Oregano Compound Kills Prostate Cancer Cells

The common Italian herb oregano contains carvacrol, a compound for which previous studies have suggested anti-proliferative effects on various human cancer cell lines, such as breast cancer, hepatoma, leukemia, non-small cell lung cancer, and cervical cancer. Supriya A. Bavadekar, from Long Island University (New York, USA, and colleagues have observed that carvacrol induces cell death among prostate cancer cells (specifically, the human prostate cancer cell line, LNCaP). Study authors report that: “This is the first study that has identified the anti-proliferative effects of carvacrol in prostate cancer cells, and results suggest that the compound may be valuable as a potential therapeutic agent for prostate cancer.”