If you are a cancer patient in Israel, your doctor is telling
you to drink fresh lemon grass tea on the days that you go in for radiation or
chemotherapy treatments. Ben Gurion University of the Negev researchers made a
discovery last year that the lemon aroma in herbs like lemon grass kills cancer
cells in vitro, while leaving healthy cells unharmed. In a fascinating article
published in the Health section of Israel21c, it states that the study found the
citral in lemon grass causes cancer cells to commit suicide in a process called
apoptosis, a mechanism called programmed cell death. A drink with as little as
one gram of lemon grass contains enough citral to signal the cancer cells to
commit suicide.
Lemon grass is a
perennial, aromatic tall grass with a light lemon scent used for culinary and
medicinal purposes. For centuries, herbalists have used the herb as an effective
digestive tonic and nervous system relaxant. Lemon grass oil is used to help
clear blemishes and maintain balanced skin tone. Lemon grass is also used as an
insect and mosquito repellent. Now, according to Israeli scientists, they can
add cancer prevention to the list of attributes associated with lemon grass.
It all began when researchers at Ben
Gurion University of the Negev discovered last year that the lemon aroma in
herbs like lemon grass kills cancer cells in vitro, while leaving healthy cells
unharmed.
The research team was led by Dr. Rivka Ofir and Prof. Yakov Weinstein, incumbent
of the Albert Katz Chair in Cell-Differentiation and Malignant Diseases, from
the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at BGU.
Citral is the key component that gives the lemony aroma and taste in several
herbal plants such as lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), melissa (Melissa
officinalis) and verbena (Verbena officinalis.)
According to Ofir, the study found that citral causes cancer cells to "commit
suicide: using apoptosis, a mechanism called programmed cell death." A drink
with as little as one gram of lemon grass contains enough citral to prompt the
cancer cells to commit suicide in the test tube.
The BGU investigators checked the influence of the citral on cancerous cells by
adding them to both cancerous cells and normal cells that were grown in a petri
dish. The quantity added in the concentrate was equivalent to the amount
contained in a cup of regular tea using one gram of lemon herbs in hot water.
While the citral killed the cancerous cells, the normal cells remained unharmed.
The findings were published in the scientific journal Planta Medica,
which highlights research on alternative and herbal remedies. Shortly
afterwards, the discovery was featured in the popular Israeli press.
Why does it work? Nobody knows for certain, but the BGU scientists have a
theory.
"In each cell in our body, there is a genetic program which causes programmed
cell death. When something goes wrong, the cells divide with no control and
become cancer cells. In normal cells, when the cell discovers that the control
system is not operating correctly - for example, when it recognizes that a cell
contains faulty genetic material following cell division - it triggers cell
death," explains Weinstein. "This research may explain the medical benefit of
these herbs."
The success of their research led them to the conclusion that herbs containing
citral may be consumed as a preventative measure against certain cancerous
cells.
As they learned of the BGU findings in the press, many physicians in Israel
began to believe that while the research certainly needed to be explored
further, in the meantime it would be advisable for their patients, who were
looking for any possible tool to fight their condition, to try to harness the
cancer-destroying properties of citral.
That's why Zabidov's farm - the only major grower of fresh lemon grass in Israel
- has become a pilgrimage destination for these patients. Luckily, they found
themselves in sympathetic hands. Zabidov greets visitors with a large kettle of
aromatic lemon grass tea, a plate of cookies, and a supportive attitude.
"My father died of cancer, and my wife's sister died young because of cancer,"
said Zabidov. "So I understand what they are dealing with. And I may not know
anything about medicine, but I'm a good listener. And so they tell me about
their expensive painful treatments and what they've been through. I would never
tell them to stop being treated, but it's great that they are exploring
alternatives and drinking the lemon grass tea as well."
Zabidov knew from a young age that agriculture was his calling. At age 14, he
enrolled in the Kfar Hayarok Agricultural high school. After his army service,
he joined an idealistic group which headed south, in the Arava desert region, to
found a new moshav (agricultural settlement) called Tsofar.
"We were very successful; we raised fruits and vegetables, and," he notes with a
smile, "We raised some very nice children."
On a trip to Europe in the mid-80s, he began to become interested in herbs.
Israel, at the time, was nothing like the trend-conscious cuisine-oriented
country it is today, and the only spices being grown commercially were basics
like parsley, dill, and coriander.
Wandering in the Paris market, looking at the variety of herbs and spices,
Zabidov realized that there was a great export potential in this niche. He
brought samples back home with him, "which was technically illegal," he says
with a guilty smile, to see how they would grow in his desert greenhouses. Soon,
he was growing basil, oregano, tarragon, chives, sage, marjoram and melissa, and
mint just to name a few.
His business began to outgrow his desert facilities, and so he decided to move
north, settling in the moshav of Kfar Yedidya, an hour and a half north of Tel
Aviv. He is now selling "several hundred kilos" of lemon grass per week, and has
signed with a distributor to package and put it in health food stores.
Zabidov has taken it upon himself to learn more about the properties of citral,
and help his customers learn more, and has invited medical experts to his farm
to give lectures about how the citral works and why.
He also felt a responsibility to know what to tell his customers about its use.
"When I realized what was happening, I picked up the phone and called Dr.
Weinstein at Ben-Gurion University, because these people were asking me exactly
the best way to consume the citral. He said to put the loose grass in hot water,
and drink about eight glasses each day."
Zabidov is pleased by the findings, not simply because it means business for his
farm, but because it might influence his own health.
Even before the news of its benefits were demonstrated, he and his family had
been drinking lemon grass in hot water for years, "just because it tastes good."
