What Is Wormwood?

Sweet wormwood is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb. It is a native plant of East Asia with yellow flowers and a fern-like leaf. In traditional medicine, sweet wormwood has been used to treat fever, headache, inflammation and infection. The therapeutic extract from the plant was discovered and developed specifically to treat malaria. Wormwood-derived treatments have obtained medicine licences, and now, in specific combination with other drugs, they form the World Health Organisation’s recommended treatment regimen for uncomplicated malaria.

Sweet wormwood was first studied in the 1970s and since then has been investigated widely for its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. Clinical trials have shown that wormwood and its derivatives can selectively kill cancer tumour cells. Cancer cells are different from normal cells because they have a faster metabolism and consume a lot of iron. This is how they rapidly grow and multiply, resulting in the development of tumours. The active compounds in wormwood can identify and target the iron receptors on cancer cells, then attack and destroy the cell membranes while leaving healthy cells alone. This property of wormwood is very exciting and has led to a lot of research to understand how best to use it.

What Types of Cancer Can Be Treated?

Trials have been conducted in a range of cancers, looking at tumour cell death and prevention of tumour cell migration (metastasis). A large trial programme conducted by the US National Cancer Institute and published in 2001 investigated the effect of wormwood derivatives on 55 different cancer cell types. The research found that the most significant benefit was in leukaemia and colon cancers. Importantly, the wormwood therapy was effective with leukaemia cells that were previously resistant to standard drug treatments. There was also a significant effect on melanomas, breast, ovarian, prostate, CNS and renal cancers. More recent studies have shown benefits in pancreatic and lung cancers, as well as confirming the previous results in multiple tumour types.

Success in Treatment-Resistant Cancers

Wormwood has also been studied in metastatic and treatment-resistant cancers, with demonstrated benefits in limiting the progression of disease. Wormwood has been shown to be well tolerated and safe for use in a wide range of cancer patients, including radiotherapy-resistant breast cancer. There is some evidence that higher doses may be more effective, but this must always be balanced with the potential for side effects.

Is Wormwood Suitable for Me?

Combination therapy, where wormwood is used alongside conventional chemotherapies, has been shown to have a synergistic effect in patients being treated for lung, ovarian, pancreatic and liver cancers. Wormwood is given as an IV therapy and can provide an extra layer of reassurance to your treatment plan. If you think it may be suitable for you, please speak with one of your medical team at Wellbeing Medical Group.