Who discovered this cancer treatment?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
July 30, 2002
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
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The Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum Linnaeus) [po dof' il um pel tat' um] is a perennial herb inhabiting the damp woodlands in eastern North America. A single forked stem topped with lobed umbrella-like leaves arises from a rhizome. Each Mayapple stem produces a single white flower in the spring; the berry ripens yellow in late summer.
Except the ripe berry, all parts of Mayapples are poisonous. Charles F. Millspaugh (American Medicinal Plants, reprint of 1892 edition) described the symptoms of Mayapple poisoning, "salivation and white-coated tongue, extreme nausea...vomiting, severe pains in the transverse colon and abdomen...weak pulse, prostration, drowsiness, and cold extremities." Most cases of Mayapple poisoning involve livestock or children eating unripe fruit.
The toxic principles are podophyllin, podophyllotoxin, and several related compounds. These toxins concentrate in the rhizome and fibrous roots. Millspaugh wrote that the resin, podophyllin, was first extracted in 1835. By 1897, podophyllin was recommended for the treatment of cancerous tumors, polyps, and venereal warts (condyloma acuminata, human papillomavirus or HPV).
The resin and its refined derivatives continue as a major treatment for HPV. Podophyllin arrests mitosis preventing the proliferation of viral infected cells and providing a cure rate between 25 and 50 percent.
A derivative of podophyllotoxin, teniposide, is used today in the treatment of certain types of neoplastic diseases (tumors)--lymphomas, Hodgkins disease, acute lymphocytic leukaemia, malignant intracranial tumors, and bladder carcinoma. Teniposide breaks DNA strands preventing cellular processes and interrupts mitosis preventing the replication of cancerous cells.
Although a modern medical treatment, Lewis and Elvin-Lewis (Medical Botany, 1977) report "...the North American Mayapple...the rhizome...was used years ago by the Penobscot Indians of Maine to treat cancer."
Eleanor S. Saulys and Janet Novak of the Connecticut Botanical Society have excellent photographs of the mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum). To view these photographs, click on the link:
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/podophyllumpelt.html
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
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