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| very effective against acute mononucleosis and hepatitis, mumps, herpes infections, and streptococccus infections. Its most noted compounds are indoxyl-B-glucoside, B-sitostero1, isatin, and indirubin. Indirubin possesses strong anticancer activity; it is particularly effective against CML (chronic myelocytic leukemia). In a clinical trial of 314 patients with CML, 82 achieved complete remission, 38 partial remission, and 87 had beneficial effects. The total effective rate was 87.3 percent. There were no reported serious side effects, and no inhibitory effects on the bone marrow were seen. Indirubin was also found to inhibit breast and lung cancer. 35 |
| Camptotheca acuminatea |
| The alkaloid camptothecin is extracted from the wood, bark, and fruit of the Camptotheca acuminatea, a tree native to China where it is called the ''tree of joy.'' It is one of the newer cytotoxic drugs. The chemotherapeutic drug CPT-11 is camptocetheca. The drug Topotecan, recently approved for ovarian cancer, is a synthetic spin-off of camptothecin. Camptothecin possesses noteworthy broad-spectrum antineoplastic activity against several lines of leukemia as well as many solid tumor cells in animals.36 |
| I have never used this plant and do not intend to because, like taxo1, it is one of the recent naturally derived cytotoxic agents. By the time it has been isolated and synthesized in a lab (as these agents are), it can no longer be considered herbal medicine, as I practice it. I list Camptotheca here only because it is the herbal version of some of today's most commonly used cancer drugs. It's important for us to be aware of this trend toward the use of herbs for their traditional healing properties, although conventional medicine still insists on tracking down the toxic constituents rather than realizing the healing benefits of the whole plant |
| Herbs That Can Alter the Action of Hormonal Receptor-Type Cancers |
| These are the herbs that adhere to hormonal receptor binding sites, thereby competing with hormones (e.g., estrogen), causing a decreased hormonal effect. By occupying the receptor sites without activating them (or at least not overactivating them), these herbs prevent estradiol molecules in the circulating blood from occupying those sites, which then leads to a net decrease in |
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