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Herbal supplement for pancreatic
cancer cure
Washington:
Commonly used in Indian tonics, triphala has the
potential to slow down the growth of human pancreatic
tumours. The findings of the scientists at the University
of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute offer hope that one
day a treatment for the disease may be developed.
Triphala is a herbal preparation used in the traditional
Indian medicine system Ayurveda. It contains the dried
and powdered fruits of three plants, and it is said
to ease intestinal-related disorders and promote good
digestion. The current research confirms the findings
of previous studies that have shown triphala to have
an anti-cancer activity in cell cultures. It also
shows that the herb does not damage normal pancreatic
cells. During the study, mice grafted with human pancreatic
tumours were administered a triphala solution five
days per week. When the researchers carried out their
comparison with those in control group of mice after
four weeks, they found that tumours in triphala-treated
mice were half the size of those in the untreated
mice. They also noted that the tumour cells in treated
mice had higher levels of proteins associated with
apoptosis, the process by the which the body normally
disposes of damaged, old of unneeded cells.
"We
discovered that triphala fed orally to mice with human
pancreatic tumors was an extremely effective inhibitor
of the cancer process, inducing apoptosis in cancer
cells," said Sanjay K. Srivastava, Ph.D., lead investigator
and assistant professor, department of pharmacology,
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "Triphala
triggered the cancerous cells to die off and significantly
reduced the size of the tumors without causing any
toxic side effects," he added. The study also revealed
that though triphala had activated tumour-suppressor
genes, but did not negatively affect normal pancreatic
cells. "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," said Dr. Srivastava.
"With follow-up studies, we hope to demonstrate its
potential use as a novel agent for the prevention
and treatment of pancreatic cancer," he added. The
study is being presented in a late-breaking session
at the annual meeting of the American Association
for Cancer Research, being held at the Los Angeles
Convention Center.
- April 18, 2007
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