Science News Archive

How Fruit Can Protect You From Cancer

We’ve all heard the advice to eat our five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, as they contain vitamins and minerals essential for our health. Now some new studies have suggested that fruit extracts might provide protection against skin cancer. When tested on mice, pomegranate extract significantly protected them from developing skin cancers in response to skin-damaging chemicals. Another molecule, perillyl alcohol (found in cherries, mint and citrus fruits) protected cells from the damaging UV rays found in sunlight, indicating that it might be of future use in sunscreens. Finally, one of the chemicals in grapes, resveratrol, has been known for some time to have anticancer effects when incorporated into wine, but American researchers have now shown it can protect against UV rays. The researchers suggest that more research should be done to out resveratrol into skin products, and also recommend moderate consumption of grapes and red wine (Bio.com).

30th Nov 2003