Researchers from Université de Montréal have made an exciting discovery about a small fruit from the Amazon rainforest called the camu-camu berry.
This berry is already known for being very healthy, especially for protecting against obesity and diabetes. Now, scientists believe it might also help treat cancer.
The reason for this is a natural substance found in the berry called castalagin. Castalagin is part of a group of plant chemicals known as polyphenols. These are known to be good for health because they reduce inflammation and fight damage caused by harmful molecules in the body.
What makes castalagin special is that it works as a prebiotic. That means it helps feed the good bacteria in your gut, which is important for keeping your immune system strong. The new study shows that castalagin might make cancer treatments work better, especially treatments called immunotherapy.
Immunotherapy is a way of treating cancer by helping the body’s immune system attack cancer cells. One kind of immunotherapy, called immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), has helped many people with difficult cancers like melanoma and lung cancer.
In some lucky cases, this treatment has led to long-lasting results that seem like a cure. But only a small number of people benefit from it. Most patients do not see big improvements, and scientists want to understand why.
One reason could be the gut microbiome, which is the collection of bacteria and other tiny organisms living in your digestive system. A healthy gut can support the immune system, but an unhealthy one can stop treatments from working. That’s where castalagin might help. By improving the gut microbiome, it makes the body more ready to fight cancer.
In this research, scientists gave castalagin to mice and found that it helped trigger a strong anti-cancer response. The mice took it by mouth, like a food supplement, and it helped the immune system fight the cancer.
Based on these good results in animals, researchers are now planning to test this in people. The first human trial will include 45 patients with either lung cancer or melanoma. These patients will take castalagin along with their regular cancer treatment to see if it helps them respond better.
If the trial works well, it could lead to a new kind of cancer treatment that uses both natural plant compounds and modern medicine. That would be a big step forward in cancer care.
The camu-camu berry has long been used by people in the Amazon for its health benefits. It is very high in vitamin C and antioxidants. Now, it might also help in the fight against cancer.
It is still early to know how widely castalagin will be used, but this study shows how powerful natural ingredients can be when combined with science. It gives hope to people who do not respond to current cancer treatments and shows why it’s important to study the healing power of nature.
If you care about cancer, please read studies about common drugs for inflammation may help kill cancer, and statin drugs can starve cancer cells to death.
For more information about cancer, please see recent studies about these two things are key to surviving cancer and results showing common Indian fruit may slow down cancer growth.
The research was published in the journal Cancer Discovery and marks a promising step toward better cancer care.
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