Scientists are proposing that compounds found in parsley and dill seeds may contain cancer-fighting properties.

A team of Russian scientists conducted experiments focusing on the effects of a compound made from parsley and dill seeds on mitosis, which is the process of cell division enables cancer cells to grow and survive.

Cancer cells divide much more frequently than normal cells and therefore they are more susceptible to the effects of antimitotics, which are substances that combat cell division, thereby inhibiting the growth of tumors.

In particularly, they looked at a potent antimitotic agent called glaziovianin A, which is isolated from the leaves of a particular Brazilian tree Ateleia glazioviana Baill.  The problem is that synthesizing this agent is rather laborious and requires expensive substances that produce the necessary reaction for obtaining the end product, they said.

The researchers proposed a novel and more efficient six-stage synthesis process (the normal process has nine stages) for glaziovianin A. They derived some of these necessary substances to start this process from the seeds of common plants, namely parsley and dill.

They then conducted experiments to confirm the antitumor activity of this synthesis using sea urchin embryos and human cancer cells.

Given the success of these experiments, the team is now proposing to test their synthesis in different ways, including on mice, they say in their study, which appears in the Journal of Natural Products.