Yummy, thorny and cancer killers blackberries are one of the antioxidant super foods. New research demonstrates “for the first time that a purified compound of” blackberry juice inhibits tumors, say the authors cell biologist Min Ding and plant physiologist Shiow Wang researchers at the U.S. Agricultural Research Service.The compound isolated from fresh blackberries cyanidin-3- glucoside (C3G), inhibited tumors from growing and spreading when used in animal test models. The research is published in Journal of Biological Chemistry.
C3G is among a series of plant chemicals called flavonoids?water-soluble plant pigments known for their antioxidative and antimicrobial effects. C3G may one day become a key natural ingredient in new products formulated for their anti- cancer properties.
For the study, the researchers tested mice that had skin tumors. In one group, they found a significant reduction in the number and size of skin tumors among the mice that had been supplemented with C3G, when compared to those that had not been supplemented.
In another experiment with immune-system-suppressed mice, the researchers studied lung cancer cells because of their relatively high tendency to spread to other organs. They found that the purified blackberry compound not only significantly reduced the amount of cancer cell growth in the mice, but also inhibited the spread of the cancer cells to other organs.
In an added bonus, the blackberry juice compound inhibited proliferation of a human lung carcinoma cell line, A549 in test tubes.
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