- Compound found in root could hold key to beating most lethal form of the disease
- Breakthrough could lead to new drug to combat malignant melanoma
Scientists identified a compound found in the root of the liquorice plant which slowed the growth of cancer cells during laboratory tests
Liquorice could hold the key to beating the most lethal form of skin cancer, scientists have discovered.
Research carried out in the US has identified a compound found in liquorice root which slowed the growth of cancer cells during laboratory tests.
Now they hope the tumour-busting compound can be developed into a new drug to combat malignant melanoma.
Previous studies have found liquorice contains an anti-cancer chemical called glycyrrhizin.
But attempts to turn it into a medicine have been hampered by the fact that long-term consumption of glycyrrhizin can cause high blood pressure and even swelling on the brain.
But experts at the University of Minnesota in the US have now found another ingredient – called Isoangustone A – which has the same benefits but without the dangerous side-effects.
Malignant melanoma kills around 1,700 people a year in the UK and is the third most common cancer in people aged 15 to 39.
Over-exposure to the sun’s rays is the biggest cause and since the mid-1990s
Some evidence suggests even a few early bouts of sunburn in childhood can be enough to trigger the cellular changes in moles that lead to skin cancer later in life.
Cells within moles become cancerous and start to divide uncontrollably, eventually spreading through the body.
Checkup: Some evidence suggests even a few early bouts of sunburn in childhood can be enough to trigger the cellular changes in moles that lead to skin cancer later in life
The disease has historically had a very high death rate as the cancer has often spread by the time patients seek help.
Recently new drugs have emerged that appear to halt the spread of tumours by ‘resetting’ the immune system so that it is able to attack malignant cells.
In the latest research, scientists extracted Isoangustone A from liquorice root and applied it to skin cancer cells in the laboratory.
The compound slowed down the rate at which melanoma cells reproduce, partly by blocking the release of certain proteins needed for them to flourish.
When the scientists gave the extract to mice with skin cancer, it had the same effect – suppressing growth of the tumour.
Liquorice is already a popular remedy for cold sores. A balm made from the root can reduce the severity of outbreaks.
But too much liquorice can be harmful. A Scottish study found children born to women who ate over 100 grammes a week during pregnancy performed worse in intelligence tests at school and the harmful compound glycyrrhizin was blamed.
In a report on their findings, published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, scientists said: ‘Liquorice root is known to possess anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects.
We found Isoangustone A suppressed the proliferation of human melanoma cells and provides the basis for the potential development of a new agent.’
Written by Pat Hagan for the Daily Mail, October 9, 2013.
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