Kaire Downin, American College of Healthcare
Sciences
Botany 501 Summer 2015
Abstract
Several
studies showing many species of plants from the family Lamiacea have shown
positive results as to their effectiveness in reducing cancer cells and helping
to improve immune system function while treating for cancer in vitro and in
vivo studies. Yet, many doctors do not utilize or understand the work of these
complementary treatments. The Lamiaceae family of plants have much to offer in
the way of anticancer purposes.
Introduction
Treating cancer is a
difficult undertaking, often requiring harsh chemicals and long, expensive
treatments. Scientists, doctors, and patients are welcoming to the
possibilities that more effective complementary treatments are becoming more
understood and available. These treatments can lessen the time needed to treat
cancer with chemotherapy and in some cases, negate the need for chemotherapy
all together. This paper will analyze existing research results showing that
the Lamiaceae family of plants have much to offer in the way of anticancer
properties and how they can be used to treat multiple cancers.
The Lamiaceae family
has around 236 genera and between 6,900 and 7,200 species. The specimens tend
to be aromatic and are frequently grown in home gardens for culinary uses, most
familiarly basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, lavender, and oregano (Raja, 2012) . Structurally, The Lamiaceae family have stems
that are square and leaves that are simple and grow opposite of each other.
This family is highly aromatic with a high essential and volatile oil content
which is responsible not only for the strong smells that the fresh plant
produces but also its antimicrobial and antifungal properties (Bozin, Mimica-Dukic, Simin, & Anackov, 2006) . The irregular
flowers are 5 calyx toothed and display 2 lobes on the upper lip while having 3
lobes on the bottom.
Methods
Search terms “frequently used medicinal plants of Lamiaceae”
was entered into Google and returned 228,000 results. The same terms in Google
Scholar resulted in 18,600 results. The same terms used in the ACHS database
library system revealed 110,000.
Search terms “anticancer properties in Lamiaceae” resulted
5,160 hits on Google Scholar, 12,500 on the ACHS library database, and 141,000
results on Google.
In order to determine which studies were useable for this
review, the publications must be peer reviewed journals and the study must be
focused on the Lamiaceae family and it’s use with anticancer purposes. Access
to the full text also must be available, this ruled out several which didn’t
have free access. Many of the results on the first page of each search had
common listings. Most of the studies used for this review came from the first
page of the search results.
Results
Teucrium is a genus out of the family Lamiaceae and
is commonly known as Germander. This group of plants has about 100 species,
mainly from the Mediterranean. They are used in landscaping as a perineal shrub
and have fragrant flowers (The Taunton Press, 2015) . Teucrium has
a long history of many species being useful in pharmacy around the world. The
International Journal of Molecular Sciences published a study in 2011 that
evaluated some species of Teucrium as potential antiproliferative and
antioxidant agents with in vitro experiments with the human colon cancer cell
line and extracts from nine species of the plant. The used the colon cancer
cells because of the scientific evidence of the Teucrium having positive
results on healing other digestive tract disease. The results indicated that
four of the nine species (name species) tested had a strong antiproliferative
effect and should be considered for further research. These extracts are a
viable source of natural polyphenolic compounds (Stankovic, et al., 2011) . Polyphenols are
micronutrients in our diets that if consumed in enough amounts based on
bioavailability, can have preventative effects on cancer and other degenerative
diseases (Manach, Scalbert, Morand, Rémésy, & Jiménez,
2004) .
Bangalore University sought out to identify and research
the medicinal values of plants in the Lamiaceae family that grew in Karnataka,
India. 109 plants have been identified from the Lamiaceae family which have
medicinal qualities, ten of which were selected for the research review. (list
plants) The researchers put together a table which lists the medicinal values
shown in other research. The plants listed which have a history of anticancer,
antiproliferative, or antioxidant properties were
·
Anisomeles indica which “inhibit inflammatory mediators and tumor
cell proliferation,” and is used for “antimetastatic effects on human breast
cancer cells.”
·
Hyptis suaveolens which has essential oil with antioxidant properties
and enough results as an appetite increaser and anti-nausea to make it helpful
as a complementary treatment along with other treatments that often cause
digestive problems.
·
Leonotis nepetaefolia having biological activities including anticancer
properties
This study concluded with acknowledging the rich amount of
biologically active compounds that promote many therapeutic values (S.M.Venkateshappa & K.P.Sreenath, 2013) .
Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine published a
study in 2014 that evaluated anticancer properties of plants in the Lamiaceae family, among others, commonly
used in folk medicine in India. Extracts of Lavendula
bipinnata were made and experiments were performed using cancer cell lines
obtained from the National Center of Cell Science. Results revealed that L. bipinnata demonstrated significant
anticancer and moderate cytotoxic properties to several cell lines. It was concluded that the plants
used in the study, including L. bipinnata
should be considered for further research in order to develop new
anticancer drugs and that the current research suggests the validation of the
continuing use of the existing natural treatments that include these plants in
the ingredients (Shaikh, Pund, Dawane, & Iliyas, 2014) .
The Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research published a
research article in 2013 about the medicinal qualities of Salvia, a genus of Lamiaceae with
about 960 species. Eleven species were selected for the study that grow in Iran
and were collected in their habitat. They were screened for cytotoxic activity
and antimicrobial activity using extracts from the plants and then tested in
three human cancer cell lines, two were leukemia lines and one was breast
cancer. They were all shown to be affective against the cancer cell lines at
different rates, the strongest being S.
limbata, S. hypoleuca and S. aethiopis. At the end of the study, it was S. santolinifolia and S. eremophila that were considered to be
“the most interesting bioactive plants in this study,” and recommended for
further investigation of their active constituents (Omidreza Firuzi, 2013) .
Papers have also been published out of Brazil showing the
anticancer activity of Hyptis mutabilis, commonly
referred to as common bushmint. This paper focuses on the anticancer activity
from water extracts on mice with tumors. No adverse conditions were encountered
during the experiment and there was antitumor activity displayed towards
sarcoma tumors in the mice (Ximenes, Melo, Magalhães, Souza, & Albuquerque, 2012) .
Discussion
According to the results of a survey
sent out to members of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2010, one
of the barriers to doctors utilizing herbs and supplements in the treatment of
cancer is their lack of knowledge. This survey revealed less than 40% of
oncologists initiating conversations with their patients about the use and
benefits of herbs and supplements while treating cancer (Lee, et al., 2014) . Other potential complications that
physicians report is that the herbs and supplements are managed by the patients
while the doctors are managing the treatments. Some reported successful herbs
that are used during cancer treatment in pediatric units are St. John’s Wort
for depression, Ginger for nausea as well as Echinacea for immune system
support (Quimby, 2007) . Even though there are oncologists that
find using herbs to treat the symptoms that are associated with the side
effects of cancer treatments can be seen as a step in the right direction,
there are available herbs that actually treat the cancer directly as we have
seen through this summary research. It is recommended that oncologist have
access to and are required to take continuing education classes on how to best
utilize these less expensive and less destructive complementary treatments to
help lessen the time of treatment and induce healing of cancers in the human
population.
Conclusion
and recommendation
It is clear from the multiple studies over many years that
plants in the Lamiaceae family are
effect agents of anticancer activity and have the potential to be used in
anticancer drugs and technology. After
all the reports are in, it is also clear that there is room for improving the
research to understand dosage and length of treatments. Many of these articles
have used extracts that were produced with chemicals and not just the water
extracts like the simple and common teas and infusions that are often used in
folk or traditional medicine. There was no discussion on the risks or
contraindications of using these compounds and most of the studies referred to
being ready for more extensive research to determine these things.
Publishing these findings in
journals commonly read by oncologists and making the information available
through workshops and classes for continuing education could expose the people
who are working with the patients to a broader variety of treatments. Cancer
treatments are costly and often put people in a large amount of debt and many
only gain a few months from the destructive chemotherapy sessions.
Complementary treatments that are proven to be effective should be employed by
these doctors and patients in order to help save them money and time. When
dealing with destructive and often terminal illnesses like Cancer, often people
are not in the mind frame to do their own research and find these solutions. It
is time we demand more from the medical community and put a stop to the price
gouging practices of pharmaceutical technology and take advantage of the many
options in plant medicine that are easily available and affordable to
administer.
References
Bozin, B., Mimica-Dukic, N., Simin, N., &
Anackov, a. G. (2006). Characterization of the Volatile Composition of
Essential Oils of Some Lamiaceae Spices and the Antimicrobial and Antioxidant
Activities of the Entire Oils. Journal of Agriculture and Food Industry,
1822-1828. doi:10.1021/jf051922u
Manach, C., Scalbert, A., Morand, C., Rémésy, C.,
& Jiménez, a. L. (2004). Polyphenols: food sources and bioavailability. American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 727-747.
Omidreza Firuzi, R. M. (2013). Cytotoxic, Antioxidant
and Antimicrobial Activities and Phenolic Contents of Eleven Salvia Species
from Iran. Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 801-810.
Raja, R. R. (2012). Medicinally Potential Plants of
Labiatae (Lamiaceae) Family: An Overview. Research Journal of Medicinal
Plant, 203-216.
S.M.Venkateshappa, & K.P.Sreenath. (2013).
POTENTIAL MEDICINAL PLANTS OF LAMIACEAE. American International Journal of
Research in Formal, Applied & Natural Sciences, 82-87.
Shaikh, R., Pund, M., Dawane, A., & Iliyas, S.
(2014). Evaluation of Anticancer, Antioxidant, and Possible Antiinflammatory
Properties of Selected Medicinal Plants Used in Indian Traditional Medication.
Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, 253-257.
Stankovic, M. S., Curcic, M. G., Zizic, J. B.,
Topuzovic, M. D., Solujic, S. R., & Markovic, S. D. (2011). Teucrium Plant
Species as Natural Sources of Novel Anticancer Compounds: Antiproliferative,
Proapoptotic and Antioxidant Properties. International Journal of Molecular
Sciences, 4190-4205. doi:10.3390/ijms12074190
The Taunton Press. (2015). Genus: Teucrium.
Retrieved from Fine Gardening: http://www.finegardening.com/teucrium
Ximenes, R. M., Melo, A. M., Magalhães, L. P., Souza,
I. A., & Albuquerque, J. F. (2012). Antitumor Activity of Leaves from
Hyptis mutabilis (A. Rich.) Briq. (Lamiaceae) in Mice Bearing Tumor. Dataset
Papers in Pharmacology. Retrieved from
http://dx.doi.org/10.7167/2013/169357
No comments:
Post a Comment