(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The common dietary supplement bitter melon may be a
powerful weapon in the fight against breast cancer.
In vitro research now shows extract of bitter melon -- commonly used in folk
medicine as a remedy for diabetes -- may eventually serve as a chemopreventive
against breast cancer.
"Our findings suggest that bitter melon extract modulates several signal
transduction pathways, which induces breast cancer cell death," lead researcher
Ratna B. Ray, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pathology at Saint Louis
University in St. Louis, Mo., was quoted as saying. "This extract can be
utilized as a dietary supplement for the prevention of breast cancer."
Dr. Ray and colleagues found bitter melon extract significantly decreased the
growth and division of breast cancer cells and induced death of the cancer
cells. They studied the effects of the extract in primary human mammary
epithelial cells.
Researchers caution that additional studies are needed to establish this
treatment in animals before it is administered in humans.
Source: Cancer Research, February 23, 2010
