Hibiscus Extract Stop Breast Cancer growth and Boost Treatment

For almost a century, treatment of breast cancer remains a global challenge. While most potential therapeutic regimes have improved survival rates, their consumption causes serious adverse effects and repercussions after chemotherapy. Traditional cancer therapies, such as taxol and cisplatin, are designed to kill rapidly dividing cells. These therapies do not always distinguish between cancerous and healthy cells. This leads to side effects, such as fatigue, immune suppression, and organ toxicity. In contrast, natural products contain bioactive compounds with medicinal properties and are safe for long-term consumption. This has driven researchers to explore natural products for drug discovery, which may offer safer and more targeted approaches.

A recent study conducted at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Windsor, investigated the anticancer potential of aqueous Hibiscus rosa-sinensis flower extract (HE) against breast cancer, emphasizing its efficacy, selectivity, and interactions with conventional chemotherapeutics.

Medicinal properties of Hibiscus

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, commonly known as hibiscus, is a flowering plant found worldwide in warm temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions. It is widely used in traditional medicine, herbal teas, and cosmetics owing to its

Antioxidant properties
Anti-inflammatory effects
Cardiovascular benefits

Can Hibiscus Extract Treat Breast Cancer?

Cell killing cytotoxic effect of Hibiscus

An in vitro study found that Hibiscus extract was able to induce programmed cell death in both triple-negative and estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer cells. The cell-killing effect of the hibiscus extract was dose-dependent, meaning that as the concentration of the extract increased, more cell death was observed. The most crucial observation was that hibiscus extract did not harm normal cells at the effective cancer cell killing doses, making it a safer treatment option.

Enhanced effect of Hibiscus in combination with chemotherapy

Hibiscus extract enhances the anti-cancer effects of chemotherapeutics such as taxol, cisplatin, and tamoxifen. In triple-negative breast cancer cells, the combination therapy produced stronger results than chemotherapy alone. The striking efficacy of the hibiscus extract was found to lower the dose of chemotherapeutics to 50 folds.

Mechanism of cell killing effects of Hibiscus Extract

Hibiscus extract was studied to boost oxygen species (ROS) inside cancer cells, damaging the cellular structures and increasing the vulnerability of cancer cells to killing by cancer drugs. In addition, the extract reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential, triggering programmed cell death due to energy loss.

Utilizing Hibiscus as cancer treatment

Hibiscus extract could potentially reduce drug toxicity while effectively killing cancer cells.
The extract contains multiple bioactive compounds that act synergistically to provide cytotoxicity against cancer cells and protective effects on healthy cells.
The extract lowers the treatment doses of chemotherapeutics like taxol, cisplatin, and tamoxifen by 50-folds, which highlights its role as an adjuvant therapy for long-term treatment and improving patient quality of life
Emphasis can be given to the application of new combination therapies containing natural products for aggressive cancers forms like triple-negative breast cancers which are hardest forms to treat because it lacks specific drug targets.

Daily consumption of Hibiscus Extract

While the research is promising, Hibiscus has not been studied as alone being effective against cancer. However, it is highly recommended as a naturopathy by the health professionals when consumed daily.

Here are different forms of hibiscus extract that we can consume daily:

Hibiscus Tea

Fresh or dried flowers of hibiscus are boiled in water for 5-10 minutes and strained to consume 1-2 cups daily, providing ample antioxidants to combat oxidative stress in your body.

Hibiscus Powder

Grounded powder of dried hibiscus flowers is added to foods or drinks like smoothies, juice and yogurt, also proving all the beneficial effects.

Hibiscus Capsules or Supplements

Hibiscus supplements in the form of capsules are more concentrated form which is contains 250-500 mg of hibiscus extract per capsule. Consumption of these capsules allow consistent dosing to achieve specific health goals.