When I lived in Arizona, we had a gorgeous flowering plant at our house. It grew to about 6 foot tall, about 5-6 foot across and had gorgeous large tropical looking flowers. A number of homes in the Arizona also had the same ornamental shrub with different colors ranging from red to pink to white to orange and all shades in between.

The shrub is known as the Chinese Hibiscus, scientific name of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. This common decorative shrub is native to tropical parts of Asia and China, but has become a common garden favorite across the southern US where winter temperatures don’t get nearly as cold. For many years, the hibiscus flower has adorned the hair of tropical beauties in photos and movies.

Who would have suspected that this tropical flower would contain what looks like a cure to one of the most devastating forms of cancer for millions of women? Fortunately, researchers in Canada appear to have discovered this miraculous property of the tropical flower:

Researchers from the University of Windsor in Canada revealed that the extracts from the Chinese hibiscus flower (Hibiscus rosa-sinesis) have potent anti-cancer properties. The study, published in BMC Contemporary and Alternative Medicine, found that the extracts not only induce cell death in breast cancer cells – it does so without harming non-cancerous cells. The team also noted in the study that using hibiscus extract as an adjuvant can increase the effectiveness of conventional drug therapy for cancer. In addition, it also reduced the number of drugs needed for each session – which decreased the risk of toxic side effects in patients…

Traditional healers often use Chinese hibiscus to treat health disorders. Studies have shown that the flower’s extract possessed antioxidant and lipid-lowering properties. Earlier studies have found that the extract had considerable anti-cancer activity. A 2015 study by National Defense Medical Center researchers showed that a related species inhibited triple-negative breast cancer with few toxic side effects.

For this study, researchers investigated the efficacy of Chinese hibiscus on breast cancer cells. They extracted a water-based solution from powdered hibiscus flowers. Afterward, the team applied different amounts of the hibiscus extract to healthy cells and two types of cancerous cells.

The experimental results showed that the hibiscus flower extract induced cell death in both triple-negative and estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer cells. It did so selectively, targeting cancerous cells for destruction while leaving non-cancerous cells alone.

Next, the UWindsor researchers learned that adding hibiscus extract to drugs improved the latter’s activation of apoptosis in breast cancer cells. Both cisplatin and taxol benefited from the presence of the extract as an adjuvant compared to drug-only treatment…

The researchers concluded that an extract from Chinese hibiscus flowers achieved selective apoptosis against breast cancer cells while avoiding healthy cells. In particular, it displayed effectiveness against triple-negative breast cancer.

If used as an adjuvant alongside drug therapy, hibiscus extract would make it possible to use lower doses of drugs. Reducing the dosage decreases the toxic effects without reducing the ability to kill cancer cells.

Hopefully, further testing will prove the beautiful hibiscus has the ability to cure the ugly disease of breast cancer in millions of women. And to think, the source of these flowers is limitless.