What is Star Anise?

Star Anise for Cancer Prevention

A recent study suggests that star anise may have anti-cancer activity.

Researchers from Devi Ahilya University in Madhya Pradesh, India assessed star anise (Illicium verum), which is a commonly used condiment in Indian cuisine, for its anti-carcinogenic potential in N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) initiated and phenobarbital (PB) promoted hepato-carcinogenesis (liver cancer).

The generation of free radicals is a cause of many pathological conditions such as diabetes, cancer, stroke, etc. Free radicals cause damage to cellular DNA and initiate carcinogenesis (cancer). Free radicals also bring about proliferation of cells via cell signaling. An inverse relationship between the consumption of vegetable diets and the risk of cancer has been established

The results showed that the treatment with NDEA increased liver weight, while star anise treatment reduced the liver weight of rats. The treatment with star anise throughout for 20 weeks or during the promotion stage (6-20 weeks) significantly reduced the nodule incidence and nodule multiplicity in the rats, while the treatment with star anise at the initiation phase (first four weeks) only could not reduce these parameters.

Researchers also found that the treatment with star for 20 consecutive weeks significantly reduced the nodule size and nodule volume. The treatment with star anise throughout as well as at the promotion stage lowered the lipid peroxidation (LPO) in liver and erythrocytes, while the LPO was not lowered, when star anise was administered during initiation stage only.

The study concluded that these results indicate that the treatment with star anise reduces the tumor burden, lowers oxidative stress and increases the level of phase II enzymes, which may contribute to its anti-carcinogenic potential.

References

Yadav AS, Bhatnagar D. Chemo-preventive effect of Star anise in N-nitrosodiethylamine initiated and phenobarbital promoted hepato-carcinogenesis. Chem Biol Interact. 2007 Sep 20;169(3):207-14. View Abstract.
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