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We’re busy updating our review of Zyflamend™ and will provide a rating when that’s complete. While we’re working, we share a summary from our predecessor website, Beyond Conventional Cancer Therapies. The information we share here was last updated in November 2020.

Please consider supporting our update and revision to this information.

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Zyflamend

Key Points

  • Before using this therapy, consult your oncology team about interactions with other treatments and therapies. Also make sure this therapy is safe for use with any other medical conditions you may have.
  • Zyflamend is a multicomponent supplement blend taken for inflammation support, for pain and soreness, and for joint function and flexibility.
  • BCCT is interested in Zyflamend’s uses in reducing the risk of or to treat prostate cancer, its symptoms or side effects of disease treatment.
  • Evidence from lab and animal studies indicate it reduces inflammation and levels of enzymes that produce estrogen. It can also cause cell death.
  • It may enhance the cell-killing effects of certain chemotherapy drugs.
  • It generally has mild side effects, including heartburn, but some individuals may be hypersensitive to one or more of the components.
  • Zyflamend should not be used by pregnant or lactating women or in newborn infants.
  • There are no randomized controlled human clinical trials on the efficacy of Zyflamend to treat cancer.

Zyflamend is a supplement blend of 10 herbs taken orally for several purposes:

  • Inflammation support
  • Soothing aches, pain and soreness
  • Supporting joint function and flexibility

Zyflamend is of interest to CancerChoices because it contains a number of herbs that are included in several integrative cancer care protocols for prostate and other cancers. It is also listed and described in the NCI’s PDQ Prostate Cancer, Nutrition, and Dietary Supplements as one of the multicomponent complementary therapies used in preventing and treating prostate cancers.

Treating the Cancer

Working against cancer growth or spread, improving survival, or working with other treatments or therapies to improve their anticancer action

Cinical Evidence

No definitive clinical trials of Zyflamend have been published, but a few small trials show benefits:

  • In a small phase I clinical trial in 2009 of men with HGPIN (a pre-cancerous abnormality of the prostate gland), 780 mg of Zyflamend plus combinations of other dietary supplements were administered three times a day. After 18 months, the majority of patients (60 percent) had only benign tissue at biopsy, and 48 percent of subjects demonstrated a 25 to 50 percent decrease in PSA. The treatment was well tolerated with no serious side effects.2
  • A 2017 review of the impact of several dietary choices and Zyflamend found that Zyflamend showed promise in reducing prostate cancer progression.3
  • A phase 1 clinical tried showed reduced prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a marker of prostate cancer, in about half of patients.4
  • While a 2013 review found that conclusive evidence for the use of complementary medicine in prostate and bladder cancer is lacking—and use also carries risk—the authors considered the 2009 phase I trial described above to be “robust evidence” of “the potential role of Zyflamend as a therapeutic agent.”5

Lab and Animal Evidence

Click or tap to open.

Components of Zyflamend

Zyflamend is a supercritical extraction of herbs using carbon dioxide and cosolvents, which is suspended in olive oil:1

  • Rosemary
  • Turmeric
  • Ginger
  • Holy basil
  • Green tea
  • Hu zhang
  • Chinese goldthread
  • Barberry
  • Oregano
  • Baikal skullcap

Reducing Risk

Clinical Evidence

A 2017 review of the impact of several dietary choices and Zyflamend found that Zyflamend showed promise in reducing prostate cancer risk.11

Optimizing Your Terrain

  • Zyflamend shows anti-inflammatory properties in prostate cancer.12
  • Reduced levels of enzymes that produce estrogen13

 Access

Zyflamend is readily available online and in some stores and pharmacies that sell nutritional supplements. No prescription is required.

New Chapter, the manufacturer of Zyflamend, makes three formulations:

The clinical trial related to prostate cancer used the Zyflamend Whole Body formulation.

Cautions

A few potential minor side effects have been noted, but Zyflamend is generally well-tolerated. The manufacturers recommend taking Zyflamend with food to reduce the risk of heartburn.

People can be hypersensitive to any of the herbs in Zyflamend.

One or more of its herbal constituents may interact with other prescription drugs or other herbs. Check with your pharmacist for herb-drug interactions. Also, before using Zyflamend, consult with your physician. If you are already taking Zyflamend, notify your physician.

