ABSTRACT
Shark cartilage bone has been used in traditional medicine in many Asian countries for centuries. It is used to treat cancer, particularly for lung cancer. Many of the medical properties of shark cartilage may be attributed to chondroitin. Cartilage collagen in higher vertebrates conforms to Type I collagen. But type I collagen accounts only one third of the total collagen content of shark cartilage. There are two principal activities naturally occurring and attributed to shark cartilage in conventional chemotherapy. They are anti-inflammatory and chondroprotective functions. Shark cartilage by inhibiting angiogenesis also reduces this cartilage -destructive process. In the conventional Chinese medicine shark cartilage is used to treat cancer. The use of shark cartilage or anybody part of the body of shark was based on a belief that sharks do not get attacked by cancer. Oral administration of shark cartilage was found to inhibit bFGF-induced angiogenesis as did oral administration of thalidomide in in vivo model studies on rabbits.
