Cooperation between scientists and doctors should be intertwined at every stage of the development of a new drug. Only research that draws on the knowledge of specialists from different fields has a chance of rapid commercialisation, resulting in a greater chance of rapid implementation of a new drug. Research into the processes of cancer cell formation is of interest to many research centres around the world.

The search for new molecules with anti-cancer properties is one element in the discovery of innovative, effective therapies. The scientific world was electrified by the discovery of American oncologists who, in collaboration with bioengineers in Washington, declared that... they had succeeded in destroying cancer cells almost 100 per cent after using an extract of mugwort, also known as annual wormwood.

Amazing research results

The results of the study, which were published by the researchers, show that the active substances found in wormwood extract affect the division processes of cancer cells and are capable of destroying almost 98% of cancer cells. Such amazing results were obtained after a 16-hour incubation of cancer cells with wormwood extract. Why the sudden interest in wormwood? It turns out that the extract from this plant has been known in medicine for years - it has been used successfully to treat malaria.

What wormwood hides

Wormwood leaves contain a high concentration of so-called glycosides (absinthin, anabsinthin), volatile compounds (thujone, azulene, cinelone) as well as organic acids and tannins. Wormwood is primarily known as a toxic plant, mainly due to its high thujone content. Despite this, proper extraction and preparation of wormwood extract has shown therapeutic effects. It has commonly found use in treating the skin after a parasite attack or for the treatment of ringworm.

photo: panthermedia

The miraculous artemisinin

Scientists decided to take a closer look at the individual compounds contained in wormwood extract, which resulted in some amazing discoveries. It has long been known that artemisinin, which is one of the constituents included in wormwood extract, is an effective remedy used to treat malaria. There are numerous records of the use of mugwort in Chinese medicine - the first references to its use probably date back to around 340 BC, where the Chinese physician Ge Hong described ways of treating sudden illnesses using mugwort extract. In the 20th century, mugwort began to be looked at intensively, especially for the treatment of malaria. To this day, mugwort is still a product for making artesunate, a drug commonly used to treat drug-resistant malaria. Over time, it was discovered that artemisinin derivatives also showed toxic effects on worms and flukes. Following this lead, researchers at the Univeristy of Washington decided to test how the compound in question interacts with cancer cells. Their research showed that artemisinin compounds are able to reduce the growth of cancer cells in the lungs by 28%. Why such amazing properties? The strong antioxidant effect of artemisinin compounds is particularly noteworthy.

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Artemisinin and cancer

Commercially available scientific publications indicate that artemisinin may be a precursor to obtaining a high-performance anti-cancer therapy. Research by scientists in the USA has shown that the addition of iron has an enormous effect on the development of a cancer cell, so by trial and error a kind of 'drug bomb' was created, which carries not only artemisinin, but also special compounds that bind to the protein. Such a 'creation' becomes a tasty morsel for cancer cells, which need iron to grow, resulting in their death. The researchers speculate that the method they have developed for transporting artemisinin to cancer cells may help to kill cancer cells of virtually all types. Studies conducted on in vitro and in vivo models show that artemisinin increases the activity of adhesion proteins, thereby reducing the ability of the tumour to metastasise. Interestingly, the American Institute for Cancer Research has also taken an interest in artemisinin, conducting a clinical trial to determine how the compound interacts with 55 different types of cancer cells. The study clearly showed that breast, ovarian, colorectal, kidney and melanoma cancer cells were extremely sensitive to artemisinin. Encouraged by the positive results of the study, scientists and physicians conducted individual clinical trials on patients, where the anticancer properties of artemisinin were tested. In parallel, early-phase clinical trials were conducted on laboratory animals in which the appearance of cancerous tumours was induced. The studies that have been carried out suggest that artemisinin increases the sensitivity of tumours to chemotherapy and supports the therapy used as recommended by oncologists. Clinical trials using artemisinin are still ongoing, the results of the studies and conclusions will probably have to wait. For the time being, the use of artemisinin and its derivatives has not yet been included in the official oncology treatment programme. The results of studies that can be found in databases are extremely promising, but the key issue is the question of the safety and tolerability of artemisinin in humans. All indications are that, due to the observation of few side effects and low toxicity, artemisinin and its derivatives will find their way onto the market as a new cancer product.