Petty Spurge (Milkweed, Euphorbia Peplus)

Botanical Classification of Petty Spurge:

• Family: Euphorbiaceae
• Genus: Euphorbia
• Species: Peplus
• Scientific Name: Euphorbia Peplus
• Classified by Linneaus
• Common Names: Petty Spurge, Radium Weed, Cancer Weed and Milkweed/Milk Weed.
• Caution: Milkweed (Euphorbia Peplus) should not be confused with Milkweed (Asclepius).

Distribution:

• Europe
• West Asia
• North Africa
• Invasive: Milkweed is now widespread in North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Properties of Petty Spurge:

• The Sap as a natural mixture:
  • anti-cancer when used externally;
  • poisonous to mammals if taken internally.
• Ingenol-3-angelate by itself:
  • Ingenol-3-angelate is an activator of protein kinase C (PKC) which is a key factor in the treatment of cancer;
  • experiments against leukemia cells have been successful in the laboratory;
  • early clinical trials against Basal Cell Carcinomas have been successful: 2 doses over two days resulted in significant clearance.

Scientific Data on the Latex Sap of Petty Spurge:

• The natural mixture contains: Ingenol-3-angelate as well as a toxic diterpene called 5-deoxyingenol.
• Synonym for Ingenol-3-angelate: Ingenol Mebutate;
• Substance type: Ingenol-3-angelate is a diterpene ester.

The Plant: Petty Spurge

• annual
• grows to 30cm;
• leaves: 1-3cm, oval-acute;
• flowers: yellow-green;
• glands: kidney shaped.

Historical Uses of Petty Spurge Sap:

Quotations from Research Articles on Euphorbia Peplus Extracts

Article 1: Ingenol Mebutate and Actinic Keratosis (pre-cancerous Sun Spot)
"Efficacy was greatest with ingenol mebutate gel, 0.05%, which resulted in complete clinical clearance of 71% of treated lesions ... In addition, 67% of patients treated with ingenol mebutate gel, 0.05% had clinical clearance of at least four of five treated lesions ... Ingenol mebutate gel is being developed as a short-course topical therapy for actinic keratosis and non-melanoma skin cancer."
Source: Australas J Dermatol. 2009 Feb;50(1):16-22.
Title: PEP005 (ingenol mebutate) gel, a novel agent for the treatment of actinic keratosis: results of a randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled, multicentre, phase IIa study.
Author: Siller G, Gebauer K, Welburn P, Katsamas J, Ogbourne SM. Siller Medical Pty Ltd and Dermatology Group, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia.

Article 2: Ingenol-3-angelate and Leukemia
"Ingenol 3-angelate (PEP005) is a selective small molecule activator of protein kinase C (PKC) extracted from the plant Euphorbia peplus, whose sap has been used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of skin conditions including warts and cancer. We report here that PEP005 also has potent antileukemic effects, inducing apoptosis in myeloid leukemia cell lines and primary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells at nanomolar concentrations."
Source: Blood. 2005 Aug 15;106(4):1362-8.
Title: PEP005, a selective small-molecule activator of protein kinase C, has potent antileukemic activity mediated via the delta isoform of PKC.
Author: Hampson P, Chahal H, Khanim F, Hayden R, Mulder A, Assi LK, Bunce CM, Lord JM. MRC Centre for Immune Regulation, Division of Immunity and Infection, The Medical School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom.

Article 3: 3-ingenyl angelate (PEP005) and Melanoma
"Here, we describe the preclinical activity of a novel topical chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of skin cancer, 3-ingenyl angelate (PEP005), a hydrophobic diterpene ester isolated from the plant Euphorbia peplus. Three daily topical applications of ... PEP005 cured a series of s.c. mouse tumors (B16 melanoma, LK2 UV-induced squamous cell carcinoma, and Lewis lung carcinoma; ...) and human tumors (DO4 melanoma, HeLa cervical carcinoma, and PC3 and DU145 prostate carcinoma; ...) previously established ... on mice. ... PEP005 thus emerges as a new topical anti-skin cancer agent ... ultimately resulting in an excellent cosmetic outcome."
Source: Cancer Res. 2004 Apr 15;64(8):2833-9.
Title: Antitumor activity of 3-ingenyl angelate: plasma membrane and mitochondrial disruption and necrotic cell death.
Author: Ogbourne SM, Suhrbier A, Jones B, Cozzi SJ, Boyle GM, Morris M, McAlpine D, Johns J, Scott TM, Sutherland KP, Gardner JM, Le TT, Lenarczyk A, Aylward JH, Parsons PG. Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Melanoma Genomics Group, Brisbane, Australia.

Other natural substances: