Herbal Extract Kills Prostate Cancer Cells

By Karla Gale

NEW YORK Jul 29, 2003 (Reuters Health) - Zyflamend, an herbal extract, can destroy prostate cancer cells in the lab setting, new research shows.

Zyflamend, which is produced by New Chapter, Inc., in Brattleboro, Vermont, is composed of herbs with the ability to block an enzyme known as COX-2.  Rofecoxib (Vioxx) and celecoxib (Celebrex) are two drugs commonly prescribed for arthritis pain that also block the COX-2 enzyme.

The herbs in Zyflamend include rosemary, turmeric, ginger, holy basil, and green tea, lead author Dr. A. E. Katz and colleagues, from Columbia University in New York, note.  Other components are derived from hu zhang, Chinese goldthread, barberry, oregano and Scutellaria baicalensis.

In the new study, Katz"s team added Zyflamend to culture dishes containing prostate cancer cells.  Three days later, the researchers noted that the herbal extract had destroyed 78 percent of the cells.  Further analysis revealed that the extract had triggered something in the cells that actually made them self-destruct.

The new findings were presented at the Society of Urologic Oncology meeting at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

"We are about to initiate a [Zyflamend] trial at Columbia looking at patients" with a prostate problem that, if untreated, often leads to cancer, Katz told Reuters Health.

In the meantime, Katz said he is already prescribing Zyflamend to patients who are at risk for a return of their prostate cancer after being successfully treated a first time.

"From our results in the lab, I feel that Zyflamend is a promising, novel [herbal] agent for prostate cancer," Katz concluded.


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