Latest news with #Hiroshima University
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
The artificial sweetener that may actually be good for you... and it could even ward off deadliest cancer
The artificial sweetener Stevia may help prevent one of the world's deadliest cancers, a new study suggests. Researchers in Japan collected samples from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana, a plant native to tropical and subtropical South America. The plant is used to make the sugar substitute Stevia, which can be 50 to 300 times sweeter than sugar and has no calories. After fermenting the leaves with Lactobacillus plantarum — the same bacteria used in yogurt and fermented vegetables — the team found fermented Stevia proved effective at killing pancreatic cancer cells. Compared to non-fermented Stevia, fermented varieties (FSLE) destroyed more cells of pancreatic cancer, which kills eight in 10 Americans affected within five years. It also left healthy cells virtually untouched and neutralized free radicals, which cause harmful inflammation throughout the body. Artificial sweeteners like Stevia have long been under fire for being linked to health issues like strokes, heart disease and some forms of cancer. However, the science on sugar substitutes and alternatives is murky, while decades of research does show the harms of traditional sugar are much clearer. The researchers said the findings could eventually turn the tide for pancreatic cancer, which is on the rise and most often only detected after it has spread throughout the body. Narandalai Danshiitsoodol, study co-author and associate professor in the Department of Probiotic Science for Preventive Medicine at Hiroshima University, said: 'Globally, the incidence and mortality rates of pancreatic cancer continue to rise, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 percent.' In the US, approximately 67,440 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year, and about 51,980 people die from it, according to the American Cancer Society. Pancreatic cancer is highly invasive and prone to metastasis, meaning it more commonly breaks away from the primary tumor and spreads throughout the body. It shows significant resistance to existing treatments, such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, thus the need for anti-cancer compounds was sought after in less conventional methods like medicinal plants. That's where Stevia and fermentation comes in. In the study, published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, researchers fermented Stevia leaf extract and compared it to unfermented extract. The technique is called microbial biotransformation, which has emerged as a valuable technique for improving the efficacy of natural plant extracts. It involves the use of microbial enzymes - bacteria and yeast, for example - to modify bioactive compounds and enhance their potency. Stevia turned out to be most potent when fermented for 72 hours, without oxygen, at 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) - the body's natural, healthy temperature. The team found Stevia killed pancreatic cancer (PANC-1) cells more efficiently than the non-fermented extract. At the same time, it barely touched healthy HEK-293 (healthy) cells, even at high doses. The extract also slowed cancer cell growth and made them lose shape, preventing them from sticking together and spreading. Additionally, fermented stevia proved to be a potent antioxidant. Cancer arises from oxidative stress, which damages cells and DNA. In lab tests the Stevia extract neutralized free radicals more effectively than non fermented varieties, eradicating 94 percent of them in one test. Fermentation likely created new compounds. The researchers suspect chlorogenic acid that is in the original stevia transformed into chlorogenic acid methyl ester (CAME), a more active form. The raw extract had none of this, by comparison. It's thought that CAME shut down cancer cells by blocking their cell cycle and making them commit apoptosis, molecular steps that lead to its death. Danshiitsoodol said: 'This microbial transformation was likely due to specific enzymes in the bacteria strain used.' The Hiroshima University team plans to study FSLE in mouse models next, which will help determine how well CAME works in a living system and identify safe, effective doses. Over time this could potentially lead to a natural and easy way to combat one of the world's deadliest cancers.
The Sun
a day ago
- Health
- The Sun
Common sweetener in fizzy drinks and yoghurt ‘can kill off the deadliest cancer'
A COMMON sugar substitute used in fizzy drinks, yoghurts and gum could be used to combat one of the deadliest kinds of cancer. Researchers fermented the zero calorie sweetener and tested it against pancreatic cancer - finding that it killed off malignant cells but didn't harm healthy ones. 2 Stevia is a shrub-like herb used to sweeten drinks and desserts instead of sugar, which can also be bought as powder or tablets. Previous research has suggested that stevia leaf extracts could have potential "anticancer effects". But isolating specific substances within the herb that could help protect against cancer and using them has remained challenging. Researchers from Hiroshima University suggested fermenting stevia with bacteria can structurally change the extract and produce bioactive metabolites - compounds that can impact living organisms. Study author Masanori Sugiyama, a professor in the Department of Probiotic Science for Preventive Medicine, said fermentation - or "microbial bio-transformation" - could "enhance the pharmacological efficacy of natural plant extracts" like stevia. The team tested their theory out against pancreatic cancer cells. "Pancreatic cancer is a highly malignant tumour of the digestive system with a poor prognosis," co-author Prof Narandalai Danshiitsoodol said. "Globally, the incidence and mortality rates of pancreatic cancer continue to rise, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 per cent. "The primary reason pancreatic cancer is considered one of the deadliest cancers is its subtle, insidious onset, with most patients being diagnosed at an advanced stage and missing the optimal treatment window. "Furthermore, pancreatic cancer is highly invasive and prone to metastasis, showing significant resistance to existing treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, resulting in very limited therapeutic efficacy. The most common symptoms of pancreatic cancer - as patients share their stories "Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify new and effective anticancer compounds, particularly those derived from medicinal plants." Researchers used lactic acid bacteria to ferment stevia extracts. They isolated over 1200 strains from fruits, vegetables, flowers, and medicinal plants and evaluated their health benefits. They finally landed on Lactobacillus plantarum SN13T strain (FSLE) derived from banana leaves "to enhance the antioxidant and anticancer activities of stevia leaf extract through fermentation". They tested fermented and non-fermented stevia extracts against pancreatic cancer cells in lab dishes. Fermented stevia killed pancreatic cancer cells more efficiently than the non-fermented extract, the study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences found. This suggested that "the fermentation process enhances the bioactivity of the [stevia] extract", Prof Sugiyama said. Researchers tested out different fermentation levels to see which was most effective against cancer cells. Lower concentrations didn't kill cancer cells immediately, but they slowed their growth. Healthy kidney cells were mostly unaffected by the stevia extracts. Researchers plan to study how fermented stevia affects cancer in mice next, to see how various dosages will work in living organisms. 'The present study has substantially enhanced our understanding of the mechanism of action of the Lactobacillus plantarum SN13T strain in the fermentation of herbal extracts, while also offering a valuable research perspective on the potential application of probiotics as natural anti-tumour agents,' Prof Danshiitsoodol said. In the UK, about 10,800 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year and 9,600 pass away from it, according to Cancer Research UK. It's the fifth most common cause of cancer death. Since the early 1990s, pancreatic cancer incidence rates have increased by 18 per cent in the UK. The disease is often diagnosed at a late stage because it frequently lacks noticeable symptoms in the early stages. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation can help extend patients' lives.
