Experiments using benzophenones derived from plants
originating in Cameroon produce evidence that these may be effective against
multi-drug resistant cancers
African medicinal plants contain chemicals that may be able
to stop the spread of cancer cells. This is the conclusion of researchers
following laboratory experiments conducted at Johannes Gutenberg University
Mainz (JGU). The plant materials will now undergo further analysis in order to
evaluate their therapeutic potential. "The active substances present in
African medicinal plants may be capable of killing off tumor cells that are
resistant to more than one drug. They thus represent an excellent starting
point for the development of new therapeutic treatments for cancers that do not
respond to conventional chemotherapy regimens," explained Professor Thomas
Efferth of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biochemistry – Therapeutic
Life Sciences at Mainz University. For the past four years, Efferth and
biochemist Dr. Victor Keute of the University of Dschang in Cameroon have been
studying the active substances in African plants such as the giant globe
thistle, wild pepper, speargrass, and Ethiopian pepper.