Galangal, a common
ingredient in Thai cooking, has been found to have anti-cancer
properties say researchers at King's College London.
The ginger-like root was among seven South East Asian plants which
were evaluated to see if there was a scientific basis for their
traditional reputation as cancer treatments.
Galangal stood out from the others in laboratory testing because
its extract was found both to kill cancer cells and to increase the
ability of healthy cells to protect themselves from
carcinogens.
Peter Houghton, Professor of Pharmacognosy at King's has spent over
30 years testing the medicinal properties of natural remedies from
around the world. His work is part of a long tradition - one in
four of the medicines on the market today are based on plant
molecules.
While promising, the tests of Galangal's anti-cancer properties are
at an early stage. They are still a long way short of advising us
all to eat Thai curry as an antidote to cancer.
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