What is Soursop / Graviola? Soursop, scientific name Annona muricata, is a tree that grows in rainforests in sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. The active ingredients of Graviola are called Annonaceous acetogenins. Research; has shown that its active ingredients kill malignant cells in 12 different cancer types, including breast, ovarian, colon, prostate, liver, lung, pancreas and lymphoma, even in vitro. However, there is no extensive research on humans.
Soursop Graviola Research
Research on the potential of Graviolan began in 1976, within the plant screening program initiated by the National Cancer Institute; Graviola leaves and roots have been discovered to fight cancer cells. In subsequent studies following the first experiment, scientists isolated a number of chemicals that they named annonaceous acetogenins .It did not take long to realize that these substances are strong anti-carcinogenic and anti-tumor ingredients. Published in 1997 by Purdue University, studies have indicated that acetogenins have the ability to kill cancer cells that do not respond to conventional anti-cancer treatment. Purdue researchers have witnessed that acetogenins do not touch normal cells, strongly destroying cancer cells and are effective against cancer cells that are resistant to cancer. It has also been shown that the Graviola extract is effective against Adriamycin-resistant human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7 / Adr) growth, blocking cancer cell access to ATP and inhibiting plasma zymoglucoprotein.
The study by Catholic University in South Korea; showed that active ingredients have 'selective cytotoxin ' when compared to Adriamicin, a long-used drug against breast and colon cancer. A later study published in the Journal of Natural Products claimed that Graviola was 10,000 times more effective. In a third study in Korea, unlike adriamicin, no negative activity on healthy cells was observed.
In 2000, scientists in the " Universidad de Antioquia " in Colombia saw that the graviola fruit extract inhibited the growth of the U-937 lymphoma cell line. A study published in the Journal of Natural Products in 2001 noted that a compound in the graviola seed extract killed liver cancer cells by not touching healthy cells.
On May 9, 2003, a study published in Life Sciences showed that purified annonacin triggers cell death in various types of cancer cell lines, including T24 bladder cancer cells. Another study published in the November 2010 issue of Molecules showed that Annonaceous acetogenins in graviola slowed down the proliferation of lung cancer and laryngeal cells.