Ginger extract may turn out to be more effective at fighting breast cancer than any drug currently on the market – so suggest the findings of a new study conducted by researchers from the Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia, and published in the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology.
In their paper, the researchers note that in spite of the high global toll of breast cancer, conventional drug therapies are of only middling effectiveness, often with serious side effects.
"Despite significant advances toward targeted therapy and screening techniques, breast cancer continues to be a chronic medical problem worldwide, being the most common type of cancer in women and the leading cause of death," they write.
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A safe, natural treatment?
The researchers exposed breast cancer cells in the laboratory to a crude extract of ginger (Zingiber officinale). They found that ginger exhibited a highly prized anti-cancer trait known as selective cytotoxicity: it inhibited the reproduction of cancer cells while leaving healthy cells largely unaffected. No conventional cancer treatment on the market exhibits this property.
More specifically, ginger appeared to positively modulate a large number of molecular anti-cancer mechanisms, including induction of programmed cell death (apoptosis), up-regulation of the apoptosis gene Bax, down-regulation of numerous cancer-associated genes and proteins, increased expression of cancer-fighting proteins and inhibition of cancer-associated enzymes. Although the researchers were not able to explain these molecular effects, the evidence in their favor was striking.
"Ginger may be a promising candidate for the treatment of breast carcinomas," the researchers concluded.
Ginger – A medicinal powerhouse
If further studies bear out ginger's utility as a breast cancer treatment, it could revolutionize the entire field of cancer medicine, since ginger extract could easily be produced cheaply and in large quantities, and likely would have few or no side effects.
