02/28/07 Update on Cranberry Benefits

Update On Cranberry Health Benefits. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. Cranberry extracts are continuing to prove themselves in fighting cancer. In an update on a preliminary study a team of Canadian researchers tested the ability of cranberry flavonoids to inhibit growth on brain, colon, and prostate human tumor cell lines. It was found that compounds significantly slowed the growth of explanted brain tumors in vivo, and inhibited the growth of the colon and prostate cancer cell lines. Researchers noted the complete regression of two prostate tumors, which suggests cranberry may have a potentially significant impact against this tumor type. In another recent study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, tested the extracts of six berries, including cranberry, against human tumor cell lines in cell cultures. Cranberry extract was shown to be effective in slowing cancer cell growth, a protective benefit that increased with the amount of extract added. Finally, a published study from Cornell University, researchers found cranberries inhibited the growth of certain cancer cell lines and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the first and rate controlling enzyme for the production of compounds required for cell division, in vitro. The data showed that cranberry phytochemical extracts significantly inhibited human breast cancer MCF-7 cell development at specific doses. Cell death occurred after the cancer cells were exposed to cranberry extracts for four hours, with a 25 percent increase in the ratio of apoptotic cells when extracts at a higher dose were applied. These results suggest that cranberry phytochemical extracts may possess the ability to suppress the growth and spread of breast cancer MCF-7 cells. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.