Rampatri – Indian spice to help fight cancer?

BARC’s spice revolution to fight against cancer

An organic revolution could be underway at the laboratories located inside BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Center)’s Anushakti Nagar complex near Chembur, a suburb of Mumbai, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Scientists at BARC (in the 700-metre modular laboratory) are using Indian herbs and spices to develop an anti-cancer properties drug that is supposed to be affordable and with fewer side-effects.

According to many research, Indian spices and herbs can do wonder to help prevent and to a certain extent help fight cancer, alongside other modern medicine.  Besides adding zesty colour and taste to food, Indian spices have a certain amount of cancer-fighting properties in them with supposedly lesser side effects than other drugs. Turmeric, Cayenne Pepper, Cinnamon, Cumin, Saffron, Ginger, Oregano are well known spices, having cancer fighting elements in them.

‘False nutmeg’, popular in India as ‘Rampatri’, widely used in Goan and Mangalorean cuisine, can fight against cancer claims BARC. BARC’s bio-science group have developed a chemotherapeutic drug that has, in studies on mice, shown potency against lung cancer and also neuroblastoma (a rare pediatric cancer, in which cancer cell grows in the nerve cells of the adrenal glands, neck, chest, and spinal cord).

According to Dr S. Chattopadhyay, heads of the bio-science group, this is a significant development, as neuroblastoma treatment is aggressive and the disease is known to recur.

This herbal drug is supposed to decrease the tumor burden, while increasing the efficacy of the usual chemotherapy drugs (such as cisplatin, camptothecin and etoposide) taken alongside. Herbal drugs have fewer or almost no side-effects and are less expensive. Use of such herbal drugs could reduce the cost of medication and also their side-effects.

Dr Chattopadhyay stated that the phytochemicals they develop as adjuvant drugs enhance the efficacy of other drugs and boosts the immune system to minimize the drug dosage, as quoted by Indian daily Times of India.

Enhance the effect of radiotherapy

BARC has developed two other drugs called radiomodifiers and radioprotector in various stages of commercial release. Radiomodifiers are supposed to enhance the effect of radiotherapy, and also to protect tissues, lymphocytes, lungs and the gastrointestinal system from the radiation injury

This herbal radiomodifier is now just waiting for a patent. The radiomodifier is an oral drug which will be taken up for a clinical trial at Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai.

This new BARC radioprotector dose is supposed to protect mice from all the radiation exposure damages (which mainly affects bone marrow, gastrointestinal and reproductive organs), and also increases their lifespan.

Experiments with Indian spices and herbs are bringing positive first results which could potentially make a real difference and could bring a revolution to help cure cancer. If BARC’s herbal radiomodifier can come out positively, Indian spices can play a big role in future in this complimentary way to fight cancer.