One of the most common cancer is breast cancer in women. Scientist found extracts from bitter melon can cure breast cancer. This fruit is widely found in Asia, South America and Africa & used as a vegetable.
Bitter melon sometimes called bitter gourd or wild cucumber. It used as folk medicines from many decades for control of diabetes and infections.
Tests showed ingredients in the spiky green fruit prevent division of human breast cancer cells and also triggered cell death.
Assess the efficacy of bitter melon (Momordica charantia) extract (BME) has use as an anticancer agent. Researchers use human breast cancer cells, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, and primary human mammary epithelial cells.
Researchers found a significant decrease in cell proliferation and induced apoptotic cell death after BME treatment of breast cancer cells.
studies showed that BME treatment of breast cancer cells inhibited survivin and claspin expression, meaning bitter melon extracts blocked the growth of cancer developing cells.
However, this was very preliminary research and its direct relevance to humans is very limited without much more research.
Jessica Harris of Cancer Research UK said: “Many plant chemicals can kill cancer cells in the lab but very few end up as useful cancer drugs.”
“It will take a lot more work and trials in people before we know if this extract could benefit cancer patients or about any unwanted side effects.”
“Many cancer treatments have been developed from plant chemicals, but only after years of thorough research.”
Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, said, “it is interesting research and the next set of results will be very important.” Cracking the problem of resistance to treatments such as tamoxifen would be a major advance in treating breast cancer.”
Dr. Rajesh Agarwal from the University of Colorado, US, said, “Breast cancer is a major killer among women around the world, and in that perspective, results from this study are quite significant.
“This study may provide us with one more agent as an extract that could be used against breast cancer if additional studies hold true.”
Dr. Agarwal said that trials in animals and then humans are still needed.
More than 45,000 women and 300 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year and the disease kills 12,000 in Britain annually.
Use of Bitter melon in our daily diet, can prevent or control breast cancer. It is one or more neoplastic events and reduces cancer risk.