The combination of two plant compounds that have medicinal properties - curcumin and silymarin - holds promise in treating colon cancer, researchers from Saint Louis University in the US said.
Curcumin is the active ingredient in the spice turmeric, which is present in spicy curry dishes, and silymarin is a component of milk thistle, which has been used to treat liver disease, they said.
Researchers studied a line of colon cancer cells in a laboratory model. They found treating the cells initially with curcumin, then with silymarin was more effective in fighting cancer than treating the cells with either phytochemical alone.
"Phytochemicals may offer alternate therapeutic approaches to cancer treatments and avoid toxicity problems and side effects that chemotherapy can cause," he said.
Ezekiel saw promise in using the phytochemicals to help prevent colon cancer, which frequently is caused by lifestyle factors, such as diet.
"Concentrations of curcumin and silymarin that are too high could be harmful to people. We still have much to learn, and for now, it is so much safer to add a little spice to your diet and get your curcumin from foods that contain turmeric, such as curry, rather than taking high doses of the compound," he said.