Could the Next Chemotherapy be Derived from a Weed?

As much as I may complain about weeds, one that I enjoy (in moderation and not among my vegetables) is dandelions. The bright yellow flowers herald spring, and the seed puffballs, while not as visually interesting, offer entertainment as I watch birds landing on the shaft, bending it and eating the seeds. When I am pulling out the taproots with my dandelion weeding tool, I like to leave them on my lawn to break down because the roots are known to draw up nutrients. As it turns out, dandelion root is more than a nutrient source for other plants; it has been used for medicinal purposes. And now Ovadje, Hamm and Pandey have published research showing that dandelion root extract is able to induce apoptosis of leukemia cell lines while leaving normal blood cells untouched. Continue reading “Could the Next Chemotherapy be Derived from a Weed?”