HerbalEGram: Volume 7, Number 11, November 2010
Archaeological Oncology Project Uncovers Cancer-Fighting Compounds in Ancient Herbal Beverages
New research has revealed that some ancient cultures’
botanical cancer treatments may in fact be viable. This news comes from from
“Archaeological Oncology: Digging for Drug Discovery,” a collaborative effort
between the University of Pennsylvania Museum’s (UPM) Biomolecular Archaeology
Laboratory and Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
Archaeological Oncology researchers tested remnants of alcoholic
herbal beverages from ancient Egypt and China, and found that several
plant-derived compounds present in the samples showed lung- and
colon-cancer-fighting activity.1
According to archaeochemist Patrick McGovern, PhD—the
scientific director of the UPM Biomolecular Archaeology Laboratory for Cuisine,
Fermented Beverages, and Health—the Egyptian and Chinese samples were selected
for the Archaeological Oncology project in part because the lab had already
been performing tests on them (oral communication, October 28, 2010). “[T]hey
are very important samples, some of the earliest … and we went back and we
reanalyzed them,” said Dr. McGovern. “We just used a whole series of these more
precise methods to start getting the compounds that would give us clues as to
what the additives were.”
Residue from an ancient Egyptian wine was procured from a
jar dating back to ca. 3150 BCE; it had been buried with pharoah Scorpion I of
Dynasty 0.1 (The potential general medicinal use of this wine sample
was discussed in HerbalGram 2009; 83:22-23.) The substance was identified as a grape (Vitus spp.) wine through Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass
Spectrometry and Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction and Thermal Desorption
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (TD GC-MS). Researchers also determined
the wine contained “pine and/or terebinth tree resin” (Pinus spp./Pistacia spp.). Based on the presence of 8 terpenoid compounds—including
camphor, borneol, carvone, linalool, L-menthol, thymol, α-terpineol, and
geranyl acetone—it is believed the wine contained Levantine herbs, likely
savory (Satureja spp.), wormwood
and/or mugwort (Artemisia annua; A.
argyi), tansy (Tanacetum spp.), balm (Melissa spp.),
senna (Senna spp.), coriander (Coriandrum
spp.), germander (Teucrium spp.),
mint (Mentha spp.), sage (Salvia
spp.), and thyme (Thymus spp.).1
According to a review published in the International
Journal of Oncology, these herbal
ingredients suggested to the researchers that the wine was likely intended to
dispense a drug, as there are numerous records of ancient Egyptian
prescriptions for herbal wines and beers.1
The ancient Chinese beverage tested by the Archaeological Oncology project
had been preserved as a liquid inside a bronze jar from ca. 1050 BCE, found in
the Changzikou Tomb in the Henan Province.1 Analysis by TD GC-MS
exposed camphor and α-cedrene in the liquid, as well as “benzaldehyde, acetic
acid, and short-chain alcohols characteristic of rice [Oryza sativa] and grape wines.”1 Through further
testing, the researchers were able to determine that the beverage was
rice-based, and that the aromatic compounds, camphor and α-cedrene, may have
come from China fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata), a type of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema spp.), or perhaps 1 or 2 species of the genus Artemisia (such as wormwood or mugwort).1
“If an Artemisia
species explains the presence of camphor and α-cedrene, then the plant’s leaves
had probably been steeped in rice wine, as is still done in TCM [Traditional
Chinese Medicine],” wrote the researchers in their review.1
In vitro testing found artemisinin, a compound originating in
wormwood, to be active against both lung and colon cancers. Artesunate—a less
toxic “semi-synthetic analogue” of artemisinin—proved even more effective than
artemisinin against colon cancer and several other cancers. Additionally,
compounds derived from the ancient beverages, including borneol, isoscopoletin,
and ursolic acid, also inhibited tumor growth in laboratory tests.1
According to John Riddle, PhD,
distinguished professor emeritus of history at North Carolina State University,
modern civilization has “absolutely” lost many effective, ancient, botanical
treatments for cancer (e-mail, October 28, 2010). In an article titled “Ancient
and Medieval Chemotherapy for Cancer,” published 25 years ago, Dr. Riddle
asserted that “The modern scientist might employ the history of a drug,
especially in the works of the leading medical authorities, as a starting point
for conducting animal and clinical tests. Important clues exist in the
historical records about which drugs might be worth testing… For too long we
have believed that the past was filled with more superstition and stupidities
than with experienced judgment about medicine.”2
Dr. McGovern plans to persist in testing ancient beverages
to find clues for contemporary medical treatment. “We’re hoping to get an NIH
[National Institutes of Health] grant,” said Dr. McGovern, “to continue this
research, looking at other parts of the world where humans were also exploring
their environment and trying to discover perhaps medicinal compounds that could
be dissolved into alcoholic beverages.”
Beverages originating in Peru, southern France, and Scandinavia
have been targeted for future testing, and McGovern would also like to analyze
samples from the Near East.
The researchers would have moved forward with clinical testing
of artesunate’s anti-cancer effects;
however, according to Dr. McGovern, a team of Germans independently discovered
those effects around the same time, and has already commenced clinical trials.
“The way that medical people look at it,” said Dr. McGovern, “if someone’s
already beat you to that, there’s no reason to do more on that particular
compound. We just have to find other compounds that are effective, too.”
— Ashley Lindstrom
Photo caption: Patrick McGovern and Melpo Christofidou-Solomidou examine a sherd from Jiahu (China), which provided evidence for the earliest alcoholic beverage in the world to date--ca. 7000 BCE The compounds included potential medicinal additives. Photo© 2010 Abramson Cancer Center laboratory, University of Pennsylvania Health System.
References
1. McGovern P, Christofidou-Solomidou M, et al. Anticancer
activity of botanical compounds in ancient fermented beverages (review). Int
J Oncol. 2010;37:5-14.
2. Riddle J. Ancient and medieval chemotherapy for cancer. Isis. 1985;76(3):319-330.
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