The African Plant That Could Hold The Cure For Kidney, Breast, And Lung Cancers

A new study by researchers at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom (UK), has shown why a plant that is only found in some African countries including Nigeria could hold a key to killing renal (kidney) cancer cells.

The research was published in the chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie and was conducted in cell lines developed from cancer patients.

Phyllanthus engleri, also known as spurred phyllanthus, is found in Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

But a close relative in Nigeria, Phyllanthus niruri is commonly called stonebreaker, also known as ‘Chanca piedra’ belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae. Phyllanthus niruri is similar to Phyllanthus amarus and Phyllanthus engleri, which also belongs to the same family.

In Nigeria, it is called enyikwonwa and ngwu in the Ibo, oyomokeso amanke edem in Efik, geeron-tsuntsaayee (bird’s millet) in Hausa, and ehin olobe and yin-olobe in Yoruba.

Whole plants have been used in traditional medicine for treatment of jaundice, asthma, hepatitis and malaria. It has a potent free radical scavenging activity and could scavenge superoxides, hydroxyl radicals and can inhibit lipid peroxides.

Previous studies have shown that the plant contains a chemical, Englerin A, which kills renal cancer cells – but they have not shown why.

A research team led by Prof. David Beech, of the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds, has discovered that Englerin A in very small amounts activates a particular protein, TRPC4, and its close relative TRPC5. This triggers changes in the renal cancer cell, which kills it.

The genus Phyllanthus is one of the most widely distributed plants throughout the Amazon rainforests as well as other tropical and subtropical regions. Numerous research studies on Phyllanthus species began in the late 1980’s with the clinical efficacy of Phyllanthus niruri against viral Hepatitis B being observed. P. niruri, locally known as “Dukung Anak” in Malaysia, is originated from India. Phyllanthus can now be found in almost every tropical countries due to its wide medicinal usages and lack of toxicity.

Various therapeutic properties of this genus have been reported, including being anti-hepatotoxic, antilithic, antihypertensive, and most recently anti-Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) as well. There are also some speculation on the anti-carcinogenic activity of various Phyllanthus plants. For example P. emblica has demonstrated growth inhibitory activity on A549 and HepG2 (liver carcinoma), while the toxicity of P. polyphyllus on MCF-7, HT-29 (colon adenocarcinoma), and HepG2 was reported.

In another study, Phyllanthus was demonstrated to inhibit the growth of PC-3 (prostate adenocarcinoma) and MeWo (melanoma) via cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction.

Until now, inhibition of cancer cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis have been thought as the markers to evaluate the effectiveness of anticancer drugs or cancer chemopreventive agents. Therefore, most of the currently available natural product-derived chemotherapeutic drugs kill cancer cells primarily by inducing apoptosis. Since malignancy of tumors is often attributed to their invasive and metastatic ability, a chemotherapeutic agent that only possesses the ability to induce apoptosis may not be useful against this type of tumours.

According to a recent study published in PLOS ONE titled “Antimetastatic Effects of Phyllanthus on Human Lung (A549) and Breast (MCF-7) Cancer Cell Lines,” current chemotherapeutic drugs kill cancer cells mainly by inducing apoptosis. However, they become ineffective once cancer cell has the ability to metastasize, hence the poor prognosis and high mortality rate.

The study evaluated the anti-metastatic potential of Phyllanthus (P. niruri, P. urinaria, P. watsonii, and P. amarus) on lung and breast carcinoma cells.

The study assessed the antimetastatic activity of Phyllanthus plants on two cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and A549). Prior to that, cytotoxic effects of Phyllanthus on the cancer cells were thoroughly screened in order to choose a non-toxic effective dose. Subsequently, the relationship of this antimetastatic effect with probable involvement of apoptosis was investigated.

The researchers concluded: “The presence of polyphenol compounds in the Phyllanthus plant is critically important in the inhibition of the invasion, migration, and adhesion of cancer cells, along with the involvement of apoptosis induction. Hence, Phyllanthus could be a valuable candidate in the treatment of metastatic cancers.”

The findings of this study could be considered as valuable information for the use of medicinal natural products in cancer treatment.  The research team will now work with the Dortmund-based Lead Discovery Center, which offers professional support in drug development, on the next stage of the project.

-Guardian