The same blue war paint that celts used to decorate their bodies before battle may now be the newest defense for patients fighting cancer! Italian biochemists have discovered that the woad plant (Isatis tinctoria) is unbelievably rich in an anti-cancer agent called glucobrassicin. Previously, broccoli was being examined for this useful compound. However, the woad plant had twenty times the amount of glucobrassicin!

Glucobrassicin is a defense mechanism of the woad plant. When the leaves are crushed or eaten, it releases glucobrassicin which can kill pests. But the exciting part is that the glucobrassicin also kills the tumors that sometimes form on the pant. Glucobrassicin has already proven effective in flushing out carcinogenic chemicals, such as high levels of estrogen. (Think breast cancer). Researchers are working hard to see if they can increase the potency of glucobrassicin in woad plants so that it can be more effective in actually attacking tumors in humans.

Journal of the Science of Agriculture DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.2571.