A South African plant may hold the secret to treating cancers that no longer respond to conventional chemotherapy, suggest North-West University researchers, who are working on a complementary medication using the indigenous bush, reports News24.
The perennial shrub, long used in traditional medicine, also stimulates appetite, boosts immunity, and enhances mood.
The scientists are investigating the anti-cancer potential of Lessertia frutescens, also known as cancer bush, or balloon pea, after their lab studies showed activity against several forms of cancer, including drug-resistant small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer.
Professor Chrisna Gouws, a research Professor in the Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Faculty of Health Sciences, said the team had tested extracts from the plant on cultured human cancer cells and more advanced laboratory-grown “mini-tumours”, known as spheroids, and had found significant anti-cancer activity against several different cancer types.
Gouws, who became interested in medicinal plants during her postdoctoral studies, said the “cancer bush” has a long history of antiviral properties and medicinal use in South Africa, but there are no registered medicines derived from it, despite anecdotal reports of its efficacy against the disease.
She was delighted to find that the lab reports support the traditional uses reported.
The plant is considered non-toxic and safe, and its anti-cancer activity “comes without the significant side-effects known to occur with most standard chemotherapies”, she added.
Researchers also found that the plant may support other systems in the body during treatment.
“Lessertia has known boosting effects for the digestive and immune systems, and it can have mood-enhancing activities as well,” she said. “So it will not only target the cancer but positively impact the patient as a whole at the same time.”
The surprising finding of the study was that the shrub appears to affect cancers which no longer respond to conventional treatment, like small cell lung cancer, where known chemotherapies have limited to no activity, Gouws added.
“What stood out was that we had a more significant effect against drug-resistant cancer than we found with typical chemotherapy use for those same cancers. This is very exciting and very promising as a potential avenue for further studies.”
The finding will give researchers new avenues to investigate potential treatment options for cancers currently considered incurable.
“There are two avenues we are investigating. The first is that we would like to develop a new chemotherapy, but to do that, you need to go through all the studies and clinical trials, and it’s a very expensive, long-term route. In the short term, we’re trying to see if we can develop a complementary medicine that can be used as either a supportive treatment or as a palliative care product.
“And if we can get this on the market, it will be easily accessible without a prescription because it’s a complementary medicine. It should be affordable because it’s locally produced, and it will also have commercial potential for farmers who can grow the plant for products like these. And a lot of the medicinal plants also have fewer side effects than typical chemotherapy.”
The team is now studying the plant’s phytochemicals to identify the molecules responsible for the anti-cancer activity and to understand how they work.
“Although many molecules have been identified and shown to contribute to the anti-cancer activity of the plant, the mechanism of action remains mostly unclear,” Gouws said.
“We are delving deeper now to try to understand how and why this plant works.”
The next phase of the study will include animal model testing later this year to confirm safety and efficacy before future clinical trials can be considered.
At the same time, the researchers are developing a complementary medicine product that may be available in pharmacies by 2027.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Grant for NMU researcher to study cancer-fighting indigenous plants
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Blending traditional and modern medicines can improve healthcare