Apparently in some years to come, researchers might find a lasting cure for breast cancer. Surprisingly, the miracle cure might even come from common herbs used in the treatment of other conditions like abdominal pain, epilepsy, jaundice and stress in Africa and Asian countries.In a new study to assess the effectiveness of herb extracts under laboratory condition on cervical cancer cell, experts found that ethanoinic extract of the root of Boerhaavia diffusa (Hogweed), a common plant with fairly long-stemmed leaves that is cooked and eaten soup is toxic to breast cancer cells, suggesting a possibility of its usefulness in years to come in the development of new cervical cancer drugs.Boerhavia diffusa, commonly called hogweed, is known as erimmirii (which literally means water-food) by the Ibos of South Eastern Nigeria. It is called babba juji in Hausa and Ebe-Ukpokodo among Esan people in Edo state. In addition, its common names include Etiponla, Olowojeja, and Azeigwa.Hogweed is common in both dry and rainy seasons in the tropics. It is found in India, Nigeria and many other countries. In Nigeria, it is found especially in swampy areas and commonly used as rabbit food by the local population. The herbalists, however, use both its leaves and root in the treatment of many diseases such as diabetes, elephantiasis and night blindness. For instance, the swollen tap-roots, when softened by boiling, are applied externally as a poultice to draw abscesses and encourage the extraction of guinea worms.Apart from this, the root of hogweed is considered to have an expectorant action and thus used in the treatment of asthma, cough, stomach and intestinal colic, haemorrhage, jaundice, piles, rheumatism, liver ailments, gonorrhea and yaws. It has also been used as a laxative, diuretic, emetic in large doses, antivenom and in the treatment of heart disease.In carrying out the experiment, researchers collected roots of Hogweed, which were ground into powder form before the chemical substances in it was extracted, using ether, ethanol and water. The extracts were then purified. The effects of these different extracts were tested on cervical cancer cells and other cancer cells, such as that for the liver and the colon.The researchers, according to the journal, Evidence Based Complement Alternative Medicine, found that the ethanolic crude root extract of Hogweed was cytotoxic against the cervical cancer cell line whereas other cancer cell lines like those for colon and liver were less sensitive to treatment.The 2011 study showed that in a concentration of 300 g mL'1, the crude root extract caused 30 per cent cell death in cervical cancer cell line. Interestingly, the study found the longer the treatment was prolonged, the more cervical cancer cell lines were destroyed. The extract made the cells to undergo marked changes in their structures such as shrinkage, rounding and detachment, suggesting that it caused self cell death.With evidences suggesting that Hogweed extract could inhibit the proliferation of human cervical cancer cell line, the scientists wrote that 'Hogweed is a promising drug entity which should enter the world market by evidence-based research for therapeutics.'However, they declared that further investigations are currently in progress to identify the active components that could induce cancer cell death, as well as to establish and explain how the herb extract achieves the death of cancer cells.Paradoxically, hogweed might turn as a magic drug for many diseases, including epilepsy. Scientists corroborating the usefulness of extracts of hogweed in the treatment of epilepsy in Nigerian folk medicine found that its crude methanolic extract showed it could stop convulsions in a dose-dependent fashion.Scientists writing on the study in the journal, Evidence Based Complement Alternative Medicine, indicated that the combination of hogweed root extract when combined with sub-effective dose of diazepam had synergistic effect. In fact, the effect of combining the both the herbal extract with diazepam was significantly better than either diazepam or the extract alone in preventing convulsions.In the book entitled 'The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs' by Leslie Taylor, hogweed was indicated to be beneficial in traditional medicine systems as a diuretic (to increase urination) for many types of kidney and urinary disorders. Later research verified these diuretic and antidiuretic properties, as well as the beneficial kidney and renal effects of hogweed in animals and humans. Research indicates that a root extract can increase urine output by as much as 100 per cent in a 24-hour period at dosages as low as 10 mg per kg of body weight.Several research groups studying various biological activities of hogweed have shown the safety of the plant, indicating no toxicity of root and leaf extracts taken orally by mice at up to 5 g per kg of body weight.
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