THE MOSS REPORTS

"Nature never ceases to amaze me," says Professor Alan McGown, one of the scientists whose work is featured in this week's newsletter.

It is enormously refreshing to see that scientists such as Professor McGown are increasingly turning their attention to the natural world in search of better tools for use in the treatment of cancer. It seems fair to hope that after three decades of the war on cancer, a war that has so far proved to be seriously misguided, a new approach is finally gaining momentum.

For the past thirty years I have been studying the world of cancer therapeutics and writing about the best treatment choices that conventional and alternative medicine have to offer. The fruits of this work are embodied in The Moss Reports, a comprehensive series of reports on the treatment options for more than 200 different cancer diagnoses.

If you or someone you love has received a diagnosis of cancer, a Moss Report can provide you with the key to understanding the best that conventional and alternative medicine have to offer. You can order a Moss Report on your specific cancer type by calling Diane at 1-800-980-1234 (814-238-3367 from outside the US), or by visiting our website: http://www.cancerdecisions.com

We look forward to helping you.

MINT-LIKE PLANT STARVES CANCER CELLS

Mint! If it weren't so flavorful it would be among the most pernicious of weeds in the garden. Innocently put a few shoots of mint in your herb garden and the next thing you know it's popping up all over. These are friends who stay for dinner—once introduced, they will be with you for a long, long time.

Luckily, mints have medicinal uses that more than make up for their invasive habits. Peppermint and spearmint are among the world's most popular flavors. The choice of mint as a flavoring for after-dinner chocolate is a testament to the herb's universally known ability to quiet dyspepsia and heartburn.

But recently a Chinese herb in the mint family, Laminaceae, was found have unusual qualities that may make it a useful ally in the fight against cancer.

The mint-like herb in question is Scutellaria, popularly known as ‘skullcap'. This peculiar and rather ominous-sounding name derives from the unusual shape of the seed heads that plants of this genus develop after their flowers have finished blooming. The species used in the latest experiments is Scutellaria barbata, or the barbed skullcap. But the genus as a whole includes 10 or more common species, including the North American S. lateriflora as well as S. baicalensis (Baikal skullcap), which, as the name suggests, originated in the area around Lake Baikal in Siberia.

Pictured above: skullcap

Folk Usages

Skullcap is well known in the various folk medicine traditions of the world. There are several ways that skullcap is traditionally prepared and used. For instance, Chinese healers generally make a preparation out of the roots of S. baicalensis. American herbalists (following Native American traditions) tend to use the aerial (or above ground) parts of 3 to 4 year old specimens of S. lateriflora, harvested in June. The herb has a bitter and slightly astringent taste. It smells a bit like grass or hay.

Duke's Database

Those wishing to understand the composition and traditional uses of medicinal herbs should definitely consult Dr James Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Dr. Duke is the foremost expert on traditional remedies in the United States. When he was at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) he compiled these huge databases, which continue to be periodically updated with information from his voluminous files and extensive personal experience.

To consult Dr. Duke's government database, click or go to:
http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/

For Scutellaria Dr. Duke lists ten different species and their traditional uses. Most interesting is the fact that in different cultures around the globe the following three varieties have been used against cancer:

•  S. baicalensis has been used traditionally against cervical, glandular, lymphatic, nasal, pharyngeal, stomach and thyroid cancer.
  
•  S. barbata has been used against cancer in general and specifically against cervical, digestive, esophageal and stomach cancer.
  
•  S. lateriflora was reported by Jonathan L. Hartwell, PhD (1906-1991), of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), to have been used traditionally against cancer in general. (Dr. Hartwell was another great ethnobotanist: I dedicated my 1998 book, Herbs Against Cancer, to him and to James Duke.)

Dr. Duke doesn't specify the active ingredients of S. barbata. In addition to those ingredients that are ubiquitous in plants in general, S. baicalensis contains 30 known biologically active compounds, including two uncommon compounds, baicalein and baicalin, in the roots. S. baicalensis has also been shown to have antibacterial and even antiviral properties (see references below).

S. lateriflora contains fewer medically interesting compounds, such as the flavonoid scutellarin (also found in the common weed, plantain), as well as volatile oils and tannins. The plant also includes monoterpenes, chemically related to D-limonene and perillyl alcohol, which are being examined by the NCI for anticancer effects. One or more of these monoterpenes may be responsible for the characteristic sedative, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects reported for this compound. The herb was formerly widely used for hysteria, tension, epilepsy and other nervous disorders. Another name for S. lateriflora is "mad-dog skullcap," indicating that it was once believed useful against rabies.

PC SPES

A few years ago Scutellaria baicalensis created a stir in cancer circles, because it was a major component in the now-notorious anti-prostate cancer formula, PC SPES. (This ostensibly Chinese herbal formula was later shown to be contaminated with standard pharmaceutical compounds, including diethylstilbestrol (DES) and the anticoagulant Warfarin, and was abruptly withdrawn from the market.)

New Anticancer Drug

More recently, a drug based on an extract of the leaves of S. barbata has been shown to work by inhibiting the formation of blood vessels supplying tumors. It is thus an anti-angiogenic, as opposed to a cytotoxic, agent. This finding provides a clue as to how herbal compounds might actually help fight cancer – a suggestion that in the past has attracted ridicule from many in the anti-alternative medicine establishment.

Professor Alan McGown and colleagues at the University of Salford in Manchester, England, say they will test this herb-derived drug in cancer patients soon. (They have so far only tested it on human cancer cell lines in the laboratory.) It should have fewer side effects than conventional treatments, they say, since the latter attack healthy cells as well as cancerous cells.

By attacking the tumor's blood supply Scutellaria may help to starve tumors to death by blocking their supply of oxygen and nutrients. A colleague of Professor McGown's, Dr. Sylvie Ducki, said: "If you target the vessels you are stopping the ‘food' getting to the tumor and the tumor from spreading." She said the drug targets only tumor vessels; blood vessels supplying healthy tissues remain unaffected.

"Conventional treatments usually target tumor cells but also the normal cells. This causes a lot of side effects. Ours is so selective for just tumor vessels it did not attack normal blood vessels. We think we would be able to avoid a lot of the nasty side effects that conventional treatments have," she added.

Patient Trials

Professor McGown added: "Clearly we have much work to do before this treatment can be evaluated in patients. However, this area of research is very exciting. All cancers require a blood supply if they are to survive and grow. If we can target and destroy these blood vessels, then we will have a treatment that will be applicable to all forms of cancer both in children and adults."

"Nature never ceases to amaze me," Dr. McGown added. "The drug works by destroying the blood vessels. It seems to target only cancer cells, because normal, healthy cells are not vulnerable. Cancer cells are weak and rely on oxygen and nutrients from the blood, which makes them susceptible to this drug.

"Researchers have been looking for something like this for years and we think that our findings look very promising -- our research shows this should destroy all types of cancer" (Camber 2004).

Dr Graham Cowling, from the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research in Manchester, agreed. He said: "This sounds very exciting. There are a number of drugs being developed which work on a similar mechanism but they are all slightly different.

The modern approach is to combine drugs together to get even better effects. The more drugs we can get into clinical trials the better. We look forward to it progressing on through to the next stage."

A spokeswoman for the large British charity Cancer Research UK added: "Scutellaria barbata has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat several illnesses, including some cancers. So this finding is very interesting and the active ingredients of the plant should definitely be investigated further."

There is some confusion over exactly how this knowledge might be applied to today's patients. Dr. McGown is using the leaf of S. barbata as the source of his new medication. However, the type of Scutellaria most often found in North America is S. lateriflora. Extracts of S. baicalensis (Huang Qin) are also available on the Internet, presumably from China. How these various products relate to one another, and what constitutes a useful therapeutic dose, is difficult to say without proper chemical analysis and standardization.

At the www.healthy.net website, herbalist David L. Hoffman recommends the following method of preparation: "Infusion: pour a cup of boiling water onto l-2 teaspoonfuls of the dried herb and leave to infuse for l0-l5 minutes. This should be drunk three times a day or when needed. Tincture: take 2-4 millilters of the tincture three times a day."

If interested in pursuing this as a treatment the reader would be well advised to contact a qualified herbalist, naturopath, or other CAM-oriented practitioner. Many websites, such as healthy.net, offer search engines for such doctors and healers.

Is Skullcap Toxic?

Perhaps the inclusion of the word "skull" will frighten away some potential users. Is skullcap toxic? It isn't generally believed to be so. I decided to experience the effects of the herb first-hand as part of my research for this newsletter. After drinking a cup of tea made with two teaspoons of nearly-powdered Scutellaria (the label didn't say so, but I presume the product I had was S. lateriflora) I felt a certain queasiness. The feeling wore off after a few hours. If I were to take this herb regularly I would start with a small amount, perhaps one-half teaspoon to the cup, and then gradually increase it to two teaspoons, if it agreed with me.

According to the authoritative PDR for Herbal Medicines: "No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction with the proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages."

According to another source, "Swallowing skullcap at normal doses does not generally result in serious side effects. Injection of S. baicalensis extracts, however, can cause fever, muscle pain, and lowered leukocyte count. In several instances, people taking skullcap have experienced liver damage. The danger of liver toxicity should, however, discourage casual use of skullcap." (www.herbs2000.com)

This reputed damage to the liver probably does not come from skullcap per se, but from contamination with another similar-looking plant, germander. In fact, baicalin, from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis, has been found to guard against the known liver toxicity of acetominophen (Jang 2003).

If you decide to use American skullcap, however, you should be sure to purchase a reputable commercial product. If you have any doubts about the contents of the product you purchase, do not take it. Also, experts recommend that you do not take skullcap if you have any pre-existing liver condition, just to be on the safe side.

Medicinal herbs should be respected as medicines. This means that if they have can positive effects they can also have negative ones as well. A moderate amount of tea prepared from the leaves and other aerial parts of this mint-like plant is not likely to be harmful to most people. But patients should consult a medicinal herbalist or other qualified practitioner about its use.

Also, remember that the information presented here is primarily based on traditional ethnobotanical usage or else preliminary laboratory experiments. Neither of these sources, in my opinion, provides a reliable basis for therapeutic decisions. Only carefully designed clinical trials can answer the key questions about what these herbs can do to or for cancer patients. However, such trials are expensive to perform and may take a long time to organize. In the meantime, using Scutellaria under a skilled practitioner's guidance could be useful, provided one does not rely on this treatment to the exclusion of more proven forms of cancer therapy.

--Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

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Sale of Scutellaria barbata:
http://www.kalyx.com/store/proddetail.cfm/ItemID/16244.0/CategoryID/1000.0/SubCatID/10.0/file.htm

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

The news and other items in this newsletter are intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in this newsletter is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.

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