Black raspberries shown to be highly effective in preventing cancer

Friday, May 11, 2007 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: black raspberries, health news, Natural News

A new study conducted by Ohio State University researchers has documented the power of black raspberries to prevent the development of tumors in the esophagus and colon. The study's findings were presented at the March 2007 national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Gary Stoner, Ph.D., a professor of internal medicine at Ohio State University, led the study. Stoner and his co-workers prepared a powdered, freeze-dried extract from black raspberries then gauged its effect on rats that had been exposed to a cancer-causing substance. The research team measured the prevalence of malignant tumors. Compared to a control group, the rats fed black raspberry extract showed a 60 percent reduction in tumors of the esophagus and up to an 80 percent reduction in colon tumors.

"That's a much higher reduction than I thought we'd see," Stoner said, "This suggests that berries bind up a good portion of free radicals, preventing them from causing damage in the body."

Black raspberries are rich in vitamins A, C, E, and folic acid and contain the minerals selenium, zinc, and calcium. In addition, black raspberries have a higher content of anthocyanins than most other berry types, as well as phenols, such as ellagic, coumaric and ferulic acid. All of these substances are recognized as "chemopreventive agents," Stoner said.

"We do know from epidemiologic studies that vegetable and fruit consumption is protective against cancer and, from our work, we would suggest that berries be one of those helpings, at least two or three times a week," said Stoner.

Clinical trials are underway to examine the potential of black raspberries to prevent esophageal and colon cancer in humans. Stoner and his team have begun analyzing the effects of the fruit in people with Barrett's esophagus (a condition of the esophagus that increases risk of esophageal cancer) and precancerous colon polyps. Preliminary results show the berries are well tolerated at doses similar to those used in animals.