Ginger may slow down (or stop) cancer:

Krangthebrain · October 28th, 2003, 12:14 PM

Ginger, Chinese herb may prevent cancer, study says
Kerry Fehr-Snyder
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 28, 2003 12:55 PM

Ginger extract and a traditional Chinese herb may stop the growth of cancer cells, research presented Tuesday at an international cancer conference in Phoenix shows.

Mice fed 500 micrograms of gingerol (the source of ginger's spiciness) three times a week for two weeks developed fewer tumors after being injected with human colorectal carcinoma cells. Mice fed ginger also survived longer, implying that the tumors grew slower, said Ann Bode, at the Hormel Institute at the University of Minnesota.

"The mice were a good (model) for human tumor development because they had no immune system," Bode said, adding that they were more susceptible for developing cancer once they were implanted with human colon cancer cells.

But fed gingerol, the mice developed a "marked suppression" of cancer cells, leading researchers to conclude the extract fueled apoptosis, or cell death, or possibly through a cellular transcription process.

Ginger has been used since antiquity for preventing digestive problems, nausea, sea sickness and motion sickness. It also has shown to work against skin, ovarian, colon and breast cancer tumors. But it has been scientifically tested for halting the progression of colon cancer, until now.

The work was presented at the second annual international cancer prevention conference sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research in Phoenix.

Meanwhile, researchers found that the Chinese herb "Scutellaria Barbata," was found to slow the progression of prostate tumors, also in mice. The herb is related to mint of the Labiate family.

The work was done at Union College in Nebraska by Brian Wong, lead author of the study, and other researchers. Wong said he hopes to apply the findings to humans.

Wong said, as a child, his mother forced him to drink the bitter dark tea whenever he got sick.

The herb has long been part of Chinese medicine, used by doctors to treat everything from hepatitis to appendicitis to snake bites and lung and rectal cancer.

He and other researchers explored whether the herb could stop cell growth in prostate cancer, the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. They experimented with mice, feeding them "SB," as it is known, and they discovered that 50 to 70 percent of those given moderate to high doses were cancer free at the end.

Wong said translated to humans, the research shows a person would need to drink a few ounces, but not daily because it contains cytotoxins that can be damaging. "Too much is not good," he said.