Researchers at the University of Wisconsin in the US have discovered that consuming pomegranates could potentially help reduce the growth and spread of lung cancer cells.
In the April 1 issue of journal Cancer Research, a team led by Hasan Mukhtar demonstrated that drinking pomegranate fruit extract can help slow the growth of lung cancer in mice.
The fruit’s juice could also potentially prevent lung cancer from developing.
“We have already shown that pomegranates contain very powerful skin and prostate cancer-fighting agents,” said Mukhtar, who is professor of dermatology at the university and a member of the establishment’s Paul P Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Centre. “These recent findings expand the possible health benefits of the fruit to help prevent the leading cause of cancer death in the US and worldwide, lung cancer.”
The key to pomegranates’ cancer-fighting capabilities lies in their abundance of antioxidants that have an anti-inflammatory effect.
