For three years scientists from the Technological Institute of Costa Rica (TEC) have been researching the ability of the plant popularly known as “chilillo” (Phyllantus acuminatus) to heal breast cancer.
They seek to develop a natural product that manages to fight this disease. To this end they created a research group headed by the scientists Giovanni Garro, Karol Jiménez and Silvia Castro, from the Biotechnology Research Center of TEC, in collaboration with the pharmaceutical and natural products company Laboratorios Lisan S.A.
The scientists have in vitro techniques to reproduce the plant in the laboratories of the TEC. With the most specialized equipment they tested the effect of plant compounds on cancer cells and the first results were positive.
The compounds of the chilillo plant are killing breast cancer cells,”
said Giovanni Garro, a specialist in plant biotechnology.
The research is developed thanks to the teamwork of the TEC and the pharmaceutical company Laboratorio Lisan, which at this moment collaborates, mainly, with the loan of technological equipment for research.
The research has three stages:
• experiment with cancer cells,
• test in mice
• clinical trial
After the results with the cancer cells, the next step is experimenting with mice. These will be done at Larkin University, in the United States in the coming weeks.
If it’s positive, in a short time we hope to start with the clinical trials; that is to say in human beings,”
this last step is expected to be carried out in 2020, explained Garro.
Once the Technological scientists successfully complete the research, Lisan Pharmaceutical Company would be responsible for marketing the product.
According to data from the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS), about 1,100 women with breast cancer are diagnosed per year.