Photo by: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News
Michael Wargovich, a professor of molecular medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center, displays a small bag of mixed plant life remedies as he talks about his research on foods that inhibit cancer. Wargovich is studying foods with anti-inflammatory properties, including fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs.

Story by Jennifer R. Lloyd, San Antonio Express-News

Twigs, leaves and berries may sound like the diet of the destitute, but for molecular medicine professor Michael Wargovich, certain plants — like those in traditional medicines and food in developing countries — could be gold mines in the fight against cancer.

In his newly outfitted lab at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Wargovich and his staff are testing the cancer-preventing properties of green tea. They’ll also soon start investigating the anti-inflammatory abilities of the neem tree, native to India , and which already is used in some toothpastes available in the United States.

Wargovich, 60, cited World Health Organization statistics showing that the hot spots for cancer will move south of the equator by 2020 as the population swells and its residents, immunized from many infectious diseases, live longer and assume a more Western lifestyle.

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