Originally published April 27 2005
Chocolate may hold natural cancer-fighting properties
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Scientists have discovered a chemical in chocolate that has been found to keep cancer cells from dividing, raising hopes that it may someday be used to fight the deadly disease. When the chemical, pentamer, was applied to breast cancer cells, the cells stopped dividing. Even better, four of the cells' proteins were shut down, which is far superior to shutting down the proteins one at a time. However, the study does not show that eating chocolate can fight cancer. It merely shows that one of the substances in chocolate may have cancer-fighting capabilities. However, more research is needed to understand how it works.
- An ingredient found in chocolate could one day be used to prevent cancer, according to a new US study.
- Scientists have discovered that a natural compound found in cocoa has anti-cancer properties that could stop cancer cells dividing.
- Dr Robert Dickson, who led the study at Georgetown University, Washington, said: "There are all kinds of chemicals in the food we eat that potentially have effects on cancer cells, and a natural compound in chocolate may be one.
- "We need to slowly develop evidence about the selectivity of these compounds to cancer, learn how they work, and sort out any issues of toxicity."
- He cautioned that the discovery did not mean eating chocolate could reduce the risk of cancer or treat a current case.
- Researchers studied a purified version of one of their primary natural compounds, pentamer, and its effect on breast cancer cells.
- They found that cancer cells treated with the preparation stopped dividing and that four proteins involved in cell growth were deactivated.
- Dr Dickson said the novelty lay in the fact that several proteins were deactivated simultaneously, producing much better results than when single proteins are targeted individually, as often happens with cancer cells.
- According to the study, published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, that is why the compound appears to work on cancer cells, irrespective of whether individual proteins are affected by the disease.
- Scientists have yet to discover why pentamer stops the cell cycle.
- "We don't know at a fundamental level whether a master switch that triggers cell growth is turned off, or whether the chocolate compound exerts multiple independent effects on diverse cellular processes," said Dr Dickson.
- "That will be the subject of future studies here."
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