Thursday

CASSAVA A 'POSSIBLE' TOOL IN THE TREATMENT OF CANCER



The cassava plant is a staple crop in Africa, Asia, and South America. Different parts of the plant such as the root, leaves, and sometimes the whole plant, are used in herbal remedies.

There is NO convincing scientific evidence that cassava is effective in preventing or treating cancer. However, some researchers have proposed an idea that might eventually lead to treatments that use an enzyme from the cassava plant. This approach has not been scientifically tested.

              HOW IS IT PROMOTED FOR USE?

In folk medicine, the cassava plant is promoted for treating snakebites, boils, diarrhea, flu, hernia, inflammation, conjunctivitis, sores, and several other problems including cancer.

Cassava plants can produce the poisonous substance cyanide as a way to fend off animals trying to eat them. Chewing the plant causes it to release an enzyme called linamarase, and linamarase, in turn, converts a compound in the plant called linamarin into cyanide.

Researchers have suggested that this ability might be useful as a form of gene therapy.


First, the gene for linamarase could be selectively put into cancer cells. If linamarin were then introduced into the body, cancer cells would break it down and release cyanide only in the area around the cancer cells, killing them. Since normal cells would not have the linamarase gene and would not be able to convert linamarin into cyanide, they would not be affected.

Cassava leaves are sold in health food stores and on the Internet in capsule or powder form. Cassava root starch may be used in Vitamin C supplements.

The parts of cassava used for food are the tubers, which are usually eaten raw, boiled, or fried. A form of flour is also made from the cassava plant. In Western countries, tapioca, made from cassava is found in baby foods and prepared as a dessert.

It has been theorized that the plant's ability to make cyanide may be useful as a type of gene therapy to treat cancer, but further research is needed to determine whether the technique will work in humans. This use would be quite different from the use of the cassava plant as an herbal remedy.

                             AVAILABLE EVIDENCE

Available scientific evidence does not support claims that botanical products currently made from the cassava plant have anticancer properties.

A British researcher identified the cassava genes involved in making hydrogen cyanide in the early 1990s. In collaboration with cancer specialists in Spain, she has conducted studies of the linamarase gene. They added this gene to a virus, which was then injected into rat brain tumors. These tumors were killed when the rats were infused with linamarin.

Further research is needed to determine if this technique will work in people.

Many scientists around the world are currently developing gene therapy methods for introducing DNA selectively into the tumor cells of cancer patients. More research is needed to determine whether linamarin and linamarase can be safely and effectively used to kill cancer cells in people with cancer.

Extracted chemicals or substances are different from the raw plant. Study results of extracts are not expected to have the same result as studies using the raw plant.

            BUT THERE ARE POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS ATTACHED

The cassava plant produces cyanide, a poison that can be deadly to humans, and cassava can be a serious health hazard if it is not processed properly.

Some of the signs of cyanide poisoning are headache, dizziness, agitation, confusion, coma, and convulsions. Some people in developing countries have been poisoned by eating parts of the cassava plant that were not prepared properly.

In regions of Africa and Latin America where cassava is a main staple food, illnesses due to consuming smaller amounts of cyanide taken in over a long period of time can occur if cassava leaves or roots are not processed properly.

Effects can include paralysis of the legs, trouble walking, and poor vision and hearing. Malnutrition can also occur when cassava is a major part of the diet because of the plant is low in protein and certain micronutrients.

Some people are allergic to cassava. Those with allergies to natural rubber latex may be more likely to have serious reactions. Relying on this type of treatment alone and avoiding or delaying conventional medical care for cancer may have serious health consequences.

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