Weeds growing in wastelands usually miss our attention. Here’s one such weed that has proved to be a potent cure for liver cancer.

This weed known as Manithakkali in Malayalam has been proved by scientists from four major institutes as having a remarkable efficacy in treating liver cancer. It has been reported that a compound called Solanum nigrum, derived from the leaves of this plant is the agent that is known to fight liver cancer.

Continuous evaluation has found that this compound is 10 times more effective than Sorafenib, which is the drug that is used currently for treating hepatocellular carcinoma. These finding have been published in a journal of the Nature group.

This plant also known as Black nightshade is widely used in traditional medicine for various ailments such as inflammation, jaundice, bronchitis, asthma, leprosy and skin disorders.

The plant was found to be a rich source of anticancer molecules which does not have any noticeable side-effects. The research was conducted by a team of scientists from Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, and the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune.