Scientists Reveal Herbal Compound That May Treat Lung Cancer

A whopping 1.8 million people died from lung cancer globally in 2020. It is the second most common type of oncology, according to the World Health Organisation.

The natural herbal compound berberine may effectively stop the growth of lung cancer cells in a laboratory setting, a new study has revealed.

The survey was conducted by researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), who, like their colleagues elsewhere, have been attempting to find treatment options related to lung cancer. Currently, no cure is known for the disease.

The UTS research team worked in collaboration with scientists from the International Medical University in Malaysia and Qassim University in Saudi Arabia to closely look into berberine, which can be found in a variety of plants, including barberry, goldenseal, Oregon grape, and tree turmeric.

In an interview with the outlet Medical News Today, UTS Senior Research Fellow and lead author of the study Kamal Dua explained that the scientists discovered that berberine is capable of inhibiting the two key processes of cancer progression - cell proliferation and migration.

In addition, berberine was found to reduce lung cell damage caused by exposure to tobacco smoke and fight inflammation, which increase the risk of cancer and other lung diseases.

“As berberine has poor solubility and bioavailability, its clinical application is limited. The main purpose of this study is to improve the physicochemical parameter of berberine by formulating it into liquid crystalline nanoparticles and study its in vitro anticancer potential,” Dua stressed.

The scientist remained cautiously optimistic about the results of the study, stressing that the potential of berberine being used to tackle lung cancer need to be validated. Dua pledged that the researchers plan to continue studying the compound, and believe that “berberine nanoformulation will show promising activity”.