Lemon Grass Causes Cancer Cells To Commit Suicide

[jodielee12]

I am not 2 sure about this but will post it & see what u all think. I got this information on Lemongrass and cancer. Thought i would share this with everyone. Imagine what the Lemongrass essential oil can do. Would make a nice warm (not Hot) tea to drink and also get the benefits from it. Fresh Lemon Grass Drink Causes Apoptosis to Cancer Cells (apoptosis) noun: a type of cell death in which the cell uses specialized cellular machinery to kill itself; a cell suicide mechanism that enables metazoans to control cell number and eliminate cells that threaten the animal's survival. Fresh lemon grass fields in Israel become Mecca for cancer patients By Allison Kaplan Sommer April 02, 2006 A drink with as little as one gram of lemon grass contains enough citral to prompt cancer cells to commit suicide in the test tube. Israeli researchers find way to make cancer cells self-destruct - Ben Gurion University At first, Benny Zabidov, an Israeli agriculturalist who grows greenhouses full of lush spices on a pastoral farm in Kfar Yedidya in the Sharon region, couldn't understand why so many cancer patients from around the country were showing up on his doorstep asking for fresh lemon grass. It turned out that their doctors had sent them. 'They had been told to drink eight glasses of hot water with fresh lemon grass steeped in it on the days that they went for their radiation and chemotherapy treatments,' Zabidov told ISRAEL21c. 'And this is the place you go to in Israel for fresh lemon grass.' It all began when researchers at Ben Gurion University of the Negev discovered last year that the lemon aroma in herbs like lemon grass kills cancer cells in vitro, while leaving healthy cells unharmed. The research team was led by Dr. Rivka Ofir and Prof. Yakov Weinstein, incumbent of the Albert Katz Chair in Cell-Differentiatio n and Malignant Diseases, from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at BGU. Citral is the key component that gives the lemony aroma and taste in several herbal plants such as lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), melissa (Melissa officinalis) and verbena (Verbena officinalis. ) According to Ofir, the study found that citral causes cancer cells to 'commit suicide: using apoptosis, a mechanism called programmed cell death.' A drink with as little as one gram of lemon grass contains enough citral to prompt the cancer cells to commit suicide in the test tube. The BGU investigators checked the influence of the citral on cancerous cells by adding them to both cancerous cells and normal cells that were grown in a petri dish. The quantity added in the concentrate was equivalent to the amount contained in a cup of regular tea using one gram of lemon herbs in hot water. While the citral killed the cancerous cells, the normal cells remained unharmed. The findings were published in the scientific journal Planta Medica, which highlights research on alternative and herbal remedies. Shortly afterwards, the discovery was featured in the popular Israeli press. Why does it work? Nobody knows for certain, but the BGU scientists have a theory. 'In each cell in our body, there is a genetic program which causes programmed cell death. When something goes wrong, the cells divide with no control and become cancer cells. In normal cells, when the cell discovers that the control system is not operating correctly - for example, when it recognizes that a cell contains faulty genetic material following cell division - it triggers cell death,' explains Weinstein. 'This research may explain the medical benefit of these herbs.' The success of their research led them to the conclusion that herbs containing citral may be consumed as a preventative measure against certain cancerous cells. As they learned of the BGU findings in the press, many physicians in Israel began to believe that while the research certainly needed to be explored further, in the meantime it would be advisable for their patients, who were looking for any possible tool to fight their condition, to try to harness the cancer-destroying properties of citral. That's why Zabidov's farm - the only major grower of fresh lemon grass in Israel - has become a pilgrimage destination for these patients. Luckily, they found themselves in sympathetic hands. Zabidov greets visitors with a large kettle of aromatic lemon grass tea, a plate of cookies, and a supportive attitude. 'My father died of cancer, and my wife's sister died young because of cancer,' said Zabidov. 'So I understand what they are dealing with. And I may not know anything about medicine, but I'm a good listener. And so they tell me about their expensive painful treatments and what they've been through. I would never tell them to stop being treated, but it's great that they are exploring alternatives and drinking the lemon grass tea as well.' Zabidov knew from a young age that agriculture was his calling. At age 14, he enrolled in the Kfar Hayarok Agricultural high school. After his army service, he joined an idealistic group which headed south, in the Arava desert region, to found a new moshav (agricultural settlement) called Tsofar. 'We were very successful; we raised fruits and vegetables, and,' he notes with a smile, 'We raised some very nice children.' On a trip to Europe in the mid-80s, he began to become interested in herbs. Israel , at the time, was nothing like the trend-conscious cuisine-oriented country it is today, and the only spices being grown commercially were basics like parsley, dill, and coriander. Wandering in the Paris market, looking at the variety of herbs and spices, Zabidov realized that there was a great export potential in this niche. He brought samples back home with him, 'which was technically illegal,' he says with a guilty smile, to see how they would grow in his desert greenhouses. Soon, he was growing basil, oregano, tarragon, chives, sage, marjoram and melissa, and mint just to name a few. His business began to outgrow his desert facilities, and so he decided to move north, settling in the moshav of Kfar Yedidya, an hour and a half north of Tel Aviv. He is now selling 'several hundred kilos' of lemon grass per week, and has signed with a distributor to package and put it in health food stores. Zabidov has taken it upon himself to learn more about the properties of citral, and help his customers learn more, and has invited medical experts to his farm to give lectures about how the citral works and why. He also felt a responsibility to know what to tell his customers about its use. 'When I realized what was happening, I picked up the phone and called Dr. Weinstein at Ben-Gurion University , because these people were asking me exactly the best way to consume the citral. He said to put the loose grass in hot water, and drink about eight glasses each day.' Zabidov is pleased by the findings, not simply because it means business for his farm, but because it might influence his own health. Even before the news of its benefits were demonstrated, he and his family had been drinking lemon grass in hot water for years, 'just because it tastes good.'

