Stevia is widely known around the world as a natural sugar substitute used in drinks, desserts, and low-calorie foods.
Many people choose stevia because it contains little or no calories and does not raise blood sugar the same way regular sugar does. But now, scientists have discovered that stevia may have another surprising benefit beyond sweetness.
Researchers from Hiroshima University in Japan have found that a fermented form of stevia leaf extract may help kill pancreatic cancer cells while causing very little harm to healthy cells. Their findings suggest that fermentation can change natural plant compounds in ways that may make them much more powerful against cancer.
The study was published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
Pancreatic cancer is considered one of the deadliest forms of cancer. It is often difficult to detect early because symptoms may not appear until the disease has already spread. By the time many patients are diagnosed, treatment options are limited.
The disease is also known for being highly aggressive and difficult to treat. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy can sometimes help, but many patients do not respond well to these treatments. The five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer remains below 10%, making it one of the most dangerous cancers worldwide.
Because of this, scientists are urgently searching for new ways to fight pancreatic cancer. Many researchers are especially interested in natural plant compounds because some plants contain chemicals that may slow cancer growth or trigger cancer cell death.
Previous studies had already suggested that stevia leaf extract may have anti-cancer properties. However, scientists faced a major problem. The plant contains many different natural chemicals, making it difficult to identify exactly which compounds are responsible for the anti-cancer effects.
The research team at Hiroshima University decided to try a different approach. Instead of studying plain stevia extract, they used fermentation to change its chemical composition.
Fermentation is a natural process where bacteria or other microorganisms break down substances and create new compounds. Fermented foods such as yogurt, kimchi, and cheese are common examples. Fermentation can sometimes improve nutritional value or create entirely new substances with different biological effects.
In this study, the researchers used a special strain of bacteria called Lactobacillus plantarum SN13T. This bacteria was originally found on banana leaves and belongs to a group of friendly bacteria often linked to probiotics and fermented foods.
The scientists mixed the bacteria with stevia leaf extract and allowed fermentation to occur. They then compared the fermented stevia leaf extract with regular, non-fermented stevia extract.
To test the effects, the researchers used pancreatic cancer cells known as PANC-1 cells in laboratory experiments. They also tested the extracts on healthy human kidney cells called HEK-293 cells to see whether the treatment harmed normal cells.
The results were encouraging.
The fermented stevia leaf extract, known as FSLE, was much more effective at killing pancreatic cancer cells than the regular stevia extract. At the same time, the fermented extract caused very little damage to healthy kidney cells, even at high concentrations.
The researchers then investigated why the fermented extract worked better.
They discovered that fermentation had changed one important compound inside the stevia extract. The original extract contained a substance called chlorogenic acid. During fermentation, the bacteria appeared to convert much of this compound into a new substance called chlorogenic acid methyl ester, or CAME.
The scientists found that CAME was much more effective at damaging pancreatic cancer cells than the original chlorogenic acid.
Further testing showed that CAME helped trigger a process called apoptosis, which is a natural form of programmed cell death. Healthy cells use apoptosis to remove damaged or dangerous cells from the body.
Many cancer cells avoid this process, allowing them to continue growing uncontrollably. By helping restart apoptosis, the fermented stevia compounds may help stop cancer cells from surviving.
The researchers believe enzymes produced by the Lactobacillus plantarum SN13T bacteria were responsible for converting chlorogenic acid into the stronger cancer-fighting compound.
This discovery is important because it shows how fermentation can improve the biological activity of natural plant substances. Instead of simply extracting chemicals from plants, scientists may be able to use friendly bacteria to transform them into more powerful compounds.
The findings also highlight the growing scientific interest in probiotics and beneficial bacteria. In the future, researchers may explore whether certain bacteria can be used to create new natural therapies for cancer and other diseases.
However, the scientists stress that this research is still at an early stage. So far, the experiments have only been performed in laboratory cells, not in humans. Much more research is needed before fermented stevia could ever become a medical treatment.
The team now plans to continue the research by testing the fermented extract in mice. These animal studies will help researchers understand how the extract behaves inside a living body, how safe it is, and what doses may be effective.
If future studies continue to show positive results, the discovery could eventually lead to new cancer therapies based on natural plant compounds and probiotics.
The study also adds to growing evidence that fermentation may significantly change the health effects of foods and plants. Scientists are increasingly exploring how bacteria can alter natural substances to create new compounds with potential medical benefits.
Although much work still remains, the new findings offer hope that natural products like stevia, combined with beneficial bacteria, could one day play a role in fighting one of the world’s most difficult cancers.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that a low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and vitamin D supplements could strongly reduce cancer death.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about how drinking milk affects the risks of heart disease and cancer and results showing higher intake of dairy foods linked to higher prostate cancer risk.
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