*Extracts of the medicinal plants Pao pereira and Rauwolfia vomitoria inhibit ovarian cancer stem cells in vitro

Cancer stem cells are a type of stem cell specific to cancer, that is able to reproduce through self-renewal and regeneration into new tumor cells. Cancer stem cells are thought to survive chemotherapy treatments and provide the basis for tumor regrowth. It is critical to find treatments for cancer stem cells to prevent this disease from resurfacing in a person again and again. Research conducted at Kansas University Medical Center concluded that both the Pao pereira (Pau pereira) and Rauwolfia vomitoria extracts inhibited the proliferation of multiple human ovarian cancer cell lines in vitro.