Considering
the potential of herbs as both as a chemopreventive agent that can be used in
men who have chosen active holistic surveillance and as part of an overall plan
to prevent recurrence in men who have undergone treatment this is one of the
best natural forms of prostate cancer prevention and treatment.
Researchers at the University of
Texas found that the following combination of herbs inhibits invasion of cancer cells, reduces the
ability of cancer to spread to bone cells, and boost apoptosis through
anti-inflammatory effects on cells' genetic blueprints.
Rosemary leaf extract
Rosemary, an important flavoring herb in the Mediterranean
diet, contains two compounds with special promise for chemoprevention: carnosic
acid and rosmarinic acid. These compounds are
antibacterial and have very strong antioxidant activity. Consuming this herb not
only raises
antioxidant intake, it also potentiates the body's
production of its own antioxidant substances.
Turmeric extract
This Asian spice belongs to the same family as the
gingerroot. Owing to its anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and
digestion-soothing properties, turmeric has been used in Ayurvedic (Asian
Indian) and Chinese medicine for over 4,000 years to treat
a broad variety of health problems,
including arthritis, wounds, liver disease, digestive disorders,
diabetes, and cancer.
Turmeric helps reduce excessive blood clotting and
aids in balancing cholesterol counts, which promotes better heart health; it
reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics; and some studies even find that it
protects the brain against age-related degeneration.
Ginger extract
Gingerroot, with its anti-inflammatory,
anti-nausea, and anti-infective properties, has been used as a remedy in traditional
medicine for thousands of years. It
helps soothe coughs and is one of the best palliatives for motion sickness.
Ginger's active compounds—gingerols and shogaols—work
as natural COX-2 inhibitors and antioxidants.
Holy basil extract
Also known as tulsi, tulasi, and Ocimum
tenuiflorum, holy basil is an ancient Ayurvedic medicinal plant that, like
turmeric, has been avidly researched for its chemopreventive potential. Its
active components, including eugenol, carvacrol, oleanolic
acid, and ursolic acid, inhibit COX-2, act as
strong antioxidants, and help reduce blood sugar levels.
Studies demonstrate that holy basil
down-regulates growth-promoting processes that
otherwise facilitate cancer cell growth. It is antimetastatic, inhibiting
cancer cell invasion and adhesion, and it increases cancer cells'
susceptibility to death by chemotherapy.
Green tea leaf extract
Tea is a
rich source of catechins, which belong to a class of medicinal plant compounds
called polyphenols. Green tea is the best-known source of the catechin epigallocatechin
gallate, or EGCG for short. Catechins protect against cellular damage
caused by oxidative stress and modify several metabolic and cell-signaling
pathways that regulate cancer cell growth, spread, and survival. Tea
polyphenols have beneficial effects along the whole spectrum of cancer formation,
growth, and spread, affecting apoptosis, angiogenesis, and metastasis in ways
that aid in chemoprevention.
Green tea
polyphenols also appear to directly affect the body's processing of
cancer-causing substances, reducing the expression of enzymes that would
otherwise interact with carcinogens in ways that make them more carcinogenic.
Specific to the prostate, research has shown that green tea administration
inhibited the development of cancerous cells from precancerous lesions (such as
PIN).
Hu zhang
Hu zhang,
also known as Japanese knotweed, is a traditional Chinese herb that happens to
be naturally rich in the phytochemical resveratrol—the antioxidant present in
red grapes and in red wine.
Studies
demonstrate that resveratrol-rich hu zhang reduces inflammation and oxidative
stress through several different mechanisms; in fact, it seems to affect every
step of cancer formation and spread—initiation, promotion, and progression—as
well as suppressing angiogenesis and metastasis. Resveratrol also
blocks the transformation of less harmful catechol estrogens into more
carcinogenic quinone estrogens and triggers apoptosis.
Chinese goldthread and barberry
These two
traditional Chinese herbs, both of which have been used medicinally for at
least two and a half millennia, are rich sources of a plant chemical called
berberine. Berberine inhibits activities in cells' metabolic
"engines" (mitochondria) that can promote carcinogenic transformation.
It also reduces the expression of the COX-2 enzyme, which means less
inflammation.
In test-tube
studies of prostate cancer cells, berberine inhibited cell growth by inducing
apoptosis. Several other survival schemes mounted by cancer cells are thwarted
by berberine, which is a hot subject of research in chemoprevention circles.
Oregano extract
This Mediterranean herb has high antioxidant
activity thanks to its dense content of plant chemicals known as phenolic acids
and flavonoids. Studies suggest that oregano is selectively toxic to tumor
cells. It is a rich source of quercetin, an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory
flavonoid.
Baikal skullcap
Yet another Chinese herb that packs a big
antioxidant, anti- inflammatory punch. Test-tube studies show that it inhibits
the action of the COX-2 enzyme, which then decreases production of the
inflammatory eicosanoid prostaglandin E2.
Animal studies have shown dramatic effects of
Baikal skullcap on cancer growth: one study showed a 50 percent reduction in
prostate tumor volume in animals given skullcap for 7 weeks, while another
showed a 66 percent reduction! Wogonin, an active constituent of skullcap, was
found in one study to block the production of an enzyme in cancer cells that is
needed for survival. As a result of this blockade, the cancer cells committed
suicide (apoptosis).
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