China’s most poisonous plant may also be deadly for cancer cells, scientists claim

A deadly herb native to China has been found to contain chemical compounds that may kill cancerous cells more effectively than some currently available medicines, according to a new study.

Chinese scientists discovered nine new compounds in Gelsemium elegans (断肠草), the most poisonous indigenous plant in the country, during their study in subtropical Yunnan province. It is the most toxic of three versions of the flowering plant. The other two are native to North America.

Even miniscule doses of two of the compounds, dubbed No. 1 and No. 7, wiped out tumor cells linked to leukaemia and cancer of the liver, lungs, breast and colon, the team said.

They reported the results in the latest issue of the journal Natural Products, which is published by the American Chemical Society.

“The results are encouraging,” said Professor Xu Youkai, lead scientist of the study. Xu works at the province’s Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, which operates under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 

For years, it has has been used n China as a folk medicine to treat rheumatism, skin diseases like psoriasis, and even malignant tumours.