Natural and Complementary Therapies


Disclaimer:

The Angiogenesis Foundation is providing educational information only about complementary and alternative medicines. The Foundation cautions patients not to seek out any form of therapy without consulting a licensed healthcare provider. Inclusion of any alternative or complementary remedies on this site does not imply an endorsement of any kind by the Angiogenesis Foundation.

 

80% of the World Uses "Alternative" Medicines

Cancer patients often seek out natural, or alternative/complementary medicines in addition to standard medical care. For thousands of years, non-Western societies have used natural medicines both to prevent and to treat disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 80% of the world's population uses medicines that western-trained physicians would term "alternative." To study what might be learned from other societies, the Angiogenesis Foundation is actively tracking natural medicines that may have antiangiogenic properties, and promoting their scientific study.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, patients exploring alternative medicines should seek to define:

  • The safety of the remedy

  • The effectiveness of the remedy
Patients should consult with a physician or a licensed practitioner of alternative medicine, and should always consult with their own physician about potentially harmful drug interactions with their prescription and over-the-counter medicines. Be aware that many illegitimate remedies, with absolutely no medicinal value, are sold to patients seeking medicine other than conventional treatments.

 

Natural Substances with Antiangiogenic Activity

Angiogenesis researchers have been studying a number of natural substances that possess antiangiogenic activity. Among them are:

  • Green Tea (active ingredient: Epigallo catechin-O-gallate, EGCG)

  • Soy Protein (active ingredient: Genistein)

  • Garlic (active ingredient: S-Allylmercaptocysteine)

  • Ginseng (active ingredient: Ginsenoside)

  • Shark Tissue (active ingredient: Matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors, inhibitors of angiogenic growth factor receptors, antiangiogenic aminosterols)

  • Mushroom Coriolus versicolor (active ingredient: Polysaccharide krestin, PSK)
These research findings suggest that antiangiogenesis may play one potential role in the healthful properties of these remedies, many of which have been used as traditional medicines in Asian and Mediterranean cultures.

 

Scientific References

Garbisa S, Biggin S, Cavallarin N, Sartor L, Benelli R, Albini A. Tumor invasion: molecular shears blunted by green tea. Nature Medicine 1999;5(11):1216

Zhou JR, Gugger ET, Tanaka T, Guo Y, Blackburn GL, Clinton SK. Soybean phytochemicals inhibit the growth of transplantable human prostate carcinoma and tumor angiogenesis in mice. Journal of Nutrition 1999;129(9):1628-35

Lee ES, Steiner M, Lin R. Thioallyl compounds: potent inhibitors of cell proliferation. Biochimica Biophysica Acta 1994;1221(1):73-7

Sato K, Mochizuki M, Saiki I, Yoo YC, Samukawa K, Azuma I. Inhibition of tumor angiogenesis and metastasis by a saponin of Panax ginseng, ginsenoside-Rb2. Biol Pharm Bull 1994;17(5):635-9

Davis PF, He Y, Furneaux RH, Johnston PS, Ruger BM, Slim GC. Inhibition of angiogenesis by oral ingestion of powdered shark cartilage in a rat model. Microvascular Research 1997;54(2):178-82

Kanoh T, Matsunaga K, Saito K, Fujii T. Suppression of in vivo tumor-induced angiogenesis by the protein-bound polysaccharide PSK. In Vivo 1994;8(2):247-50.

 

Antiangiogenic Drugs in Clinical Trial Originally Discovered in Nature

A number of promising antiangiogenic drugs being studied in clinical trial also have natural origins. Among them are:

  • Combretastatin (original source: African bush willow)

  • Neovastat (original source: Shark cartilage)

  • Paclitaxel (original source: Pacific yew tree)

  • Squalamine (original source: Dogfish shark)

  • TNP-470 (original source: Fungus Aspergillus fumigatus fresenius)

 

More information

To learn more information about natural medicines and antiangiogenesis, we invite you to join our Patient Information Network.