Main description:

The use of different foods, herbs and spices to treat or prevent disease has been recorded for thousands of years. Egyptian papyrus, hieroglyphics and ancient texts from the Middle East have described the cultivation and preparations of herbs and botanicals to "cure the sick". There are even older records from China and India. Some ancient scripts describe the use of medicinal plants which have never been seen within European cultures. Indeed, all ancient civilizations have pictorial records of different foods, herbs and spices being used for medical purposes. However, there are fundamental questions pertaining to the scientific evidence for the use of these agents or their extracts in modern medicine.

There have been considerable advances in scientific techniques over the last few decades. These have been used to examine the composition and applications of traditional cures. Modern science has also seen the investigation of herbs, spices and botanicals beyond their traditional usage. For example, plants which have been used for "digestion" or "medical ills" since time immemorial are now being investigated for anti-cancer properties or their toxicity, using high throughput screening. Techniques also include molecular biology, cellular biochemistry, physiology, endocrinology, and even medical imaging. However, much of the material relating to the scientific basis or applications of traditional foods, herbs, spices and botanicals is scattered among various sources. The widespread applicability of foods or botanicals are rarely described and cautionary notes on toxicity are often ignored. This is addressed in Ancient and Traditional Foods, Plants, Herbs and Spices Used in Cancer.

Contents:

Overviews and Diets. The Mediterranean Diet and Cancer. Traditionally Prepared Meat and Colorectal Cancer. Cancer Patients and use of Thai Traditional Herbs. Traditional Moroccan Dairy Products and Cancer. Diet-derived Phytochemicals and Colorectal Cancer. Traditional Chinese Medicine and Treatment Response in Cancer. Antioxidants in Traditional Plants and Prostate Cancer. Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) and Carcinogenesis: Inflammation, Gene Expression and Beyond. Blueberry Ash (Elaeocarpus reticulatus) Extracts, Apoptosis and Pancreatic Cancer. European Mistletoe (Viscum album L). Extract and use in Cancer. Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) and Usage in Cancer. Flax Seed (Linum usitatissimum) Lignan, Polyphenols, and Cancer Prevention. Garlic (Allium sativum) Extract and use in Colon Cancer. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) and Cancer Therapy. Ginseng (panax quinquefolium) and use in Cancer. Grape (Vitis vinifera) Skin Extracts , Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase-1 Enzyme Inhibition and Cancer Cell Lines. Herbal Mixtures (Renshen Yangrong Tang) and use in Fatigue of Cancer. Juniper (Juniperus communis L), Cancer Cells and p53 and PI3K/AKt Pathways. Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo biloba) Extract and Usage in Cancer Studies. Red Belt Conk (Fomitopsis pinicola) and Anticancer Studies. Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) Extract and Breast Cancer Cells. Searocket (Cakile maritima) and Anti-Proliferative Effects. Spreading Sneezeweed (Centipeda minima), Cancer and STAT3 Signaling Pathways. Torch Aloe (aloe arborescens) and Soursop (Annona muricate) Based Mixtures and Doxorubicin-induced Side Effects Turkey Tail Fungus (Trametes versicolor) and use in Colon Cancer Cells: E-cadherin and Beyond.