Old Indian Herb Helps Fight Pancreatic Cancer
The study was carried out at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. The interesting and positive results of the study were just announced at the American Association for Cancer Research's yearly meeting.
It is hoped that the new findings will lead to further research into this Indian herbal remedy and eventually help create a treatment that could be readily used.
The herb that was studied is widely used in India to help treat problems related to the gut. The herd is called triphala. Triphala is a traditional medicine often used by India's Ayurveda medical system.
In the research mice with human pancreatic tumours were given between 1 and 2 milligrams of the Indian herb five times each week. During the tests scientists observed two reactions. These were how big the tumours in the mice were and also the amount of apoptotic proteins present in the systems of the mice. Apoptotic proteins are beneficial because they help the body get rid of unhealthy cells.
When the course of triphala treatment in the mice finished the apoptotic proteins and tumours were measured again. The results were very positive. Mice that had received triphala showed a significant decreased in the size of their tumours. So significant were the results that many of the tumours shrunk to as much as half their previous size.
When taking a closer look at how the Indian herd managed to get this result it was found that triphala turned on genes that surpassed the tumour. When this tumour was switched on proteins that help apotosis formed.
When talking about the study results the head researcher, Dr. Sanjay Srivastava from the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine said triphala was an "extremely effective inhibitor of the cancer process." "With follow-up studies, we hope to demonstrate its potential use as a novel agent for the prevention and treatment of pancreatic cancer." "Our results demonstrate that triphala has strong anti-cancer properties given its ability to induce apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells without damaging normal pancreatic cells."
Pancreatic cancer is currently extremely difficult to treat and has a very high rate of death. Most patients that are diagnosed only live for six or less months after they are found the have the cancer Finding new treatments for pancreatic cancer is very important and these findings show a lot of promise.
Sources
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6563003.stm
http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/health/indian-herb-targets-pancreatic-cancer-$1077294.htm
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/health/article2459133.ece
Published by Siun Griffin
I have been a freelance writer for several years. I enjoy writing about a variety of topics, particularly the environment, animals, entertainment, and travel. However, I don't limit myself to those topics, a... View profile
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