Phytochemical & Clinical Evaluation of Natural Health Products Against Cancer
Substantial research has been implemented to delineate the efficacy, mechanism of action and identification of the medicinal components of natural extracts for clinical use, especially in the field of cancer. This project is aimed at identifying all biologically active components of dandelion root extract (DRE), a natural health product (NHP) that has shown potential as an anticancer agent. The identification of these components will enable the development of quality control standards for DRE. The successful development of quality controls, along with the previous findings, has allowed the introduction of other potentially effective NHPs against cancer. Along with quality control studies, the effectiveness of DRE in clinical settings will be evaluated by efficacy and gene expression analysis of patient blood samples, to identify patients that would benefit from this mode of treatment. If this project succeeds, it will demonstrate the chemical basis of the effect of DRE and potentially provide AOR with new intellectual property resulting in new product opportunities, while potentially improving the quality of life of cancer patients.