Africa pepper prevents prostate, breast cancer
Africa pepper prevents prostate, breast cancer
A local spice could be used to stop the
spread and development of prostate
and breast cancers.
Researchers have confirmed the anti-
proliferative effects of ethanolic extract
of African pepper (Xylopia aethiopica)
fruits on breast and prostate cancer
cells. This can be seen from the
inhibition of cell growth by this extract
thus highlighting its potential as a
therapy against breast and prostate
cancer.
The study published in July 15, 2016
edition of the journal Experimental and
Molecular Therapeutics and Cancer
Research is titled “Preliminary anti-
proliferative effect of ethanolic extracts
of Xylopia aethiopica on prostate and
breast cancer cell lines.”
The researchers, Emeka E.J Iweala and
Eunice W. Bankole, also published the
abstract of the study in Proceedings of
American Association for Cancer
Research (AACR) 107th Annual Meeting
2016; April 16 to 20, 2016; New
Orleans, Los Angeles, United States.
Commonly called African pepper or
Guinea pepper, Xylopia aethiopica,
belongs to the family Annonaceae. In
Nigerian Arabic, it is called kyimba in,
kumba in Arabic-Shuwa, kenya in
Bokyi, akada in Degema, unie in Edo,
ata in Efik, kimbaahre in Fula-Fulfulde,
kimbaa in Hausa, ata in Ibibio, uda in
Ibo, tsunfyanya in Nupe, kimbill in Tera,
eeru in Yoruba.
Xylopia aethiopica, a plant found
throughout West Africa, has both
nutritional and medicinal uses.
The cloves of the plant Xylopia
aethiopica, a member of the custard
apple family, Annonaceae, are used as
a spice in various traditional dishes of
Western and Central Africa. The plant is
also used in decoction to treat
dysentery, bronchitis, ulceration, skin
infection and female sterility.
The researchers noted: “The aim of the
research was to study the preliminary
anti-proliferative effects of ethanolic
extracts of Xylopia aethiopica on
prostate and breast cancer cell lines.
Dried X. aethiopica fruits were
extracted with 70 per cent ethanol and
tested against prostate (LNCaP) and
breast cancer (MCF7 and MDA-MB231)
cells’ viability in vitro using the MTT
((3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-
diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay.
The IC50 values for the extract were
determined through linear regression
using GraphPad Prism 6 software. The
data obtained were expressed as mean
± SEM. Statistical analysis was carried
out by one-way ANOVA followed by
Dunnet’s test (α = 0.05) to compare
experimental means with controls.
“The data generated indicates that X.
aethiopica fruits extract showed a
dose-dependent anti-proliferative
activity against LNCaP, MDA-
MB231and MCF7 cancer cell lines after
treatment for 48 and 72 hours. The
extract induced a 16.96 per cent and
93.5 per cent inhibition on MDA-MB231
cells, 29.76 per cent and 94.03 per cent
on the MCF7 cells and a 9.15 per cent
and 94.61 per cent inhibition on the
LNCaP cells at the lowest (1μg/ml) and
highest (100μg/ml) dose respectively
after 48 hours.
“The extract induced a 12.26 per cent
and 91.8 per cent cell growth inhibition
on the MDA-MB231 cells, 3.35 per cent
and 87.36 per cent growth inhibition on
the MCF7 cells and 2.28 per cent and
92.42 per cent cell growth inhibition on
the LNCaP cells at the lowest (1μg/ml)
and highest (100μg/ml) dose
respectively after 72 hours. The IC50
was estimated to be 3.408μg/ml,
2.064μg/ml, 3.371μg/ml for MDA-
MB231, MCF7 and LNCaP cells
respectively.
“The data generated from this research
indicates the anti-proliferative effects of
ethanolic extract of X. aethiopica fruits
on breast and prostate cancer cells.
This can be seen from the inhibition of
cell growth by this extract thus
highlighting its potential as a therapy
against breast and prostate cancer.”
According to The Useful Plants of West
Tropical Africa by H. M. Burkill, “the
powdered root of Xylopia aethiopica is
used as a dressing for sores and to rub
on gums for pyorrhoea and in local
treatment of cancer in Nigeria, and
when mixed with salt is a cure for
constipation.
“The powdered bark is dusted onto
ulcers, and a decoction of leaves and
roots is a general tonic in Nigeria for
fevers and debility, and enters an agbo
prescription. The leaves have a pungent
smell. A decoction is used in Gabon
against rheumatism and as an emetic,
and as a macerate in palm-wine it
makes a popular intoxicating drink. In
Congo powdered leaves are taken as
snuff for headaches, and used in
friction on the chest for bronchio-
pneumonia.”
Earlier studies had suggested that
eating food prepared with African
pepper and other spices and goat weed
could prevent cancer.
German and Camerounian researchers
following laboratory experiments
conducted at Johannes Gutenberg
University Mainz (JGU), Germany had
concluded that African medicinal plants
contain chemicals that may be able to
stop the spread of cancer cells.
The study was published in the journal
Phytomedicine. The researchers said
the plant materials would now undergo
further analysis in order to evaluate
their therapeutic potential.
Prof. Thomas Efferth of the Institute of
Pharmaceutical Sciences and
Biochemistry – Therapeutic Life
Sciences at Mainz University said: “The
active substances present in African
medicinal plants may be capable of
killing off tumor cells that are resistant
to more than one drug. They thus
represent an excellent starting point for
the development of new therapeutic
treatments for cancers that do not
respond to conventional chemotherapy
regimens.”
Nigerian and Chinese researchers had
also in a study published in
Pharmacognosy Magazine showed that
Ageratum conyzoides (goat weed)
possessed anticancer and antiradical
properties in most cancer cell lines. The
cancer cell lines include: Human non-
small cell lung carcinoma (A-549),
human colon adenocarcinoma (HT-29),
human gastric carcinoma (SGC-7901),
human golima (U-251), human breast
carcinoma (MDA-MB-231), human
prostate carcinoma (DU-145), human
hepatic carcinoma (BEL-7402), and
mouse leukemia (P-388) cancer cell
lines.
The study is titled “Anticancer and
antiradical scavenging activity of
Ageratum conyzoides L. (Asteraceae).”
Commonly called goat weed and billy
goat weed, Ageratum conyzoides L.
belongs to the plant family Asteraceae
(formerly Compositae). It is native to
Central America, Caribbean, United
States, Southeast Asia, South China,
India, Nigeria, Australia, and South
America.
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