New studies conducted in the US have unearthed further evidence that grapes are a natural remedy for two illnesses.

Two independent studies have found grape extract may prevent or slow down gastritis and leukaemia at their onset.

The first, conducted by researchers at Clemson University, found that grape extracts from red, black, white, and muscadine grapes and their compounds can inhibit Helicobacter pylori bacteria - one of the main causes of gastritis.

Experts found that after 24 hours of treatment, muscadine grape skin extract had the greatest effect against the bacteria. Two other compounds, resveratrol and ellagic acid, also inhibited H.pylori. It is hoped that grape will act as a substitute for current antibiotics to which patients have been becoming immune.

The second study, by scientists at the University of Kentucky, found that grape seed extract forces laboratory leukaemia cells to commit cell suicide.

The study revealed that within 24 hours, 76 per cent of leukaemia cells had died after being exposed to the extract.

Investigators also discovered that the extract activates a protein that regulates the apoptotic pathway, causing cell death.

The study’s lead author, Xianglin Shi, professor in the Graduate Center for Toxicology at the university, said: “These results could have implications for [turning]… grape seed extract into prevention or treatment of hematological malignancies - such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma - and possibly other cancers.

“What everyone seeks is an agent that has an effect on cancer cells, but leaves normal cells alone, and this shows that grape seed extract fits into this category.”

But Shi said that the research is still in its fledgling stages.

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