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Abstract

Nature provides a rich source of potential medicinal agents that throughout history people have used to treat various maladies. Scientists have now begun to search systematically for pharmaceutical uses of natural extracts. Flaxseed, recently noted for its high content of omega-3 fatty acid, also contains the anti-oxidant lingnan. In search of a treatment that will increase the therapeutic window of radiation therapy for lung cancer patients, Lee and colleagues looked at whether flaxseed might decrease radiation damage to lungs. On the cover of this month’s issue of Cancer Biology & Therapy, the authors look at collagen deposition (using Mason’s trichromblue) in mouse lungs 4 months after irradiation. To see the benefit provided by flaxseed, see the article by Lee and colleagues.