Artemesinin
What is Artemisinin?
Artemisinin is a chemical compound extracted from the wormwood plant, Artemisia annua L. Artemisinin is an effective anticancer compound that produces few side effects.
Studies
This study found that Artemisinin and its derivatives could suppress lung-tumor progression.
In this study scientists from the National University of Singapore recently showed that the anti-cancer properties of artemisinin could be enhanced by 10 fold when used in combination with aminolevulinic acid (ALA).
This study says: Experimental evidences suggest that artemisinin compounds may be a therapeutic alternative in highly aggressive cancers with rapid dissemination, without developing drug resistance. They also exhibit synergism with other anticancer drugs with no increased toxicity toward normal cells. It has been found that semisynthetic artemisinin derivatives have much higher antitumor activity than their monomeric counterparts via mechanisms like apoptosis, arrest of cell cycle.
This study says: Previous studies have shown that artemisinin induced apoptosis in pancreatic tumor cells, lung adenocarcinoma cells, liver cancer cells, and non-small cell lung cancer cells.
Collectively, our results revealed that artemisinin inhibited cell proliferation and tumor growth, with cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction in neuroblastoma cells. Since artemisinin has been used for the treatment of malaria for an extensive period of time, a large body of data regarding clinical tests and adverse drug reactions in patients are available. Therfore, artemisinin may serve as a potential new therapeutic agent forthe treatment of neuroblastoma.
This study demonstrated that artemisinin inhibits the proliferation of gallbladder cancer cellsand induces programmed cell death and cell cycle arrest. All of these findings suggested that artemisinin may be used as a novel drug for gallbladder cancer, which is facilitated by its previous approval for pharmaceutical use.
Cancer stem cells suppressed by Artemisinin
Study: Meanwhile, tumor malignancy including migration, invasion, cancer stem cells, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition were also significantly suppressed by these compounds [Artemisinin, Artesunate and Dihydroartemisinin ].
This study revealed experimental evidences suggesting that artemisinin compounds may be a therapeutic alternative in highly aggressive cancers with rapid dissemination, without developing drug resistance.
This study was the first randomised, double blind study to test the anti-Colorectal Cancer properties of oral artesunate (a derivative of Artemisinin). This was a single centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Patients planned for curative surgery of biopsy confirmed single primary site Colorectal Cancer were randomised to receive either 14 daily doses of oral artesunate or placebo. During a median follow up of 42 months, there were 6 recurrences in the placebo group and 1 recurrence in an artesunate recipient.
The survival beyond 2 years in the artesunate group is estimated at 91% whilst surviving the first recurrence in the placebo group is only 57%.
Adverse Reactions
In this phase I study, 23 patients with metastatic breast cancer received either 100, 150, or 200 mg oral artesunate (ART) daily with guideline-based oncological therapy for 4 weeks to determine the tolerated dose. During the accrual period, 3 patients experienced six dose-limiting adverse events, including leukopenia, neutropenia, asthenia, and anemia, which were possibly related to ART.
Where can I get this treatment and more information?
Supplements of artemisinin and iron are both available in health stores and online. Artemisinin can be sourced here
Page updated 2024