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Last Updated: Dec 2, 2008 - 11:55:35 AM |
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| Scutellaria. Credit: Wikipedia |
Tuesday Dec 2, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Scutellaria leaf extracts may help prevent cancer, a new study published in the Nov 2008 issue of Planta and Medica suggests.
The study examined anticancer mechanisms of thirteen SCUTELLARIA species and analyzed their leaf, stem and root extracts for levels of common biologically active flavonoids including apigenin, baicalein, baicalin, chrysin, scutellarein, and wogonin.
For the study, Parajuli P and colleagues of Wayne State University & Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan tested the tumor-specific effects of Scutellaria on cell proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle progression in brain cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer cells.
The researchers found the extracts and individual flavonoids inhibited the proliferation of brain cancer and breast cancer cells without affecting primary or non-malignant cells.
They also found the flavonoids rendered the anti-tumor effects through different mechanisms including induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G1/G2.
Of the extracts tested, leaf extracts of S. Angulosa, S. Integrifolia, S. Ocmulgee and S. Scandens were found to have particularly strong anticancer activity.
This is the first study to determine the anti-cancer activity of Scutellaria although not all studies focused on the same species and active ingredients in the herbs were not the same.
Related studies published in the past 20 years have been reviewed and published in the Nov 2008 issue of Cancer Treatment Review by Li-Webber M from Germ Cancer Research Centers in Heidelberg, Germany.
Li-Weber writes in the review that "Scutellaria baicalensis is one of the most popular and multi-purpose herb used in China traditionally for treatment of inflammation, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and bacterial and viral infections."
But a growing body of evidence now suggests that Scutellaria also possesses potent anticancer activities. One example given in the abstract of the review is Scutellaria baicalensis which contains flavones including Wogonin, Baicalein and Baicalin.
Li-Weber says that these flavones inhibit various human tumor cell lines in vitro and tumor growth in vivo while they have no adverse effect on normal epithelial and normal peripheral blood and myeloid cells.
Much research has been done to demonstrate that "the antitumor functions of these flavones are largely due to their abilities to scavenge oxidative radicals, to attenuate NF-kappaB activity, to inhibit several genes important for regulation of the cell cycle, to suppress COX-2 gene expression and to prevent viral infections," Li-Weber states in the report.
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