Scientists from Nizhny Novgorod have made a unique discovery – a new source has been found for obtaining anticancer drugs. And he is in the most beautiful of flowers – the orchid.
Specialists from the University of NNSU named after Lobachevsky proved that in the tubers of the northern orchid there are substances such as lupeol and squalene, which can cure cancer patients. The head of the laboratory of innovative technologies for the production of plants in the Botanical Garden of the UNN named after N.N. Lobachevsky Lavr Kryukov.
“It is too early to say what a breakthrough our scientists have made,” said the young scientist. – At the moment, we have only carried out a qualitative analysis, which revealed valuable substances. Now we need to carry out a series of analyzes that will show quantitative characteristics. If we identify a sufficiently large amount of useful substances, then we can already talk about a real discovery.
We have been working on a technology for growing a medicinal orchid species. Our discovery lies in the fact that we have developed the most effective technology with which we can propagate this type of plant. And the fact that we first discovered squalene and lupeol in these orchids is the result of a developed technology.
Lavr Kryukov hopes that the new discovery will make a breakthrough in medicine
Of course, I want to believe that these plants can potentially help people. But I am not a doctor and I cannot give a definite answer. Based on the data of foreign colleagues, I can say that lupeol has antitumor activity, squalene prevents oxygen deficiency and oxidative damage to cells, which are the main causes of aging in the body, as well as the emergence and development of tumors.
If a drug based on orchids is introduced into large-scale production, this will happen in 10-15 years, not earlier. In the meantime, we are focusing on using these plants as an additive to food, using them for prophylaxis, in order to prevent the development of oncological diseases. “
