However, scientists warn that there is still a need to understand the botanical roots of tumor cures – to preserve new sources of medicine and to ensure that plant resources are not overused. The natural world still has a lot to teach us about tackling disease. An example is provided by Melanie-Jayne Howes, a researcher based in Kew Gardens, London. “An effective anticancer drug called paclitaxel was developed from the Pacific holly tree. “However, it was based on a chemical that exists in very low yields,” Howes said. “Hundreds of trees had to be cut down to grow the medicine. As a result, the tree is now classified as almost endangered. “ However, a solution has been given – by botanists. Howes said: “A similar drug has since been found in higher concentrations in common holly and is now being used, with much less ecological damage, to make paclitaxel, a treatment for ovarian and breast cancer. “Basic research and understanding of plant biology has had a decisive impact on cancer treatment.” This point was repeated by Professor Susan Short of the University of Leeds. “There are many different types of tumors and subtypes of tumors that are constantly being discovered, so we still need new ideas and new drugs,” he said. Short is leading an extensive UK-based trial of the cannabis-based drug Sativex to treat patients with recurrent glioblastomas, an aggressive form of brain tumor. The test will evaluate the impact of the drug – which is also used to treat multiple sclerosis and is given as an oral spray – to people undergoing standard chemotherapy. “We will treat patients whose primary brain tumors have re-developed after standard treatments, to see if adding this herbal medicine to subsequent chemotherapy helps to keep them alive for a longer period of time and to see if it improves their quality of life. “, added Short. . Herbal remedies clearly play a vital role in the treatment of cancer, a point made by Howes. “Even today, scientists have not been able to synthesize certain drugs because they are so complex, so we still rely on plants for basic anti-cancer drugs,” said Howes, whose work involves examining plants and seeds found in Kew. in order to detect new drugs. and medicines. As examples of previous success, he cited vinblastine and vincristine, two critical drugs used to treat Hodgkin’s lymphoma, melanoma and many other cancers. The only source of these medicines is rose extract, which is native to Madagascar but is grown all over the world as an ornamental plant. “Merit was initially used as a traditional treatment for diabetes, but later research showed it had potential anti-cancer properties,” Howes said. However, the effectiveness of plant extracts is not limited to the development of anti-cancer drugs. Medicines for many other conditions are still isolated from plants and are used today. Galantamine, an avalanche extract, is used to treat dementia, while artemisinin, an extract of the sweet wormwood plant – an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine – has been shown to be effective in treating malaria, a discovery that Tu Youyou won her a share of the 2015 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. Emphasis on the power of plants to help people survive disease for longer and have a better quality of life has important implications beyond treating their conditions, Howes added. “If we can show how we can get new medicines from nature by unlocking the beneficial properties of plants, then we help cure disease, but we also show the value of biodiversity and motivate people to protect it.”
