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14 August 2006
Braveheart’s War-Paint Could Be Breast Cancer Weapon 
Woad, a plant that provided ancient tribes of Britons and Celts with their blue war-paint, has been found to be a rich source of the anti-cancer compound, glucobrassicin. Glucobrassicin has traditionally been associated with broccoli and is recognized to be an effective weapon against breast cancer. Woad is a member of the Brassicaceae family of plants and Italian researchers from the University of Bologna found that it contains twenty times more of the cancer fighting chemical glucobrassicin than its relative, broccoli. Interestingly, glucobrassicin plays a defensive role in plants, and the researchers found that wounding the leaves can increase levels by 30 percent. When the leaves are damaged by insects, for example, glucobrassicin is released as a defence mechanism. Its derivatives can kill some plant pests, and also appear to have anti-tumoral properties, and are particularly effective against breast cancer. Glucobrassicin has been shown to play an active role in flushing out cancer-causing chemicals, such as derivatives of estrogen. In the past, it has been difficult to extract enough of the compound from broccoli, but the researchers hope that by using this new source, in-depth studies can be carried out to understand how this compound acts in the body. Source: Society of Chemical Industry
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