PhysOrg reported today that a team of scientists working in the United States and Japan has discovered that an extract made from dried papaya leaves can slow the growth of tumours in 10 different types of cancer cells, including cancers of the cervix, breast, liver, lung and pancreas.
Unlike typical cancer treatments, which affect non-cancerous as well as cancerous cells, the papaya extract did not have any toxic effect on normal cells. One of the researchers, Dr. Nam Dang, from the University of Florida, suggests this is “consistent with reports from indigenous populations in Australia and his native Vietnam.”
The researchers also studied the effect of papaya extract on anti-tumour molecules called cytokines and the extract was shown to boost the production of cytokines important in the regulation of the immune system. The researchers suggest that this finding “raises the possibility of future use of papaya extract components in immune-related conditions such as inflammation, autoimmune disease and some cancers.”
The study didn’t identify the specific compounds responsible for the anti-tumour activity; however, Dang and one of his colleagues have applied to patent the process they used to distil the papaya extract, and plan to try to isolate the compounds that are active against the cancer cells. [PhysOrg]
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