They might not be welcome in your yard, but it turns out that dandelions have tremendous potential when it comes to helping people who are suffering from cancer.
Chemo-resistant melanoma is now the most common type of cancer affecting Americans aged 25 to 29. The only option doctors can presently offer these patients is surgery to remove the tumor and its surroundings, followed by immunotherapy, which does not usually work when the melanoma has metastasized.
However, all that looks set to change, thanks to a humble plant that many people pull out of their gardens and throw away. At the University of Windsor in Ontario, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has shown that dandelion root extract can cause human melanoma cells to essentially kill themselves without leading to any type of toxicity. In fact, their initial study saw cancer cells disintegrating within 48 hours, while healthy cells remained unaffected. The study was led by Professor Siyaram Pandey, PhD.