Prostate Cancer :: Fruit compound fights prostate cancer in lab

A compound found in fruits like olives, mangoes, strawberries and grapes fights cancer in human and animal cells, shows recent research.

University of Wisconsin researchers reported this summer that lupeol, a triterpene present in the oils and resin of many plants, caused cells from human pancreas tumours to die when tested in the laboratory.

The same team, led by Professor Hasan Mukhtar, has now found that the compound also kills prostate cancer cells from humans injected into mice.

Writing in the 1 December issue of Cancer Research (vol 65, issue 23, pp11203-13), the researchers reported that mice fed with lupeol showed significantly slower growth of cancer tumours and increased death of prostate cancer cells.

“The results of the present study suggest that lupeol may have a potential to be an effective agent against prostate cancer,” concluded the researchers.

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