Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and he second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men over 50 years. No less than one out of nine men over 50 is diagnosed with prostate cancer in developed countries of the world such as United States of America while Nigerian men are no exceptions.

The often-prescribed treatment is either radical prostatectomy or radioactive seed implantation (brachytherapy), whose major adverse side effects are erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.  

Other treatment options include immunotherapy and intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), which delivers radiation to the tumour while sparing the surrounding normal tissues. Unfortunately, the side effects of these treatments are very harsh.

But many herbs and diet-derived micro-chemicals are showing promise in preventing and treating prostate cancer without adverse side effects. Research efforts directed at finding novel plant-derived cancer fighting compounds in edible medicinal herbs from the rain forests of Nigeria had listed scent leaf (Ocimum  gratissimum) as showing promise for treatment of prostate cancer.

Ocimum gratissimum, commonly called scent leaf or African Basil, is a shrub commonly found around village huts and gardens. It is known as efinrin ajase in Yoruba, ebavbokho in Bini, aai doya ta gida in Hausa, nchuanwu in Igbo. It is used for food and medicine.

The leaves have strong aromatic odour and are popularly used to flavour soup and spice meat, especially game. In southeastern part of Nigeria and beyond, the leaves popularly serve as indispensable flavouring agent in soups, especially “pepper soup,” and other meals.

 Although the popularity of African Basil is derived mainly from its culinary uses, its medicinal value has long been recognised. For instance, in Nigeria, extracts of African Basil or of its whole plant are popular for the treatment of diarrhoea, stomach upset, headache, fever and pneumonia and hemorrhoids.  There is anecdotal evidence that African Basil extract shrinks prolapsed hemorrhoids, stopping the bleeding and itching associated with the condition.

In the coastal areas of Nigeria, the plant is used in the treatment of epilepsy, high fever and diarrhoea. In the Savannah areas, decoctions of the leaves are used to treat mental illness. African basil is used by the Ibos of Southeastern Nigeria in the management of the baby’s cord, to keep the wound surfaces sterile. It is also used in the treatment of fungal infections, fever, cold and catarrh.

Brazilian tropical forest inhabitants use a decoction of African basil roots as a sedative for children. People of Kenya and sub Saharan African communities’ rub the leaves between the palms and sniff as a treatment for blocked nostrils. They also use the leaves for abdominal pains, sore eyes, ear infections, coughs, barrenness, fever, convulsions, and tooth gargle, regulation of menstruation and as cure for hemmorhoids.  In India, the whole plant has been used for the treatment of sunstroke, headache, influenza and fever.

Scientists in a 2010 study entitled: “Potential Cancer-fighting Ocimum gratissimum leaf extracts: Increased Anti-proliferation Activity of Partially Purified Fractions and their Spectral Fingerprints “, stated that ongoing search for potential cancer-fighting agents in medicinal herbs have shown that the aqueous extracts of African Basil prevent the growth of several cancer cell lines, especially prostate cancer cells.

Writing in the journal, Ethnicity & Disease, the researchers indicated that both the water and ethanol extract of the leaves effectively inhibiting the proliferation of prostate cancer cells, stated that the crude ethanol extract is 1.6 times less active than the aqueous extract.

Given the finding that the extract of the African leaves had a higher activity in preventing growth of prostate cancer cells, they declared “African basil leaf extract could potentially be a source of novel cancer-fighting compounds that, if successfully isolated, purified and identified, could be used in formulating new treatments for prostate cancer.”

Scientists have also found that Bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) was another herb whose extracts inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells. Evidence from cell culture and animal studies research and reports from individuals reveal that bitter leaf extracts might be effective against herpes virus, and against Kaposi sarcomas (KS), a tumour caused by Human herpes virus 8 (HHV8).

Nonetheless, a diet containing leafy vegetables like Bitter leaf and African basil because of its richness in terpenoids is inversely related with the risk of chronic diseases including cancers. Breast and prostate cancers are hormone-related diseases and already chemical substances such as terpenoids have entered clinical use against established breast and prostate cancers.  These chemical compounds are able to inhibit tumour cell proliferation and induce tumour cell death.

The efficacy of these terpenoids against breast or prostate cancer cells, as demonstrated in pre-clinical studies supports clinical application of these naturally occurring terpenoids in treatment of hormone-related human cancers.

Also, researchers have found that pawpaw leaf extract and its tea have dramatic cancer-fighting properties against a broad range of tumours, including tumours of the cervix, breast, liver, lung and pancreases. Researcher in a report published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, documented pawpaw’s anti-cancer effect against tumours of the cervix, breast, liver, lung and pancreas.

The researchers used an extract made from dried pawpaw leaves, and the effects were stronger when cells received larger doses of pawpaw leaf tea. They were able to show that pawpaw leaf extract could help to regulate the immune system. This could lead to therapeutic treatments that use the immune system to fight cancers.

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MEDICINAL POWER OF SCENT LEAF AND BITTER LEAF
written by louis aderemi., January 30, 2012

This is a very good revelation for those who are yet to know the importance of these leaves. I have personaly used scent leave in the treatment of stomack ulscer and it realy worked bitter leaf too is a very good cleanser.
It is good to educate our people to know the importance of these leafs, moreover soursop fruits and leaves extract could also be used in the treatment and the prevention of cancer this revelation was found in a journal from the internet, i think if we make use of the leafs the Lord bless us with in our enviroment we will b

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