14 DAY TRIAL // According to a collaboration of American and Danish researchers, molecules extracted from the Mediterranean Basin weed called Thapsia garganica proved extremely effective at addressing cancer tumors in mice. The active ingredient in the plant is a compound called thapsigargin.
What is interesting about this chemical is that it can travel through the bloodstream without eliciting attention from normal cells or the immune system. Specific proteins produced by cancers are the only molecules that can activate it, Science Blog reports.
Experts from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center liken the effects of thapsigargin to those of a molecular grenade. In addition to destroying the cancer cells, the compound also disables the blood supply network that tumors set up to feed their growth.
Experiments conducted on unsuspecting mice revealed that human prostate cancer could be severely affected by an experimental drug based on thapsigargin, called G202. After administering the chemical to the test mice for three days, experts noticed the tumor decreased 50 percent in size within a month.