Licorice Extract Curbs Breast, Prostate Cancers

NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey, December 23, 2003 (ENS) - A newly discovered molecule extracted from licorice root has the ability to stop two of the most common cancers, according to new research conducted at Rutgers University and four other institutions. Lab tests showed the substance stopped the growth of prostate and breast cancers, scientists say.

Dr. Mohamed Rafi, assistant professor in the Department of Food Science at Rutgers' Cook College, discovered the new molecule, ß-hydroxy-DHP (BHP), in common dietary supplements made from licorice root, a natural remedy with curative powers recognized for thousands of years.

Rafi tested the compound in the laboratory on tissues taken from prostate and breast cancer tumors. "We were able to conclusively demonstrate for the first time that BHP stopped the growth of cancer cells in prostate and breast cancers," he said.

Prostate and breast cancers are the leading cancers affecting men and women respectively, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Mohamed Rafi, assistant professor in the Department of Food Science at Rutgers' Cook College, specializes in the emerging field of nutragenomics. (Photo courtesy Rutgers)

"The precision with which ß-hydroxy-DHP acts in treating these cancers offers new hope for more effective therapies," said Rafi.

Standard chemotherapy kills normal cells along with cancer cells, causing side effects such as hair loss, nausea and reduced immunities.

BHP, a small, highly specific molecule, focuses precisely on cancer cells. It works by deactivating a protein associated with tumor cells known to promote the rampant cell growth characteristic of cancer.

The ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese and Hindus recognized the natural medicinal qualities of licorice. The Egyptian pharoh Tutankhamen was buried with licorice root.

Today, licorice root is a botanical ingredient in modern Chinese medicines used to manage cancers. While some previous scientific studies confirmed the ancient wisdom of using licorice, the anticancer mechanisms remained unknown until Rafi's discovery.

"While licorice root is currently in clinical trials, we still need to isolate, synthesize and clinically test the BHP compound," Rafi says. "There is still a lot more to do both in the laboratory with animal models and in clinical trials on humans."

Rafi specializes in nutragenomics, an emerging applied science to develop future foods, new ways of incorporating bioactive compounds, known as nutraceuticals, into foods and the development of healthy personalized foods. Last spring he gave the first graduate level course in the world on nutragenomics and nutraceuticals.

Licorice root, considered the king of chinese herbal medicines, is a wild plant growing in dry and sunny areas. (Photo courtesy Chinats)

The team's findings have gained new prominence since the National Institutes of Health included it in its Annual Bibliography of Significant Advances in Dietary Supplement Research in October 2002.

In 2001, Rafi was part of research team that identified a compound in myrrh, one of the gifts presented to baby Jesus by the Three Wise Men, that they believe could be developed into a potent anticancer agent. The compound, which kills cancer cells in the laboratory, also shows particular promise for the prevention and treatment of breast and prostate cancer.

As part of a larger search for anticancer compounds from plants, the researchers obtained extracts from a particular species of myrrh plant, Commiphora myrrha, and tested it against a human breast tumor cell line (MCF-7) known to be resistant to anticancer drugs. Research data indicated that the extract killed all of the cancer cells in laboratory dishes.

Rafi estimates that the myrrh compound tested is 100 times less potent than paclitaxel, the anti-cancer drug commercially sold as Taxol. But this drug is toxic to healthy cells, says Rafi.

The myrrh compound appears to fall within the moderate strength range of other recently discovered phytochemicals isolated from plants, including resveratrol from grapes, genestein from soy, lycopene from tomatoes, and catechins from tea.

The good news is that these compounds all come from food and are unlikely to be toxic to healthy cells, Rafi says, which could mean fewer side effects when used as chemotherapy agents.