Flower power may stop prostate cancer cells growing

Experts at the University of Goettingen said that a substance from the root of a flower may help treat prostate cancer,

According to Germany’s cancer-science council, laboratory tests, tectorigenin, obtained from roots of Belamcanda chinensis, stopped cancer cells growing and in animal tests it had slowed the spread of the cancer. Experts say it might also be possible to use the substance as preventive medicine to stop men developing the cancer in the first place.

The lily-like flowers of Belamcanda chinensis are grown in temperate-region gardens as a perennial. In China, it grows wild. The plant is used in Korean and Chinese medicine.