Please read these through- you can buy artemisinin online or in any big
health food store- (different than artemesia though similar)- I am
usually on the Lyme group online but came across these and thought you
guys might be interested in them.  my ex-sister--in-law has breast
cancer and I sent them to her- and thought- why not send them to others
who may be interested.  take care, guys,
Sarah
aka CaliforniaLyme

1: Anticancer Res. 2004 Jul-Aug;24(4):2277-80. Related Articles, Links

Artemisinin induces apoptosis in human cancer cells.

Singh NP, Lai HC.

Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle,
Washington 98195-7962, USA. Narendra@u.washington.edu

BACKGROUND: Artemisinin is a chemical compound extracted from the
wormwood plant, Artemisia annua L. It has been shown to selectively
kill cancer cells in vitro and retard the growth of implanted
fibrosarcoma tumors in rats. In the present research, we investigated
its mechanism of cytotoxicity to cancer cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Molt-4 cells, in complete RPMI-1640 medium, were first incubated with
12 microM of human holotransferrin at 37 degrees C in a humid
atmosphere of 5% CO2 for one hour. This enhanced the iron supply to the
cells. The cells were then pelleted and transferred to a complete
RPMI-1640 containing 200 microM of an analog dihydroartemisinin (DHA)
and incubation was started (0 h). In addition, some culture samples
were treated with holotransferrin alone and some (controls) were
assayed without neither holotransferrin nor DHA treatment. Cells were
counted and DNA diffusion assay was used to evaluate apoptosis and
necrosis in each sample at 0 h and at 1, 2, 4 and 8 h of incubation.
RESULTS: DHA treatment significantly decreased cell counts and
increased the proportion of apoptosis in cancer cells compared to
controls (chi2=4.5, df=1, p<0.035). Addition of holotransferrin
significantly further decreased cell counts (chi2=4.5, df=1, p<0.035)
and increased apoptosis (chi2=4.5, df=1, p<0.035). No necrotic cells
were observed. CONCLUSION: This rapid induction of apoptosis in cancer
cells after treatment with DHA indicates that artemisinin and its
analogs may be inexpensive and effective cancer agents.

PMID: 15330172 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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1: Expert Opin Ther Targets. 2005 Oct;9(5):995-1007. Related Articles,
Links

Targeted treatment of cancer with artemisinin and artemisinin-tagged
iron-carrying compounds.

Lai H, Sasaki T, Singh NP.

University of Washington, Department of Bioengineering, Box 357962,
Seattle, Washington 98195-7962, USA. hlai@u.washington.edu

Artemisinin is a chemical compound that reacts with iron to form free
radicals which can kill cells. Cancer cells require and uptake a large
amount of iron to proliferate. They are more susceptible to the
cytotoxic effect of artemisinin than normal cells. Cancer cells express
a large concentration of cell surface transferrin receptors that
facilitate uptake of the plasma iron-carrying protein transferrin via
endocytosis. By covalently tagging artemisinin to transferrin,
artemisinin could be selectively picked up and concentrated by cancer
cells. Futhermore, both artemisinin and iron would be transported into
the cell in one package. Once an artemisinin-tagged transferrin
molecule is endocytosed, iron is released and reacts with artemisinin
moieties tagged to transferrin. Formation of free radicals kills the
cancer cell. The authors have found that artemisinin-tagged transferrin
is highly selective and potent in killing cancer cells. Thus,
artemisinin and artemisinin-tagged iron-carrying compounds could be
developed into powerful anticancer drugs.

PMID: 16185154 [PubMed - in process]

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1: Cancer Lett. 2006 Jan 8;231(1):43-8. Related Articles, Links

Oral artemisinin prevents and delays the development of
7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancer in the rat.

Lai H, Singh NP.

Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Box 357962,
Seattle, WA 98195-7962, USA.

Artemisinin, a compound isolated from the sweet wormwood Artemisia
annua L., has previously been shown to have selective toxicity towards
cancer cells in vitro. In the present experiment, we studied the
potential of artemisinin to prevent breast cancer development in rats
treated with a single oral dose (50mg/kg) of
7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), known to induce multiple breast
tumors. Starting from the day immediately after DMBA treatment, one
group of rats was provided with a powdered rat-chow containing 0.02%
artemisinin, whereas a control group was provided with plain powdered
food. For 40 weeks, both groups of rats were monitored for breast
tumors. Oral artemisinin significantly delayed (P<.002) and in some
animals prevented (57% of artemisinin-fed versus 96% of the controls
developed tumors, P<.01) breast cancer development in the monitoring
period. In addition, breast tumors in artemisinin-fed rats were
significantly fewer (P<.002) and smaller in size (P<.05) when compared
with controls. Since artemisinin is a relatively safe compound that
causes no known side effects even at high oral doses, the present data
indicate that artemisinin may be a potent cancer-chemoprevention agent.

PMID: 16356830 [PubMed - in process]

1: Life Sci. 2001 Nov 21;70(1):49-56. Related Articles, Links

Selective toxicity of dihydroartemisinin and holotransferrin toward
human
breast cancer cells.

Singh NP, Lai H.

Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle
98195-7962,
USA. narendra@u.washington.edu

Artemisinin becomes cytotoxic in the presence of ferrous iron. Since
iron
influx is high in cancer cells, artemisinin and its analogs selectively
kill
cancer cells under conditions that increase intracellular iron
concentrations. We
report here that after incubation with holotransferrin, which increases
the
concentration of ferrous iron in cancer cells, dihydroartemisinin, an
analog of
artemisinin, effectively killed a type of radiation-resistant human
breast
cancer cell in vitro. The same treatment had considerably less effect
on normal
human breast cells. Since it is relatively easy to increase the iron
content
inside cancer cells in vivo, administration of artemisinin-like drugs
and
intracellular iron-enhancing compounds may be a simple, effective, and
economical
treatment for cancer.

PMID: 11764006 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]