Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: A new plant species found in Assam could hold the key to future cancer treatments. Birina Bhuyan, an Assistant Professor at Girijananda Chowdhury University, and Guwahati botanist Selim Mehmud identified the herb near Satargaon Road in the Kamrup Metropolitan district. They published their findings in the journal Phytotaxa.
The plant, named Ophiorrhiza assamensis, belongs to the coffee family. It is a small perennial herb featuring ribbed leaves and clusters of white flowers. The genus is a known source of camptothecin, a compound used to develop medicines for colon cancer. Despite this potential, the plant faces a grim future. It lives in a small, isolated area currently threatened by deforestation and development.
The discoverers are worried. They have urged officials to protect the species and its home. They officially recommend an IUCN status of Data Deficient for the herb. "The newly identified species may already face a high risk of habitat loss," the researchers noted. Their work underscores the urgent need to study and save rare plant life across the state.
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