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According to a study published in the magazine Life Sciences, an herb used in Chinese medicine was discovered that can kill up to 98 % of breast cancer cells in less than 16 hours. This incredible discovery has attracted the interest of scientists and doctors from around the world, because it could represent a major advance in cancer treatment.
How the medicinal plant Artemisinin works
Artemisinin, also known as Sweet wormwood (Artemisia Annua), has been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine primarily to treat malaria. Recent research, however, has shown that this plant also has the potential to fight cancer.
The study found that using Artemisinin alone reduced breast cancer by 28 %. But when it was combined with iron, the result was even more shocking – up to 98 % of cancer cells were destroyed. And what’s more, healthy cells remained unharmed.
How the combination of Artemisinin and iron works
Cancer cells have the ability to accumulate iron much more than healthy cells, thanks to special receptors that promote their division. When iron is introduced into the body, cancer cells absorb it in large amounts. This provides ideal conditions for Artemisinin to act, which then begins to eliminate cancer cells without damaging the healthy ones.
Scientists at Washington University, Henry Lai and Narendra Singh, were the first to discover this mechanism. Artemisinin destroys cancer cells by affecting the cell cycle through the transcription factor E2F1, which is key to the growth of cancer cells.
Similarity to malaria treatment
Artemisinin has been used for thousands of years against malaria because the parasite that causes the disease cannot survive in the presence of this herb, which has a high iron content. This is very similar to how Artemisinin acts on cancer cells – in the presence of iron it triggers their “self-destruction” through a process called apoptosis (programmed cell death).
The future of cancer treatment with the help of Artemisinin
So far, Artemisinin production has been relatively expensive and limited, but things are changing. Biotech companies are now working on mass production of Artemisinin, so it could be widely available in the future. For example, the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi plans to supply 50 to 60 tons of Artemisinin to the market each year, which should cover global demand.
This revolutionary discovery could represent a decisive step in cancer treatment and bring hope to many people who are fighting this insidious disease.
Hopefully this therapy will soon become available to the public.
