Originally published October 3 2005
Experimental lab discovers pomegranate juice may help fight prostate cancer
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
At the University of Wisconsin, a series of trials involving the medicinal properties of pomegranate juice has turned up a potential use, in addition to its effects on breast cancer and tumors: The juice could fight prostate cancer, according to preliminary tests.
Much of the recent focus has been on heart health properties but already by 2001, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology had reported that pomegranate seed oil triggered apoptosis in breast cancer cells.
University of Wisconsin researchers have also shown that the antioxidant-rich pomegranate is effective against tumours in mouse skin.
In the new trial, a team from the same institute found that an extract of the fruit had a dose-dependant effect on human prostate cancer cells cultured in laboratory dishes.
Dr Hasan Mukhtar and his colleagues note in yesterday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition that pomegranates are high in polyphenolic compounds, making its juice higher in antioxidant activity than red wine and green tea.
A control group received normal drinking water, while animals in second and third groups had their drinking water supplemented with 0.1 per cent and 0.2 per cent pomegranate extract respectively.
The study showed that mice receiving the higher concentration of pomegranate extract had significant slowing of their cancer progression and a decrease in the levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a marker used to indicate the presence of prostate cancer in humans.
"There is good reason now to test this fruit in humans - both for cancer prevention and for treatment," he added.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men after lung cancer, and accounted for 15 per cent of cancers in men in the European Union during 2004 and 238,000 new cases, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
Although the fruit needs to be assessed for its potential to prevent cancer in humans, recent figures from retailers in the UK suggest that pomegranate juice is already becoming popular.
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