Tropical African shrub holds promise as potent anticancer agent

Researchers from the University of Pretoria in South Africa found that lavender croton (Croton gratissimus) can be used as a natural remedy for cancer. This finding, which was published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, was based on the results of various in vitro studies.

• Chronic inflammation has been shown to increase the risk of chronic diseases like cancer. This condition results from oxidative stress, which occurs due to an imbalance of harmful free radicals and beneficial antioxidants.
• Croton species of plants can be found in different parts of the world. These are widely used in traditional medicine as remedies for cancer, constipation, diabetes, digestive problems, dysentery, external wounds, parasitic infections, and diseases associated with oxidative stress and inflammation.
• In this study, the researchers evaluated the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic properties of extracts from three different Croton species, namely forest fever-berry (Croton sylvaticus), small lavender croton(Croton pseudopulchellus), and lavender croton. They did this through different in vitro assays.
• To determine the plants’ cytotoxicity, they used four cancer cell lines including A549, Caco-2, HeLa, and MCF-7. They also used non-cancerous African green monkey kidney cells to determine if the cytotoxic effects were selective against cancer cells.
• The results of the study showed that lavender croton exhibited potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Moreover, it exhibited selective cytotoxicity against cancerous cells.
• On the other hand, forest fever-berry and small lavender croton were cytotoxic to both healthy and cancerous cells.

Overall, the results of this study suggest that lavender croton has potential use as a natural remedy for cancer. This is because of its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, as well as its selective cytotoxicity.

The full text of the study is available at this link.

If you’d like to read more news articles on natural remedies for cancer, visit Cancer.news.

Journal Reference:

Njoya EM, Eloff JN, Mcgaw LJ. CROTON GRATISSIMUS LEAF EXTRACTS INHIBIT CANCER CELL GROWTH BY INDUCING CASPASE 3/7 ACTIVATION WITH ADDITIONAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 14 November 2018;18(305). DOI: 10.1186/s12906-018-2372-9