American mayapple found to produce anti-cancer compound.Byline: ANI Washington, September 6 (ANI): A common weed called American mayapple mayapple (māˈ·aˑ·p has been found to produce anti-cancer compound podophyllotoxin, say researchers at Mississippi State University Mississippi State University, at Mississippi State, near Starkville; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1878 as an agricultural and mechanical college, opened 1880. From 1932 to 1958 it was known as Mississippi State College. and the University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1848, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford and three branch campuses located in Booneville, Tupelo, and Southaven. . This discovery attains significance because it suggests that American mayapple soon offer an alternative to its Indian counterpart, which has been harvested almost to extinction because of its anti-cancer properties. The researchers point out that podophyllotoxin is used in manufacturing etoposide, the active ingredient in a drug used for treating lung and testicular cancer testicular cancer Malignant tumour of the testis, or testicle. Although relatively rare, testicular cancer is the most common malignancy for men between the ages of 20 and 34. It typically affects men between 15 and 39 years old. . Currently, add the researchers, podophyllotoxin is produced commercially using the roots and rhizomes of Indian mayapple, the endangered species harvested from the wild in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and China. Published the results of their latest research in HortScience, Valtcho D. Zheljazkov of Mississippi State University said: "The objective of this study was to estimate podophyllotoxin concentration in American mayapple across its natural habitats in the eastern United States and to identify high podophyllotoxin types that could be used for further selection and cultivar cultivar Any variety of a plant, originating through cloning or hybridization (see clone, hybrid), known only in cultivation. In asexually propagated plants, a cultivar is a clone considered valuable enough to have its own name; in sexually propagated plants, a development." The researchers studied the effect of location, plant nutrient concentration, and phytoavailable nutrients in soil on podophyllotoxin concentration in American mayapple across its natural habitats in the eastern US. In what is being suggested to be the largest study of its kind, American mayapple leaves were collected from 37 mayapple colonies across 18 states. The groundbreaking study confirmed that mayapple colonies in the eastern part of the US could be used to develop high podophyllotoxin cultivars, which could subsequently provide the base for commercial production of podophyllotoxin in the country. The researchers hope that their findings will help develop a Geographic Information System geographic information system (GIS) Computerized system that relates and displays data collected from a geographic entity in the form of a map. The ability of GIS to overlay existing data with new information and display it in colour on a computer screen is used primarily to (GIS) map of the genetic resources of American mayapple in the US. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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