Saturday, April 21, 2007

Blackberries and Skin Cancer

A Science Daily article entitled 'Black Raspberries Yield Possible Skin Cancer Treatment' details information about a compound made of black raspberries that may prove to be an effective treatment for skin cancer. From the article:

"Many studies have demonstrated a link between inflammation and cancer. Normally, inflammation – the reddened area from a sunburn, for example – is tightly managed by a complex network of repair and growth factor mechanisms. VanBuskirk and others say that when these signals are mistakenly left on or shut off, perhaps as a result of DNA damage or oxidative stress, cancer can take root and grow.

She says an extract of black raspberries (freeze-dried, ground up and suspended in KY jelly in their experiment) may be a good countermeasure because they contain anthacyanins, powerful antioxidants that give the fruit its rich, dark color. “In our experiments, the black raspberry treatment significantly reduced inflammatory damage and reduced tumor growth and spread.”


Dr. Anne VanBuskirk, an assistant professor of surgery in Ohio State’s College of Medicine was the senior author of the study related to the blackberry find. Also involved in the study were researchers Sam Shin, Jason Martin, Kathleen Tober, Gary Stoner and Tatiana Oberyszyn, from Ohio State; and Steven Hecht, from the University of Minnesota.

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