The plant, Fagonia cretica, (also known as Virgon’s Mantlem), has been used in tea form to treat women in rural Pakistan who have breast cancer. Is this mythology or does it have real properties?
Scientists at Aston University and Russells Hall Hospital have discovered that, in vitro, it does have the ability to kill breast cancer cells.
Early days yet, it also seems to leave healthy cells unharmed. Professor Helen Griffith and Professor Amutul R Carmichael who lead the study are now aiming to identify which element or elements of the plant are responsible for killing the cancer cells with a view to eventually begin trails with human cancer patients.
Griffith added, "More research is needed to establish the role of the extract in cancer management and it now needs to be demonstrated that this extract is as effective in killing cancer cells inside the body as it is within laboratory. The next steps are to identify which element of the plant is responsible for killing the cancer cells with a view to eventually begin trails with human cancer patients."