mindset, are steadily outlawing herbs and forcing people to by synthesized crapola drugs from Big Pharma. Why do republicons hate nature?"

- Generations of herbalists

[donsu]

7. true - in our coming worst times personal veg. gardens will feed us and

herb gardens will help us stay alive

up with herbalists and tutors

[LaurenG]

9. All I can say is eat your black raspberries and think about where these

drug companies get their ideas for their meds.

There are many good medications that are plant derived.

I'm going to guess that in the future we may find that plant based medications are superior to those chemicals that are made in a lab to mimic the plants chemical properties to start with.

In the meantime thank you for the article.





http://www.bccresearch.com/RepTemplate.cfm?ReportID=72&cat=phm&RepDet=SC&target=repdetail.cfm


Nobody knows exactly how many plants are used medicinally. However, the number is almost certainly in the tens of thousands. In Mexico alone, there are approximately 3,500 species of medicinal plants, according to a spokesperson for the Botanical Garden of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Traditional healers in China reportedly use more than 5,000 species of plants to treat illnesses and injuries. Ayurvedic and other traditional healers in South Asia use at least 1,800 plant species. Most cultures recognize a large number of medicinally useful plants.

Still, we have merely scratched the surface; only 5% to 15% of the approximately 250,000 higher plants have ever been investigated for bioactive compounds, with about 155,000 seed plants in the tropics alone, according to the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. Although tropical rainforests cover only about 8% of the earth's surface, they offer an immense resource for discoveries of new compounds. Ethnobotany, the study of plant use by local populations, has now expanded to include research scientists and pharmaceutical companies from developed countries looking for new drugs.

Plant-derived medicines are not limited to traditional cultures. Many of the prescription drugs sold in the U.S., Canada and Europe contain active ingredients derived from plants. Widely used drugs that contain plant extracts include the anti-tumor agent paclitaxel and the anti-cholesterol drug lovastatin, not to mention the familiar aspirin.

Consumption of traditional herbal remedies is also increasing in developed economies. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that between 4,000 and 6,000 species of medicinal plants are traded internationally.