European barberry, a component of Zyflamend, should not be used by pregnant or lactating women or in newborn infants, as it can cause kernicterus; several fatalities have been associated with use in these populations.14

Dosing

CancerChoices does not recommend therapies or doses, but only provides information for patients and providers to consider as part of a complete treatment plan. Patients should discuss therapies with their physicians, as contraindications, interactions and side effects must be evaluated. Levels of active ingredients of natural products can vary widely between and even within products. See Quality and Sources of Herbs, Supplements and Other Natural Products.

See these sources for details about dosing and use:

Integrative Programs, Protocols and Medical Systems

For more information about programs and protocols, see our Integrative Programs and Protocols page.

Zyflamend is not yet listed in any of the programs, protocols or systems that BCCT references, although several of its constituent ingredients are used in programs and protocols.

Note: CancerChoices has not conducted an independent review of research of Zyflamend. This summary draws from the National Cancer Institute website, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center About Herbs and other sources as noted.

Non-cancer Uses of Zyflamend

CancerChoices has not reviewed the effectiveness of this therapy for non-cancer uses.

  • Inflammation
  • Pain and soreness
  • Anti-aging

Helpful links

References

  1. National Cancer Institute. Prostate Cancer, Nutrition, and Dietary Supplements (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version. October 20, 2017. Viewed December 28, 2017.
  2. Capodice JL, Gorroochurn P et al. Zyflamend in men with high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia: results of a phase I clinical trial. Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology. 2009 Spring;7(2):43-51.
  3. Lin PH, Aronson W, Freedland SJ. An update of research evidence on nutrition and prostate cancer. Urologic Oncology. 2017 Nov 2. pii: S1078-1439(17)30536-7.
  4. Capodice JL, Gorroochurn P et al. Zyflamend in men with high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia: results of a phase I clinical trial. Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology. 2009 Spring;7(2):43-51.
  5. Philippou Y, Hadjipavlou M, Khan S, Rane A. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in prostate and bladder cancer. BJU International. 2013 Dec;112(8):1073-9.
  6. Sandur SK1, Ahn KS et al. Zyflamend, a polyherbal preparation, inhibits invasion, suppresses osteoclastogenesis, and potentiates apoptosis through down-regulation of NF-kappa B activation and NF-kappa B-regulated gene products. Nutrition and Cancer. 2007;57(1):78-87.
  7. Ekmekcioglu S, Chattopadhyay C et al. Zyflamend mediates therapeutic induction of autophagy to apoptosis in melanoma cells. Nutrition and Cancer. 2011;63(6):940-9.
  8. Yan J, Xie B, Capodice JL, Katz AE. Zyflamend inhibits the expression and function of androgen receptor and acts synergistically with bicalutimide to inhibit prostate cancer cell growth. Prostate. 2012 Feb;72(3):244-52.
  9. Kunnumakkara AB, Sung B et al. Zyflamend suppresses growth and sensitizes human pancreatic tumors to gemcitabine in an orthotopic mouse model through modulation of multiple targets. International Journal of Cancer. 2012 Aug 1;131(3):E292-303.
  10. Xue Y, Yang L et al. Combination chemotherapy with Zyflamend reduced the acquired resistance of bladder cancer cells to cisplatin through inhibiting NFκB signaling pathway. Onco Targets Ther. 2018 Jul 30;11:4413-4429.
  11. Lin PH, Aronson W, Freedland SJ. An update of research evidence on nutrition and prostate cancer. Urologic Oncology. 2017 Nov 2. pii: S1078-1439(17)30536-7.
  12. Bilen MA, Lin SH et al. Maintenance therapy containing metformin and/or Zyflamend for advanced prostate cancer: a case series. Case Reports in Oncological Medicine. 2015;2015:471861.
  13. Subbaramaiah K, Sue E et al. Dietary polyphenols suppress elevated levels of proinflammatory mediators and aromatase in the mammary gland of obese mice. Cancer Prevention Research (Philadelphia). 2013 Sep;6(9):886-97.
  14. TRC Natural Medicines. European Barberry. Viewed November 29, 2017.