Chamomile Has a Life-Saving Secret

Dear Pharmacist:
Recently, you wrote about the medicinal action of herbal teas, and got my attention. I have serious health concerns like diabetes, hypertension, pancreatitis and insomnia. --J.Y., Gainesville, Fla.

As far as tea goes, chamomile is perfect. I’ve emailed you a free copy of my ebook “Understanding Pancreatitis & Pancreatic Cancer.” Researchers report that drinking chamomile tea daily helps prevent complications of diabetes, such as loss of vision, nerve damage, and kidney damage. This speaks to the ability of chamomile to sqaush free radical damage in the body, which is excellent. This is exactly what you want to do if you have pancreatitis too! After reading a study about chamomile’s benefits to those with diabetes, I theorized that it must have other benefits for the pancreas. Lo and behold, I found numerous studies discussing “apigenin” and it’s ability to inhibits growth of pancreatic cancer cells through various mechanisms. Apigenin is a citrus bioflavonoid compound found in chamomile (and other fruits/vegetables including grapefruit) that gives it a yellow color, and as well as that familiar sedative effect. And apigenin appears to inhibit pancreatic cancer!

Apigenin, found in chamomile suppresses pancreatic cancer growth through suppression of “cyclin B-associated cdc2 activity” and “G2/M arrest,” according to the study published in Molecular Cancer December 2006. The researchers conclude that apigenin may “be a valuable drug for the treatment or prevention of pancreatic cancer.” A few years later, in Pancreas (May 2009), scientists published findings about apigenin again, this time to conclude that it improved the action of gemcitabine, a drug used to treat pancreatic cancer. Their results found that (apigenin in combination with gemcitabine) inhibited pancreatic cancer cell growth more than either agent alone! It was dose-dependent too, the more apigenin, the better the effect. Apigenin was shown in a 2008 study in the journal, Pancreas, to decreases glucose uptake in pancreatic cells (you might say it starved them to death). It’s what we call a flavonoid, and it happens to be a strong anti-inflammatory. Other studies have found this compound to possess ability in inhibiting several cancer lines, including breast, colon, thyroid, skin and leukemia.

To spare confusion, apigenin is a compound found in chamomile, it’s not a drug. You can get apigenin by purchasing it as a stand-alone supplement called “apigenin” online or at a health food store. Another way is to drink chamomile, or take dietary supplements of chamomile.

There are very few warnings associated with the lovely centuries-old flower, but being a natural sedative, chamomile could enhance the effect of prescribed tranquilizers, anti-anxiety medications and prescribed sleepers (alprazolam, diazepam, zolpidem) or dietary supplements/herbs such as kava kava, passionflower, GABA. High dose supplementation could potentiate and enhance the effect of anti-seizure medications (necessitating the need to lower drug dosage). Teas are weaker than supplements, make your own by steeping one tablespoon of chamomile herb in hot water for 15 minutes.

This information is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure your disease. Suzy Cohen is a registered pharmacist. To ask her a question or to learn more about your health, visit DearPharmacist.com.