Lung cancer, a major cause of cancer death among men and women in the United States, is when cells in the lungs grow out of control. There is convincing evidence suggesting that you can ward off lung cancer by supporting your lung's health with herbal supplement pills. If you have lung cancer, consult your doctor before taking herbal pills.
Ginseng
Epidemiological studies reviewed by the Southern Illinois University have shown that ginseng has preventive effects against lung cancer. Ginsenosides, the principal components of ginseng, are largely responsible for the antineoplastic effects exerted by ginseng, although more research is necessary to elucidate potential mechanisms of action of ginsenosides in mediating such effects. Ginsenosides inhibit lung cancer proliferation through inhibition of angiogenesis -- the formation of new blood vessels -- that provides tumors with oxygen and nutrients necessary for survival and growth.
Garlic
Y.S. Hong, a professor of biochemistry at Ewha Womans University in Korea, and colleagues have investigated the effects of the garlic components diallyl sulfide and diallyl disulfide on p53-wild type H460 and p53-null type H1299 non small cell lung cancer cells. Their results, published in the journal "Experimental and Molecular Medicine" in September 2000, indicated that allyl sulfides from garlic have the ability to deactivate anti-proliferative genes, resulting in the upregulation of cell cycle regulators that trigger growth arrest, apoptosis or differentiation.
Turmeric
In a 2008 study published in "Cancer Letters," conducted at the Cytokine Research Laboratory at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, scientists concluded that curcumin, the active component of turmeric -- a tropical herb of the ginger family -- modulates numerous cell-signaling pathways, including cell cycle and apoptosis, which are implicated in the growth and survival of lung cancer cells. The analysis of this experiment further suggests that curcumin exerts an anti-tumor effect by inducing apoptosis and suppressing growth of tumor cells, but the underlying mechanism by which curcumin triggers apoptotic cell death needs further research.
Ginger
Ginger has multiple molecular targets, including inhibition of the expression of the tumor antigens human telomerase reverse transcriptase, or hTERT, and c-Myc, according to a study published online in December 2010 in "Journal of Medicinal Food." This pleiotropism of ginger may constitute an advantage in the treatment of lung cancer, where multiple factors contribute to the progression of lung carcinoma. The overexpression of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase constitutes a key step in the development of A549 lung cancer, note researchers from the Chiang Mai University in Thailand. The results of these experiments further indicate that the transcription factor, c-Myc, is critical for hTERT gene expression and lung cancer cell proliferation.
References
- Southern Illinois University; Digging for Ginseng's Secrets; Marilyn Davis; 2001
- "Experimental and Molecular Medicine"; Effects of Allyl Sulfur Compounds and Garlic Extract on the Expression of Bcl-2, Bax and P53 in Non Small Cell Lung Cancer Cell Lines; Y.S. Hong; September 2000
- "Cancer Letters"; Curcumin and Cancer: An "Old-Age" Disease With an "Age-Old" Solution; P. Anand; August 2008
- "Journal of Medicinal Food"; Ginger Extract Inhibits Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase and C-Myc Expression in A549 Lung Cancer Cells; W. Tuntiwechapikul; December 2010
- MayoClinic.com: Lung Cancer
