A plant compound made brain tumor cells weaker in lab tests
Original title: Parthenolide reduces transgelin-2 expression in inhibiting glioblastoma malignancy through activating GSK3β-suppressing CREB signaling.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done in animals, not people. Most findings at this stage never become treatments.
This was only done in cells in a dish and in mice.
The short version
A compound from the feverfew plant slowed glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells in a dish and in mice.
What was studied. Researchers tested parthenolide, a compound from the plant feverfew, on human glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells grown in a dish. They also tested it with temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary, the standard chemo drug, in mice with brain tumors.
What they found. Parthenolide made the tumor cells die. It also made them less able to invade and less stem like. Added to temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary, it made that drug work better in the dish and in the mice. The team traced the effect to lower levels of a protein called transgelin-2. High levels of that protein were linked to poorer survival in people with glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells. Those are the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4. The grade says how the tumor is expected to act. See the glossary.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This points to a possible new way to attack glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary and to help chemo work harder. For now it is a lead for scientists, not a treatment option. Nothing here changes the care you get today.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean feverfew or any supplement treats brain tumors. The work was done in cells in a dish and in mice, not in people. Results in mice often do not hold up in humans. No one has shown this is safe or helpful for patients. This is not a cure, and it is many years away from everyday care, if it gets there at all. Do not take feverfew or any supplement without asking your care team first.
Source: PubMed, October 26, 2026 · Read the original
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