It is a maxim that immediately an article is published further research appears. So it was that after writing up the marvels of aspirin, New Scientist reported on a new study into the potent pill’s unexpected anti-cancer action.
When aspirin is taken, it breaks down to form salicylate, the same substance found in willow bark. Researcher Grahame Hardie at the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom told the weekly magazine: “This is an ancient herbal remedy which has probably always been part of the human diet but we’re still finding out how it works.”
Working with his colleague Greg Steinberg of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, he demonstrated how, according to New Scientist, that salicylate activated AMPK, an enzyme involved in cell growth and metabolism that has been shown to play a role in cancer.
However, this research is at laboratory level only and has yet to be confirmed with standard tests with lab mice before it would enter into research on human beings. Self-dosing with aspirin against attack by cancer is highly discouraged.
Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.
