A study in Tumor Biology found a methanolic Salvia triloba extract triggered cell death and blocked blood-vessel growth in two prostate cancer cell lines, PC-3 and DU-145, while sparing normal cells. The extract also sharply reduced cell motility in both lines.
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Herbs
Herbal remedies and botanicals, from turmeric to green tea.
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Herbs
Cannabis sativa may help prostate cancer
Researchers tested cannabidiol on three human prostate cancer cell lines and report it curbed cancer cell growth while largely sparing healthy cells, and down-regulated CB1, CB2, VEGF and PSA. The Pharmacology & Pharmacy study was done in cells, not patients.
Herbs
Cannabis sativa may help fight cervical cancer
Researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand report that Cannabis sativa extract and its main compound cannabidiol stopped proliferation and induced apoptosis in three cervical cancer cell lines, raising p53, caspase 3 and bax. The work was done in cell culture.
Herbs
Essiac tea fights prostate cancer
In a 2004 laboratory study, an Essiac tea preparation slowed the growth of both prostate cancer cells and noncancerous cells, with the cancer cells more sensitive to it. Low doses raised T-lymphocyte proliferation while high doses suppressed it.
Herbs
Chamomile tea helps depression, sleep in postpartum women
Eighty postnatal women with poor sleep drank chamomile tea or a placebo for two weeks; the tea group scored lower for sleep inefficiency and symptoms of depression. The benefit had disappeared four weeks after the trial ended.
Herbs
Cornus officinalis may help fight breast cancer
A Cancer Research study tested an extract of the Chinese herbal medicine Cornus officinalis on the triple-negative MDA-MB-231 cell line and found it inhibited growth, with stronger effects at higher doses. Triple-negative tumors do not respond to hormone-based therapy.
Herbs
Annona muricata crude extract fights breast cancer
Researchers screened 19 Annona muricata crude extracts, then gave the most potent one to mice with 4T1 breast tumors. It shrank tumor size and weight, blocked metastasis, induced apoptosis and raised white blood cell, T-cell and natural killer cell counts.
Herbs
Dandelion Root and Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia
A report describes patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia improving on dandelion root tea, some entering complete remission as long as they kept drinking it. About three cups a day may be needed, and the tea appeared not to interfere with other treatments.
Herbs
Ursolic acid may help fight cancer
A pointer to two 2013 papers reporting that ursolic acid kills cancer cells by inducing autophagy, one in apoptosis-resistant colorectal cancer cells. The compound occurs in apple peel, berries and herbs such as rosemary and thyme, and is sold as a dietary supplement.
Herbs
Cinnamon Helps Type II Diabetes
Pauline Maddox reviewed 15 trials using one to six grams of cinnamon daily: six showed significantly lower HbA1c and 10 lower fasting glucose. She concludes cinnamon can be recommended, though cassia cinnamon carries coumarin, which can harm the liver at high or prolonged doses.
Herbs
Dandelion root extract fights cancer
University of Windsor researchers led by Siyaram Pandey report that dandelion root extract kills drug-resistant human melanoma cells without apparent harm to healthy cells, and that a water extract was active against leukemia, pancreatic and colon cancer cells.
Herbs
Chamomile tea helps diabetes mellitus
A commentary in the Journal of Diabetes & Metabolism argues that drinking chamomile tea right after meals may help control blood sugar, citing a randomized trial and animal work suggesting it slows hyperglycemia and diabetic complications. It is one author's reading of the evidence.
Herbs
Do Detox Therapies Work? Yes, According to Some Studies
A gastroenterologist and a pharmacologist quoted here say the body detoxifies itself and that detox therapies lack clinical proof. The author counters that the literature backs some ingredients, among them Indian gooseberry (amla), studied for protecting the liver against toxins.
Herbs
What can tea do to your health?
The piece credits drinking tea with lower risk of metabolic disorders, cancer, Parkinson's disease and infection, and says tea polyphenols delay aging 18 times more effectively than vitamin E and that green tea's EGCG acts against nearly all types of cancer.
Herbs
Chinese yam extract prevents obesity
Korean researchers fed mice a high-fat diet for 14 weeks with or without Dioscorea batatas extract. The extract cut weight gain, visceral fat, serum lipids, leptin and inflammatory cytokines, apparently by downregulating genes involved in fat formation. The work was done in mice.
Herbs
Green tea fights obesity
Korean researchers fed mice a high-fat diet with 1% green tea and found less adipose tissue and lower triglycerides, glucose, insulin and leptin than with the high-fat diet alone. The article warns that the doses needed for an anti-obesity effect could cause severe liver toxicity.
Herbs
Efficacy and Safety of Medicinal Plants Used in the Management of Diabetes Mellitus
An editorial introducing a special issue of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine on the efficacy and safety of medicinal plants used to manage diabetes mellitus, edited by Musa T. Yakubu and five colleagues.
Herbs
Gymnema sylvestre supplements help type 2 diabetes mellitus
A study in the Indian Journal of Pharmacological Science found 21 days of Gymnema sylvestre ethanol extract improved lipids, insulin and blood pressure in diabetic mice fed a high-fat diet. A 1990 trial in 22 people with type 2 diabetes reported lower blood glucose and reduced drug doses.
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