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Exploring an herbal “wonder cure” for cancer: a multidisciplinary approach

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Abstract

Context and objectives

The unmonitored use of herbal medicinal remedies by patients with cancer presents a significant challenge to oncology healthcare professionals. We describe an increasingly popular herbal “wonder drug,” Ephedra foeminea (Alanda in Arabic), whose use has spread from the Palestinian patient population throughout the Middle East. We conducted a multicentered and multidisciplinary collaborative research effort in order to understand the potential benefits and harms of this popular herbal remedy.

Methods

We conducted an in-depth search of the medical literature, both traditional and modern, for any mention of the clinical use of Alanda for the treatment of cancer. We then tested the remedy, first for toxic ephedra alkaloid components and then for anticancer effects, as well as effects on the cytotoxic activity of chemotherapy agents (cisplatin and carboplatin) on breast cancer cell cultures.

Results

We found no mention in the literature, both conventional and traditional, on the use of Alanda for the treatment of cancer. Laboratory testing did not find any toxic components (i.e., ephedra alkaloids) in the preparation. However, in vitro exposure to Alanda led to a reduced cytotoxic effect of chemotherapy on breast cancer cell cultures.

Conclusions

The use of an integrative ethnobotanical, laboratory and clinical research-based approach can be extremely helpful when providing nonjudgmental and evidence-based guidance to patients with cancer, especially on the use of traditional herbal medicine. The effectiveness and safety of these products need to be examined by integrative physicians who are dually trained in both complementary medicine and supportive cancer care.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Abu-Sabri Saleh Said Khair, traditional herbal practitioner, Peqi'in, Israel; Ehud (Udi Wolf), PhD, the director of the Analytic Laboratory, Division of Identification & Forensic Sciences, Israel Police, Jerusalem, Israel; Michal Rotenberg, PhD, the head of the Clinical Toxicology and Pharmacology Laboratory, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel; Nihaya M.Y. Salameh, MSc, Researcher, Biodiversity & Environmental Research Center, BERC, Til, Nablus, Palestine; and Farah Raslan, MSc, Cancer Drug Discovery Program, Galilee Technology Center, Kiryat Shmona, Israel.

Authors’ contribution

All authors contributed equally to the design and drafting of the article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Integrative Oncology Program, Haifa and Western Galilee Oncology Service, Clalit Health Services, Haifa, Israel

    Eran Ben-Arye & Noah Samuels

  2. Lin Medical Center, Affiliated with the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    Eran Ben-Arye & Noah Samuels

  3. Complementary and Traditional Medicine Unit, Department of Family Medicine, Affiliated with the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    Eran Ben-Arye

  4. Cancer Drug Discovery Program, Galilee Technology Center, Kiryat Shmona, Israel

    Jamal Mahajna

  5. Department of Plant Pathology and Weed Research, ARO, Newe-Yaar Research Center, Ramat Yishay, Israel

    Radi Aly

  6. Biodiversity and Biotechnology Research Unit, Biodiversity and Environmental Research Center, BERC, Til, Nablus, Palestine

    Mohammed Saleem Ali-Shtayeh

  7. Israel Poison Information Center, Section of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Rambam Health Care Campus, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    Yedidia Bentur

  8. Department of Eretz Israel Studies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Efraim Lev

  9. Integrative Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Gary Deng

  10. Tal Center for Integrative Medicine, Institute of Oncology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel

    Noah Samuels

  11. The Oncology Service, Lin Medical Center, 35 Rothschild St., Haifa, Israel

    Eran Ben-Arye

Authors
  1. Eran Ben-Arye
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  2. Jamal Mahajna
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  3. Radi Aly
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  4. Mohammed Saleem Ali-Shtayeh
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  5. Yedidia Bentur
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  6. Efraim Lev
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  7. Gary Deng
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  8. Noah Samuels
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eran Ben-Arye.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Prof. Eran Ben-Arye declares that he has no conflict of interest. Dr. Jamal Mahajna declares that he has no conflict of interest. Dr. Radi Aly declares that he has no conflict of interest. Dr. Mohammed Saleem Ali-Shtayeh declares that he has no conflict of interest. Prof. Yedidia Bentur declares that he has no conflict of interest. Prof. Efraim Lev declares that he has no conflict of interest. Dr. Gary Deng declares that he has no conflict of interest. Dr. Noah Samuels declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Cite this article

Ben-Arye, E., Mahajna, J., Aly, R. et al. Exploring an herbal “wonder cure” for cancer: a multidisciplinary approach. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 142, 1499–1508 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-016-2175-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-016-2175-7

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