Originally published March 6 2005
Wormwood derivative could help combat cancer
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A derivative of wormwood used for centuries in Chinese medicine could become a potent weapon in the cancer arsenal, according to researchers at the University of Washington. Scientists bound the wormwood derivative, called artemisinin, to another protein, transferrin, to create a “Trojan horse” -- a compound interpreted by cancer cells as a friendly protein that would provide them iron critical to replicate, but once inside, turns into a “free radical” that destroys the cell.
Researchers at the University of Washington have blended the past with the present in the fight against cancer, synthesizing a promising new compound from an ancient Chinese remedy that uses cancer cells' rapacious appetite for iron to make them a target.
The substance, artemisinin, is derived from the wormwood plant and has been used in China since ancient times to treat malaria.
Earlier work by Henry Lai and Narendra Singh, both UW bioengineers, indicated that artemisinin alone could selectively kill cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed.
The new compound appears to vastly improve that deadly selectivity, according to a new study that appeared in a recent issue of the journal Life Sciences.
"In this study, the new artemisinin compound was 34,000 times more potent in killing the cancer cells as opposed to their normal cousins.
The compound has been licensed to Chongqing Holley Holdings and Holley Pharmaceuticals, its U.S. subsidiary, to be developed for possible use in humans.
In the study, researchers exposed human leukemia cells and white blood cells to the compound.
To facilitate that, cancer cells have inlets on their surface, known as transferrin receptors, in greater numbers than other cells.
In creating the compound, researchers bound artemisinin to transferrin at the molecular level.
"We call it a Trojan horse because the cancer cell recognizes transferrin as a natural, harmless protein," Lai said.
The wormwood extract was used centuries ago in China, but the treatment became lost over time.
In the 1970s, it was rediscovered as part of an ancient manuscript containing medical remedies, including a recipe that used a wormwood extract.
The medical community soon discovered that the extract, artemisinin, worked well against malaria, and it is currently used for that purpose throughout Asia and Africa.
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