[Sailor]

Dear Jodielee12 I am sure drinking an infusion of lemon grass won't hurt you so if you wish to then go ahead and if it helps you to feel in some control that is even better. However, if I had a $ for every substance that kills cancer cells in a test tube I would be a very rich person. One of the reasons is that it is called in vitro, not in vivo. Cells that will grow in a test tube are rather specialised and usually bear little resemblance to cancer cells growing inside a person or an animal. Normal cells will not grow in test tubes for any significant time. Scientists do have established animal and human cell lines that will grow in test tubes and they are used to tell us a lot about basic biology, particularly of cancer cells. They can also be useful as a very crude screen to see if substances will kill cells, i.e. if they are cytotoxic. It is interesting that they have been able to show that the cells are dying as a result of restoration of apoptosis. I am surprised that this has not been published in a mainstream scientific journal - after all many of our current cancer drugs come from natural products were discovered as a result of routine testing, starting with cancer cell lines in culture - test tubes if you like - the taxols, the vinca alkaloids are two that spring to mind. However, what goes on in a test tube bears very little resemblance to the what happens in a living body, which is why drugs have to be tested in animals. Unfortunately, the animals typically used, mice, metabolise things differently to humans in many cases, but they are a better predictor that cells in test tubes. That is why, after a long process of testing in animals we eventually have to test them in humans and phase I trials are the first step. These look for toxic side effects and what doses can be given to a human. Phase II trials look for activity against specific cancers, and phase II trials compare activity of new drugs against existing treatments to see if he new drug is better. The above is a bit of a simple explanation of very complex phenomena. There obviously are many pages that could be written. But, just because something kills cancer cell lines in a test tube, does not say it will do so inside a human body. I have a great recipe for beef done in a sauce containing lemon grass. Cheers Sailor So we sailed on to the sun
 Till we found a sea of green, Beatles, Yellow submarine

[jodielee12]

hi Sailor dont worry i dont try these things. these are just passed onto me. i will stick to traditional meds. cheers Linda

[harker]

Alternative medicines are called alternative because they don't work. If they did work they would be called something else. Treatment is the word that comes to mind. It's hot and I'm cranky. H

[jodielee12]

some people might think this is their only chance after trying all sorts of treatments. you never know. we had a friend that was told he had 3 months to live, they told him to go home and put this affairs in order. his wife would not listen to this. she went out past Lake King and picked some of the Maroon bush, brewed it up and he drank this daily (it tasted shocking). that man lived for another five years and had a good time. so for some this might be a bit of hope. cheers