Pomegranates could help in the fight against lung cancer, according to new research.
In a study at the US University of Wisconsin-Madison, pomegranate fruit extract was shown to help stop the growth of new lung cancer.
According to Foodconsumer.org, both normal human bronchial epithelial cells and human lung carcinoma cells in vitro were treated with the extract for 72 hours as part of the study.
Scientists found the cancer cells significantly lost their viability, while the normal cells were not significantly affected.
A further study of athymic nude mice implanted with the carcinoma cells showed that oral administration of the extract significantly inhibited the tumour growth.
Full results of the study will be published in the January 2007 issue of Carcinogenesis.
The website also reported an earlier study at the University of California where scientists found pomegranate juice useful in preventing the return of prostate cancer.
Some 48 men who had been treated for prostate cancer drank eight ounces of pomegranate juice daily until their disease progressed. Every three months, a protein-specific antigen - high levels of which mean a higher risk of prostate cancer - was tested in the men. It took 26 months for the PSA level to double in those who drank pomegranate juice and just 14 in those who did not, according to the study.
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