Dr Debra L. Bemis of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, seems to be promoting an herbal mix called Zyflamend on the basis of lab tests even while she is running a Phase I trial of the same commercial product.

Bemis’s press release about her preclinical study of Zyflamend has created a lot of buzz (Google calculates 598 references). Some media (like the UK Daily Mail) are touting Zyflamend with the headline “Olive Oil Pill Can Cut Prostate Cancer Risk.” The study was published this month in Nutrition and Cancer 52(2):202-12. Zyflamend, a unique herbal preparation with nonselective COX inhibitory activity, induces apoptosis of prostate cancer cells that lack COX-2 expression.

Bemis’s lab found that Zyflamend “suppresses the growth of prostate cancer cells and induces prostate cancer cells to self-destruct.” She says Zyflamend “in culture at least,” had the ability “to reduce prostate cancer cell growth by as much as 78 per cent.”

“Together, these results suggest that Zyflamend might have some chemopreventive utility against prostate cancer in men,” Bemis says.

In the laboratory, Bemis and colleagues claim, treatment of prostate cancer cells with Zyflamend “dramatically decreased COX-1 and COX-2 enzyme activity and attenuated cancer cell growth.” But she qualifies this, concluding that “our data suggests that the effects are likely due to COX-independent mechanisms potentially involving enhanced expression of p21 and reduced expression of AR, pStat3, and pPKC(alpha/beta).”

How do you tell if a product is potentially enhancing expression of p21 — as well as potentially reducing expression of the androgen receptor (AR), pStat3, and pPKC(alpha/beta)?

Bemis said “We are currently conducting a Phase I clinical trial for men with pre-cancerous lesion of the prostate, prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, to gain some information as to Zyflamend’s potential to prevent or slow … progression to prostate cancer.”

Vitamin Trader has some inside scoop from Dr. Bemis’s boss, Aaron Katz MD. “Dr. Katz chose Zyflamend for a clinical trial because of the scientific evidence that many cancers, including those of the prostate, have been shown to be caused or fueled by excessive inflammation. Research at Columbia University and other institutions demonstrate that Zyflamend promotes an appropriate but not excessive inflammation response. The herbs in Zyflamend have long been safely used in traditional medical systems and are extracted in a way to assure consistent quality at the highest standards,” Vitamin Trader says.

Paul Schulick, CEO and founder and Tom Newmark, President of New Chapter hold a patent for Zyflamend (or a product containing the same herbs). In this patent they describe their product as an alternative to NSAIDS for treating arthritis and similar inflammatory conditions involving bones. The patent title is “Anti-Inflammatory herbal composition and method of use.”

Dr. Bemis has done preclinical research on the Rauwolfia vomitoria extract found in Natural Source’s Rovol V® and Prostabel® products. Prostabel® is another subject of an ongoing clinical trial at Columbia University’s Department of Urology under the direction of Dr. Aaron Katz.

Debra Bemis, Ph.D. joined The Center for Holistic Urology at Columbia in 2002. Dr. Bemis completed her Ph.D. in 1998 at the University of California, Santa Barbara in Biological Sciences (Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology). Her thesis work focused on polyunsaturated metabolism and concomitant eicosanoid biosynthesis in the choloroplasts of the tropical green algae, Anadyomene stellata. This work involved the identification and characterization of a variety of unique polyunsaturated fatty acid structures and their biosynthetic pathways. Additionally, she was extensively involved in the screening activities of the laboratory towards the discovery of novel marine natural products with anti-inflammatory activity. Following completion of her Ph.D., she conducted her post doctoral work from 11/98 through 4/01 in the Department of Pharmacology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY. Her projects during this time focused on the roles of faulty retinoid metabolism and retinoic acid receptor expression in cancer. During the past 10 months, she gained experience in an industrial setting while conducting skin care research at Avon Products, Inc. During her stay there, she developed and initiated a marine natural products program to bring in novel marine extracts and purified structures for analysis of biological activity beneficial to a variety of skin conditions.