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Preliminary researches into bitter melon and pawpaw point to the fact that they may hold the cure for Breast Cancer and several other cancers, experts have said.

Experts looking at the effect of an extract of the exotic bitter melon fruit on Breast Cancer cells found that the extract halted division of the cells and triggered a type of ‘cell suicide’ where the cells make proteins that induce their own death.

The laboratory study that looked at how a concentrated extract of bitter melon affected human Breast Cancer cells in culture as well how exposure to bitter melon extract (BME) affected non-cancerous human cells used two types of human breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. They also examined a non-cancerous human breast cell line known as HMEC cells.

Bitter melon can be called a variety of names including bitter gourd, bitter apple, wild cucumber, bitter cucumber, balsam apple, balsam pear, or leprosy gourd. In Yoruba land, it is called Ejirin wewe. It is called daddagu in Hausa; iliahia in Igala and kakayi in Igbo. In many parts of African and Asian countries, bitter melon, a common food, is used primarily to treat type 2 diabetes, infections and lower blood cholesterol level. It is said to cause a decrease in blood Sugar and insulin levels. It also has high levels of immune-boosting­vitamin C. Decoction of its leaves and fruits is drunk to prevent or treat stomachache, toothache, liver diseases, diabetes and hypertension.

To prepare the bitter melon extract, the researchers liquidised bitter melons in a household juicer and centrifuged the contents to remove any solids, leaving liquid bitter melon extract. This was added to the cells in increasing concentrations, after which cell death was measured.

They did this by either looking at whether the membrane surrounding the cell was undamaged or by looking for markers of a type of programmed cell death called apoptosis. In apoptosis, a stimulus will cause a cell to switch on genes that will cause it to die.

They found that when cell death was measured by looking at cell membrane integrity, 80 per cent of the MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells had died within 48 hours of treatment with two parts BME to 100 parts cell culture medium (the liquid that covers cells in culture and provides their nutrients). At the same BME concentration, the non-cancerous HMEC cells did not die, even after five days.

Based on the study documented in the journal, Cancer Research, they suggested that ingredients of bitter melon affect several proteins involved in controlling cell division and cell death, and that these signaling pathways may have a combined effect to induce breast cancer cell death.

If this could be translated to what happens in human beings, they were of the opinion that bitter melon extract “can be used as a dietary supplement for prevention of breast cancer”.

Although promising as an anti-cancer agent, trials in animals and then humans are still needed. And there is no proof that eating lots of bitter melon would offer any cancer protection. But in the next few months, the team will try the extract on mice­genetically programmed to develop cancer at a certain age. They will be given bitter melon before cancerous cells start to appear to see whether the fruit can stop the disease in animals­predisposed to the illness.

Cancer prevention by the use of naturally occurring dietary substances is considered a practical approach to reduce the ever-increasing incidence of cancer. One of such under consideration for its anti-cancer properties is pawpaw.

A University of Florida researcher had documented pawpaw’s dramatic anticancer effect against a broad range of lab-grown tumors, including cancers of the cervix, breast, liver, lung and pancreas. The researchers using an extract made from dried pawpaw leaves found that it was able to thwarted growth of cancer cells in laboratory tests.

The paper published in the February issue of the Journal of Ethnopharmacology was the first to document for the first time that pawpaw leaf extract boosts the production of a key chemical substance in the body called Th1-type cytokines, which is required for the regulation of the immune system.

Considering the effects of the pawpaw extract on normal cells, they submitted that the fact that it was not toxic can help to avoid this common and devastating consequence of many cancer therapy regimens.

The researchers, which exposed 10 different types of cancer cell cultures to four strengths of pawpaw leaf extract and measured the effect after 24 hours, suggested that the pawpaw checked the growth of cancer cells by slowing the growth of tumors in all the cultures.

For that reason, the study findings raise the possibility of future use of pawpaw extract components in immune-related conditions such as inflammation, autoimmune disease and some cancers.

Similarly, researchers believe that mangoes may equally prevent breast and colon cancers. The new study from Texas AgriLife Research food scientists found it to prevent or stop cancer growth in certain breast and colon cell lines.

The researchers tested mango polyphenol extracts in the laboratory on colon, breast, lung, leukemia and prostate cancers. Polyphenols are natural substances in plants and are associated with a variety of compounds known to promote good health. They found out that mango showed some impact on lung, leukemia and prostate cancers but was most effective on the most common breast and colon cancers.

According to the experts, the content of mango prevents cells that may be on the verge of mutating or being damaged from doing so.

In addition, researchers at the University of Michigan said that spices like turmeric and pepper contain compounds that have the potential to prevent breast cancer by limiting the growth of stem cells, the small number of cells that fuel a tumour’s growth.

The researchers reported in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment found out that when the dietary compounds curcumin, which is derived from the Indian spice turmeric, and piperine, derived from black peppers, were applied to breast cells in culture, they decreased the number of stem cells without affecting normal differentiated cells.