Washington: A new research has investigated the potency of
Indian wild plants against bacterial and fungal infections in
the mouths of oral cancer patients. Researchers from Rohtak,
India, tested extracts from several plants used in traditional
or folk medicine against microbials found in the mouths of oral
cancer patients. Of the 40 patients involved in the study, 35
had compromised immune systems with severely reduced neutrophil
counts. Eight of the plants tested were able to significantly
affect the growth of organisms collected by oral swab, and pure
cultures of bacteria and fungi grown in the lab. This included
wild asparagus, desert date, false daisy, curry tree, caster oil
plant and fenugreek. "Natural medicines are increasingly
important in treating disease and traditional knowledge provides
a starting point in the search for plant-based medicines.
Importantly we found that the extraction process had a huge
effect on both the specificity and efficacy of the plant
extracts against microbes,” said Dr Ja