TREE WISE MEN INDEED
by Sarah Greenblatt

At least one of the three men who brought gifts to the newborn Jesus was truly wise. Myrrh, a fragrant resin identified in the Bible as one of the three gifts the magi brought to celebrate the birth of Jesus, contains a potent cancer-fighting compound, researchers have found.

The compound, furanosesquiterpenoid, is toxic to cancer cells and could be developed into a powerful treatment, said US cell biologist Mohamed Rafi. After finding that an extract of myrrh killed cancer cells in a laboratory, Dr Rafi and food science professor Chi-Tang Ho identified the substance as the active compound.

Myrrh is the dried resin of a thorn-studded tree that grows in the Middle East and China. Derivatives of myrrh, which neutralises bad breath, appear in toothpaste and mouthwash sold in health food stores.

The findings were published in the latest Journal of Natural Products.
Herald-Sun (Melbourne, Australia) 19th December 2001