Andean tara plant extract selectively kills mouse colon cancer cells

Scientists tested a purified extract from the pods of Caesalpinia spinosa, a South American tree sometimes called tara, against colon cancer cells grown in lab dishes. In mouse cancer cells, the extract made cells self-destruct by flooding them with reactive molecules and switching on their internal death machinery, but it left two human colon cancer cell lines largely unharmed under the same conditions. The researchers say this is early-stage evidence and more work is needed to understand exactly how the extract works and whether it could help as a gentler alternative or add-on to existing chemotherapy drugs.