Aristolochic Acids (AA) is a natural compound found in Aristolochia and Asarum plants. These plants are commonly used in traditional herbal remedies for many purposes including weight loss and slimming. AA has been officially banned in Europe since 2001 and in Singapore since 2004. Some herbs that contain AA have been banned in Taiwan since 2003, and in China, the use of some, but not all, AA-containing herbs in traditional medicine is restricted. While the United States Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings about herbs containing AA, their sale is unrestricted as long as they are labelled correctly and no health claims are made.
However, the effects of such bans may take years to materialise; so it could be years before rates of AA-associated cancers fall. In addition, herbs containing AA are easily available online. To complicate matters, herbs are often bundled and sold as formulations rather than individually, and some formulations might use herbs containing AA. Furthermore, herbs containing AA are sometimes improperly labelled, making it difficult for suppliers and consumers to be certain of the constituents of multi-herb formulations.
Scientists have revealed a decisive link between AA used in herbal remedies, and liver cancers. Using mutational signature analysis, the researchers found that liver tumors had been exposed to AA, which had mutated many genes that cause cancer.
The team first sequenced the DNA of 98 liver cancers from Taiwan. Using mutational signature analysis, they found high numbers of AA-related mutations in over three-quarters of these cancers. Mutational signatures are patterns of changes in the DNA caused by mutagens, compounds that cause cancer.
"Although we knew that there was exposure to AA in Taiwan, we were very surprised to find such a high proportion of liver cancer sufferers had exposure to AA," said the author.
The team then looked at publicly available data on mutations from 1,400 liver cancers from around the world. While AA is found in plants used in traditional medicine worldwide, the team found high prevalence of exposure in other parts of East and Southeast Asia.
AA, a known mutagen, was previously implicated in kidney and urinary tract cancers in Taiwan. In this new study, the researchers confirm that AA mutations are involved in causing liver cancer as well. "This was also another surprising finding of this study," added another author.
https://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/news/singapore-taiwan-team-reveal-link-between-many-liver-cancers-and-herbal-remedies-containing
http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/9/412/eaan6446?rss=1
Latest News
Metabolic rewiring promotes…
By newseditor
Posted 18 Apr
A drug to prevent flu-induc…
By newseditor
Posted 18 Apr
New origin of deep brain waves
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Starving cells hijack prote…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Miniature battery-free epid…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Other Top Stories
Removing brain cells linked to wakefulness and addiction may lessen…
Read more
Direct protein interaction triggers cell death!
Read more
Pathological differences in inherited versus sporadic Alzheimer's d…
Read more
How an ion channel regulates COPD
Read more
The brain pays attention to unfamiliar voices during sleep
Read more
Protocols
MemPrep, a new technology f…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
A tangible method to assess…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
Stem cell-derived vessels-o…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Apr
Single-cell biclustering fo…
By newseditor
Posted 01 Apr
Modular dual-color BiAD sen…
By newseditor
Posted 31 Mar
Publications
How does the microbiota con…
By newseditor
Posted 18 Apr
The integrated stress respo…
By newseditor
Posted 18 Apr
The immunobiology of herpes…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Circulating microbiome DNA…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Spindle oscillations in com…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar