New research from College of Pharmacy of Saudi Arabia’s King Saud University has shown that a tropical tree extract may fight cancer. The extract was found in the red spurge tree, a small tree indigenous to regions such as Hawaii, Mexico, and Africa.
The research team analyzed the red spurge tree extract, and found that it contained 17 different plant polyphenols, including two newly discovered ellagitannins.
The team determined that the compounds in the red spurge extract are potent antioxidants. More importantly, they also found that the extract inhibited the growth of liver cancer cells called hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
Liver cancer only accounts for 2 percent of cancers, but it can be very deadly because it is difficult to diagnose early. Only about one-fifth of patients diagnosed with cancer survive one year after their diagnosis.
Hepatocellular cancer is the most common type of liver cancer. Some of the major risk factors for this type of liver cancer are alcohol abuse, hepatitis, overuse of pharmaceuticals, exposure to herbicides, and more. Persons with type-2 diabetes have an increased risk of hepatocellular cancer.
Symptoms of hepatocellular cancer are jaundice, pain around the liver, extreme weight loss, fatigue, and bruising.
The red spurge tree is found in tropical and hot regions, and is also cultivated in the Southern United States.
The study showing that red spurge, a tropical tree extract may fight cancer can be found on NCBI.
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REFERENCES:
1. “Spectroscopic Identification of New Ellagitannins and a Trigalloyl-glucosylkaempferol from an Extract of Euphorbia Cotinifolia L. with Antitumour and Antioxidant Activity.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Mar.-Apr. 2012. Web. 11 May 2015.
2. “Tropical Tree Extracts Inhibit Liver Cancer.” GreenMedInfo.com. GreenMedInfo.com, 15 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 May 2015.
