N.C. State University’s Plants for Human Health Institute
(PHHI), located at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, has
partnered with the University of Surrey in England to conduct
research involving plants and potential cancer treatments. At
the root of the research is ginger, which scientists are
studying for its potential cancer-fighting properties. Dr. Mary
Grace, senior researcher with PHHI, and Akram Aloqbi, a visiting
Ph.D. candidate in oncology from the University of Surrey, are
collaborating to search for anti-cancer compounds in several
ginger varieties. Ginger is a rhizome (an underground plant stem
or rootstock) long utilized for its medicinal and culinary
properties. Grace and Aloqbi are targeting zerumbone, a
phytochemical in ginger that is known to possess anti-
inflammatory properties and counter HIV activity. The compound
has also shown promise as a potential treatment for some
cancers, so N.C. State and the University of Surrey are digging
deeper for answers. The collaborating researchers a