Corilla cancer research coming along well – Dr Cummings

The bitter-tasting vegetable, Corilla which is a popular Guyanese dish could become the leading fighter against cancer, as it is showing good prospects under laboratory experiments.

According to scientist, Dr Emmanuel Cummings, while there are high hopes of success, it is much too early to determine the outcome. “The research is a good opportunity for us to investigate some of the natural remedies and we are particularly looking at cancer because according to the data in Guyana; several Amerindian communities in Guyana, cancer is a major cause of death, but this is just the preliminary stage; the experimental stage, and this will be lasting for 18 months,” the researcher said.

He noted that he will be making a disclosure on the findings and progress between October and November of this year. “The investigative process will entail the growing of a variety of cancer cells including that of the breast, brain and prostate, and then testing these with known anti-cancer drugs that are well established and accepted. The effectiveness of these drugs will then be compared to the anti-cancer properties of the Momordica Charantia [Corilla]. This will be after we would have isolated and purified the active ingredient so that we can compare its effect on cancer cells in relation to other known anti-cancer drugs,” he said.

The local scientist had in April last year, received a US$329,000 academic grant which falls under the University of Guyana Science and Technology Support Project (UGSTSP), to examine the Momordica Charantia, which is popularly known as Corilla in Guyana , to ascertain its capability in combating cancer.

The UGSTSP is being fuelled by a US$10 million loan from the World Bank to the Government of Guyana. It is being executed by the Education Ministry and is intended to encourage the generation of knowledge products which will directly contribute to Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and support the development of a broader research and knowledge generation.

Dr Cummings, who formerly held the position of Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Guyana (UG), noted that the focus on cancer is crucial, since it is currently the third leading cause of death in Guyana. He has already done a number of research projects on Corilla and has been able to establish the notion that Corilla has anti-diabetic properties. It is slowly being recognised as having anti-cancer properties as well.

The research is currently being carried out at the University of Central Lancashire in England with Dr Cummings as the principal investigator. A young lecturer, Karishma Jebu, who heads the Pharmacy Department at UG, will be acting in the capacity as co-investigator.

The external collaborator to the investigation is Professor Jaipaul Singh of the University of Central Lancashire, who has agreed to have the investigations conducted in his laboratory. Dr Cummings expressed that he has high expectations from the project.

“We are hoping that this project will give us the opportunity to research the Momordica Charantia to look at its anti-cancer properties and hopefully, Guyana, the University of Guyana can come up with an anti-cancer drug that can also be accepted in conventional medicine. We are in for the long haul; this is not just an experiment we are doing and then close the book. We are looking to have it patented and then move on to clinical trials and then eventually accepted”, said an optimistic Dr Cummings.

The experimental aspect of the project is expected to be completed by February 2016.