Originally published May 8 2005
Ingredient in chocolate may become part of cancer treatment
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Georgetown University scientists say they have discovered how an ingredient in chocolate can help destroy cancer cells. The researchers say there is much more study to be done, but that the discovery could lead to a new cancer treatment eventually. They are careful to point out, however, that their research does not indicate that eating chocolate will reduce the risk of developing cancer. The study was funded by the large chocolate maker, Mars.
- The study, published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics and funded by Mars Incorporated, explains how pentameric procyanidin (pentamer), a compound found in cocoa, deactivates a number of proteins that appear to work in concert to push a cancer cell to continually divide.
- These antioxidants may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals, which are thought to contribute to both heart disease and cancer development.
- The primary family of flavonoids contributing to the antioxidant benefit in chocolate is the procyanidins, and of the various types of procyanidins, pentamer seem to be strongest, according to a number of studies.
- "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," said the lead author, Dr Robert Dickson, professor of oncology at Georgetown University.
- "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."
- Chocolate, like many other foods, is the source of many possible anticancer compounds, but Dickson has stressed that this research, which is part of a series of studies conducted at Georgetown on the chocolate-cancer connection, does not mean that people who eat chocolate will either reduce their cancer risks or treat a current case.
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