Root therapy
Herb Chitrak instrumental in fighting lung cancer
roots of the herb Chitrak (Plumbago zeylanica) may help cure lung cancer. A complex yellow pigment, plumbagin, found in the root cells of the herb, has been found to check proliferation of cancer cells and induce their death by disrupting the cellular structure, says a study.
During recent studies on mice, the pigment was found to inhibit the proliferation of human intestinal, cervical and even ovarian cancer cells. Such intriguing results encouraged the joint research team from the Calcutta University and Bose Institute, Kolkata, to pursue its effects on human lung cancer cells. The findings of the study were published in the July 29 issue of Biochemistry.
For the study, the researchers first cultured a special type of human lung cancer cells (A549) and exposed them to varying concentrations of the pigment in solution. The pigment stifled the growth of cancer cells.