There’s definitely something about grape seed extract as a cancer-fighter: after proving its worth for 10 years, researchers have discovered in laboratory tests that it kills prostate cancer cells while leaving healthy ones unharmed.
The seed’s active cancer-fighting compound is called B2G2, and researchers at the University of Colorado’s cancer centre have been demonstrating its effectiveness for 10 years. But it was only recently the researchers were able to identify B2G2 and isolate it.
The next stage is to make a compound, but it’s expensive and difficult to isolate it. The other hurdle is getting the approval of America’s drug regulators, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to carry out clinical trials on humans when the researchers are not sure of the mechanisms themselves, and what other effects B2G2 may have.
(Source: Nutrition and Cancer, 2013; 131105125434005)
Image courtesy of Photokanok at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
