Noni Leaf Extract Superior To Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer (Preclinical Study)

Unfortunately, almost 1.5 million people die as a result of lung cancer each year. What is even worse is that the number of people who are diagnosed with this type of cancer is getting higher each year.

But, is it possible to improve the survival rates of lung cancer patients with the help of a simple leaf extract?

Lung Cancer Treatment

A recent study revealed in the popular Food & Function journal named “Morinda citrifolia edible leaf extract boosted immune response against lung cancer” has shown that a noni tree (Morinda Citrifolia) leaf extract based on alcohol has provided much better results than standard chemo drug in lung cancer treatments in lab animals.

This new scientific study conducted by Malaysian scientists was focused on assessing the efficiency of the erlotinib (Tarceva) drug, an epidemic growth factor inhibitor or EGFR inhibitor compared to noni leaf extract in albino domestic mice with lung cancer.

After three weeks of treatment with about 300 milligrams of noni lead extract and 50 mg of erlotinib per one kilo body mass, scientists were amazed by the results. Noni leaf extract was much more efficient in restraining tumor growth compared to erlotinib-based treatment.

Amazingly, this noni leaf extract managed to change several biological pathways in a positive way without any side effects typical for erlotinib. The extract managed to:

• Boost spleen tissue B cells
• Increase blood lymphocyte number
• Improve the number of natural killer cells
• Increase T cells
• Suppress COX2 (cuclooxgenase) inflammatory markers
• Lower EGFR – epidermal growth factor receptor
• Improve the tumor suppressor gene – tensin and phosphatase homolog and PTEN
• Inhibit the cellular genes that lead to tumor growth and changed mouse viral oncogene
• Inhibit the target of MTOR – rapamycin in tumors.

This scientific study also revealed the background on today’s lung cancer rates and questioned established treatments and their results:

The highest number of deaths due to cancer is the one caused by lung cancer. As already mentioned, more about 1.5 million people die each year due to lung cancer and even more are diagnosed with this disease. The so-called non-small-cell lung cancer simply known as NSCLC is detected in about 85% of cases and the survival rate after five years is about 15%.

People who have entered the advanced stages of NSCLC can get only limited results from chemotherapy. Only 30% of them have any response to this therapy and the average survival is one year. A study on phase three cancer has shown that the utilization of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor medication like erlotinib, drastically improved the survival rate.

But, erlotinib use is not widespread because this drug causes a few severe side effects and the development of cancer mutations that can’t be treated with drugs. Some of the most frequent side effects of erlotinib use are rashes, weakness, diarrhea, coughing, breathing difficulties, reduced appetite, exhaustion and fatigue and nausea.

This drug can lead to even more serious effects like lung disease, lung problems, kidney and liver problems, skin peeling and blistering, gastrointestinal issues, clotting and bleeding issues that can result in heart attacks, dry eyes, strokes, swelling and in some cases – death.

What was not highlighted in the scientific study was that the use of chemotherapy drugs including erlotinib is very expensive even though the effects are limited.

An article published in Medscape six years ago, claimed that erlotinib, which was part of the conventional therapy for late-stage NSCLC in USA, became part of the standard treatment in Canada too when the NCIC Clinic Trials Gorup conducted a trial which confirmed that when this drug is included in a supportive care the survival rates in patients who didn’t respond top other drugs are increased.

However, this improvement was very small and the article questioned the justification of using this drug especially when we look at its price. The authors found out that the price paid for erlotinib treatment was about 100.000 Canadian dollars for each year gained.

Obviously, if the outcome of the aforementioned animal study can be witnessed in cases of lung cancer in humans, noni lead extract can serve as a perfect replacement and it can be created without high cost. You can get twelve ounces of this extract for about 50 dollars.

If we compare noni leaf to standard chemotherapy drugs we will notice that this leaf has a very interesting biological content and includes dozens of different, completely natural phytochemicals. The synthetic drugs created in labs can’t be compared to the complex structure of noni leaf.

Some of the ingredients found in it include:
7 sterol campesta-5,7,22-trien-3β-ol, Scopoletin, Δ5 sterol β-sitosterol, 3-hydroxymorindone, 13- hydroxy-9,11,15-octadecatrienoic acid, 5,15-dimethyl- morindol etc.

The study found that there is sufficient evidence that Morinda citrifolia leaf extract packed with scopoletin and epicatechin, may be consumed as a useful food and additional therapy to stop lung cancer by triggering the immune reactions and shaping various signaling pathways for cancer cell genes against the growth and expansion of cancer cells without witnessing any side effects.

It is worth mentioning that this was not the only scientific study focused on the noni tree leaf as a compound used against lung cancer. There were few other studies in this field.

A study from 1999, published in the Phytotherapeutic Research journal confirmed that noni juice provided antitumor effects in lab mice with Lewis lung cancer.

A study conducted 15 years ago and published in the reputable Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences has shown that noni juice is able to protect the lungs of lab mice from the formation of carcinogenic DMBA-DNA. The study suggested that noni is a plant that has ability to prevent cancer.

Finally, a scientific study performed about four years ago and published in the Indian Journal of Molecular Medicine has shown that noni fruit juice can reduce the inflammatory processes in human lung cancer cells suggesting that this juice may have therapeutic properties in pathologies in lungs linked to inflammation like lung cancer.

We must also highlight the fact that noni tree is obviously not the only substance found in nature that was analyzed by modern science and shown that it can provide natural prevention from cancer and strong chemotherapeutic effects.

As a matter of fact, scientists were able to create a list of more than 120 natural compounds and substances, mostly foods that have proven to provide specific anti-lung cancer effects. According to many scientists, curcumin is probably one of the best options for lung cancer sufferers because it attacks cancer stem cells.

Finally, keep in mind that lung cancer belongs to a group of cancer that are frequently over-treated and over-diagnosed and this was confirmed by the NCI (National Cancer Institute). So, it is a good idea to perform your own research and get second opinion before you decide to use some preventive and healing option.