Roadside weeds have been found to inhibit the spread of breast...

A roadside weed with white flowers that was considered dull and medically useless can kill breast cancer cells and leave normal cells untouched.

Thale cress, also known by the scientific name Arabidopsis thaliana, is a humble member of the cabbage family, growing up to eight inches.

Experiments in a laboratory found that its leaves, when treated with a plant hormone found in jasmine, successfully killed the cancer.

The exact way this is done is unknown, but the study also found that healthy tissues are left untouched while killing the dangerous cancer cells.

Dr. Alessandra Devoto, the biologist in charge of the project, hopes this could lead to better chemotherapy treatments with fewer side effects.

Breast cancer directly affects one in eight women in the UK, most over the age of 50.

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“The plant is very similar to the” Cinderella “of the medicinal plant world – nobody thought it was anything special, but our research has shown it to be true,” said Dr. Devoto.

“The discovery has important implications for the development of therapies for cancer and other diseases.”

Arabidopsis is a very simple planet that scientists have ignored for centuries in the search for herbal remedies for human diseases.

As a result, his only contribution to the scientific world so far has been a “model organism” used in experiments to see how plants as a whole react to certain chemicals or conditions.

For example, an Arabidopsis plant was sent across the Chinese Chang’e-4 lander to the other side of the moon to see how weightlessness affects plant growth.

Dr. However, Devoto of Royal Holloway University felt the company had more to offer and began researching its medicinal properties in 2006.

A tiny weed with white flowers that was considered dull and medically useless can kill breast cancer cells and leave normal cells untouched. Thale cress, also known by the scientific name Arabidopsis thaliana, is a humble member of the cabbage family

As part of the study published today in the journal New Phytologist, Dr. Devoto find out if the Arabidopsis plant has chemicals that might be useful.

The leaves have been treated with a chemical called methyl jasmonate, a compound found in jasmine that is normally produced by the plant under stress.

Once the leaves had emitted all of their hormones, they were incubated with cultures of breast cancer cells to see how this affected their growth.

The study found that the cancer cells stopped growing and the normal cells were not affected.

Professor Devoto said, “I am delighted to have discovered the amazing effects of this humble plant on breast cancer cells.

“It just shows that plants with a non-medical pedigree can also be used for cancer treatment.”

The research co-authors, Dr. Amanda Harvey of Brunel University London, and Professor Nicholas Smirnoff of the University of Exeter say the next step is to find out what the exact compounds of thale cress are killing cancer.