According to a new collaborative study led by the researchers of Royal Holloway, University of London, Brunel University London, and University of Exeter have reported to find that ‘Arabidopsis thaliana’, a plant, basically a weed which was considered to be non-medicinal plant in the earlier researchers, exhibited its potential in averting growth of breast cancer cells without affecting normal cells, indicating to be potential first for cancer chemotherapy treatment in the future.
In the study, researcher’s gestated Jasmonate plant hormone treated Arabidopsis thaliana leaves with breast cancer cells. Later, researchers observed that the growth of cancer cells was stopped, whereas the normal cells remained unaffected. They also suggested that adoption of the plant in breast cancer treatment can result in speedier recovery time and with lesser side effects for patients exposed to chemical treatment. Researchers also noted to find that molecular mechanisms linked with the variations in the breast cancer cells will aid in developing novel treatments, in the near future.
Professor Devoto, from the Department of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway, stated, “Along with my colleagues from Brunel and Exeter, I am truly excited to have discovered the amazing impact this unassuming plant has on breast cancer cells. It just proves that even plants with a non-medicinal pedigree can work for cancer treatment. The discovery has important implications in developing treatments for cancer as well as other diseases.”
Researchers concluded that the research findings will aid production and study of bioactivities of valued metabolites from plants on an industrial scale. They also suggested that they will continue further research to identify plant-derived chemicals that inhibit growth of breast cancer cells, including other diseases.