Since before recorded history, man has used plant extracts to treat everything from headaches to intestinal disorders.
Even now, countless medicines – treating conditions from dry skin to cancer – contain active ingredients derived from plants.
Alkaloids, discovered in Catharanthus roseus, also known as the Madagascar periwinkle, are used to treat various forms of leukaemia. Vincristine, the compound extracted from this plant, is credited with improving survival rates among children with the condition.
Now, scientists in Al Ain have discovered a new plant-derived substance that they hope could become an addition to the anti-cancer armoury.
In a paper recently published in the journal PLoS One and reported on in The National last week, they found that an extract from the herb marjoram (Origanum majorana), was effective in killing breast cancer cells in the laboratory.
The study used a line of cells from what is known as “triple negative” breast cancer. In these types of breast cancers, which account for about a fifth of all diagnoses, the cancer cells do not express genes for certain types of hormone receptors and other substances.
They can be particularly aggressive, and the hormone therapies used for other types of breast cancer often do not work because of a lack of proper receptors, making them hard to treat. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are still effective, though.
The UAE University researchers applied increasing concentrations of the extract for varying time periods and found that it could stop colonies of the breast cancer cells from growing by inhibiting cell division.
Much of the work was carried out by Yusra Al Dhaheri, an Emirati born and raised in the city who is studying for her doctorate at UAEU after completing her bachelor’s and master’s degrees there.
“We tested whether the cells were dying by observing, taking pictures and using chemical tests. We ended up with a graph of the percentage viability [of cells] against concentration,” she said.
At high concentrations in particular, the drug caused “massive” apoptosis – a type of programmed cell death sometimes described as cell suicide – by activating a substance known as tumour necrosis factor.
That graph clearly shows how effective the extracts were at destroying the cancer cells, with fewer than 10 per cent of them remaining alive 48 hours after being exposed to high concentrations of marjoram extract.
“This extract definitely shows promise, not only against breast cancer, but also against other types of cancer,” said Dr Rabah Iratni, the associate professor of biology at UAEU who headed the research team.
The next step for the team is to find out exactly which chemicals in the extract are causing this dramatic effect.
“We know these have anti-cancer effects, but we need to purify these from Origanum,” said Ms Al Dhaheri.
Scientists at UAEU’s chemistry department are now at work doing this purification. But financial issues could get in the way.
“This step is time and money-consuming and my research funds are limited for the time being. I hope in the near future to get more funds to carry this on and to characterise the anti-cancer compound or compounds in the extract,” said Dr Iratni.
In unpublished research, the team found that the marjoram extract can also treat other types of cancer.
Many other research projects around the world are trying to identify plant extracts that could be used to target cancer cells.
The effectiveness of plant extracts in a wide variety of medicines is often highlighted by conservationists who argue that the loss of biodiversity could lead to potential future treatments being lost for ever
Last year, researchers at Aston University in the United Kingdom reported that extracts from a plant commonly found in Pakistan, Fagonia cretica, could kill breast cancer cells without harming normal cells.
Like the scientists in Al Ain, they are now trying to discover which substances from the plant, which is used to make herbal tea, are the ones that kill the cancer cells, with a goal of ultimately trialing them as potential treatments.
Still, any lab results need to be treated with caution, as they do not always translate into an effective treatment.
That has been the case with European mistletoe, for example. Experiments indicated it might be effective in combating cancer, but the American Cancer Society has reported that these findings have not been translated into results in clinical trials, with no clear evidence as yet that the lives of cancer patients can be prolonged.
Instead, a German regulatory agency has approved the use of extracts from European mistletoe, administered by injection, for alleviating cancer symptoms.
The issue of laboratory results not always being reliable indicators of clinical effectiveness is one that Dr Emma Smith, a senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK, emphasises when considering the UAEU study.
“This early research, which suggests that extracts from the herb marjoram may stop the growth of certain types of breast cancer cells, was only carried out on cells grown in a laboratory,” she said. “This means there’s no evidence yet that it would be safe or effective as a treatment.”
The results also do not indicate, she added, that eating large amounts of marjoram could reduce the risk of developing breast cancer or could be beneficial to people with the condition.
Dr Iratni acknowledged the research was still at “the beginning of the road”, but he is hopeful that ultimately it could lead to better treatments.
“Further investigations are needed to fully characterise the extract before taking it to further steps for use on patients with cancer,” he said. “To be realistic, we are still years away from that.
“However, my lab is putting countless time and effort towards achieving this goal.”
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
RACE SCHEDULE
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm
Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm
Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
