Visakhapatnam: Phyllanthus plant (nela usiri) has been found to have an important chemical compound that can cure breast cancer. The first-of-its-kind study by a AU scholar established the verity by experimenting on Sprague Dawley rats, in which they increased the hydrophilicity of anti-cancer molecules into liposomes-an artificially prepared vesicle composed of a lipid bilayer used for administration of nutrients and pharmaceutical drugs - and the result has been helpful for treating the dreaded carcinoma.
Extracting medicines from herbs and plants is an ancient phenomenon and they are every useful in treating various ailments. Medical experts say more than 3,000 plant species have been reported to be involved in the development of anti-cancer drugs from 1940-2006. Over 65 per cent of these drugs are obtained from natural compounds.
With an increasing number of younger women being vulnerable to the disease, India faces the threat of breast cancer becoming an epidemic. A new global study estimates that by 2030, the number of new cases of breast cancer in the country will increase from the current 1,15,000 to to 2,00,000 per year.
The Phyllanthus plant is widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions and has a long history in medical system to treat kidney and urinary bladder disturbances.
The extracts of these plants has been reported to have pharmacological effects against hepatitis B and related viruses, anti-bacterial activity, anti-hepatotoxic or liver-protecting activity, prostate cancer and hypoglycemia properties.
Various bioactive compounds have been identified from different species of Phyllanthus. One of the characteristics of cancer is uncontrolled proliferation. The anti-proliferative effects of Phyllanthus have been detected in different cancer cells in breast, lung, liver, lung, leukemia and prostate.
“We hypothesised that isolated lignans may have anti-cancer activity. To confirm this hypothesis, the inhibitory effect of phyllanthin and hypo-phyllanthin on the growth of breast cancer in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats in vivo was investigated,” said P. Madhu-kiran, researcher who conducted the study.
