The incidence of cancer is steadily increasing every year, generating concerns about the effectiveness of medical treatment options. This has led people to seek or replace viable alternatives for cancer treatment, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Muricata is a relatively small herbaceous tree located in South America and Southeast Asia rainforests. The tree produces a heart-shaped, comestible fruit that is used to make bones, syrups and many other goodies – But more than a treat.
The Use of Muricata
Annona muricata and many other plants continue to show promising compounds for cancer treatment. The Muricata plant recipes contain compounds incredibly effective in the use against cancer cells. Given growing concerns about the deficiencies of cancer treatment in hospitals, this presentation seeks to highlight the benefits of the Muricata and its likelihood for inclusion as one of cancer treatment options.
The use of anticancer natural therapeutics to treat cancer has been an attractive area of interest in recent decades. Annona Muricata is one of many plant extracts explored because of their anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects.
In particular, the leaves are often used by traditional healers for numerous ethnomedicinal specific purposes to treat quite a few infectious diseases, such as cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and abscesses. Many of these experiential assertions about the use of the plant have already been transformed by clinical research into evidence-based medical information.
The Research
The plant leaves have now been extensively investigated for their various potential therapeutic elements and are now being discovered to have been eminent for anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties.
Muricata also has antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. This led some scientists to study Muricata as new treatment options for a variety of chronic diseases, such as cancer. While some scientific studies show that Muricata may have had anticancer properties, no scientific evidence suggests that Muricata can actually treat or try to prevent cancer in humans.
According to research, different analyses have also shown that Muricata extracts affect cell lines of cancer and other diseases. This study was conducted in research facilities (in vitro) and on animals only. It’s not perfectly clear how really Muricata extracts work despite some success. While promising, these research should not be considered to confirm that Muricata can actually treat cancer in people.
Muricata Fruits, bark, seeds, leaves, and tree roots contain more than 100 Annonaceous acetogenins. These are natural antitumor compounds. Scientists still have to identify active ingredients in each plant. The ingredient concentrations may also vary considerably from branch to branch of the Muricata tree, depending of course on the soil it was cultivated.
This is what some of the scientific research says: Breast cancer laboratory tests prove that Muricata extracts can completely destroy certain breast cancer cells resistant to cytotoxic and other chemotherapy drugs. A new 2016 study has found that a raw extract of Muricata leaves had an anticancer immediate effect on the breast cancer cell line.
Experts know it as a “promising candidate” for treatment for breast cancer and stated that further assessment should be made. They also stated that Muricata ‘s potency and anticancer activity may differ based on where it was grown.
Pancreatic Cancer
Researchers used cancer cell lines for a Muricata extract study in 2012. They discovered that tumor growth and metastasis of pancreatic cancer cells were inhibited.
Prostate Cancer
The leaf extract of Muricata may negatively affect the growth of breast cancer tumors. In cell lines and rat studies, the water extract from Muricata leaves has been shown to cut the size of the prostates of rats. Another study also found that the extract of ethyl acetate from Muricata leaves could inhibit prostate cancer cells in rats.
Colon cancer
Colon cancer research demonstrates a considerable inhibition of colon cancer cells using Muricata leaf extract. A 2017 research used the Muricata extract against the colon cell line. The study found that Muricata may possess an anticancer effect. They observed that more research is needed to understand which part of the leaves generated this effect.
Liver cancer
Laboratory studies have shown that Muricata extracts can kill certain types of chemoresistant liver cancer cells.
Lung cancer
Studies have found that Muricata can hinder lung tumors growth.
Get in Touch with Your Doctor
Even if Muricata has anticancer properties in humans, there is significant variation in Muricata depending on its origins. It is impossible to know if OTC (over-the-counter) products contain more or less the same compounds like the one analysed in laboratory conditions. There is also no guidance on the safety of Muricata.
If you plan to supplement your cancer treatment with Muricata and any other dietary supplement, talk to your physician first. Herbal products like Muricata can try to interfere with cancer treatments such as;
- blood pressure readings
- blood glucose tests
- nuclear imaging
- platelet count
Talk to your doctor about any OTC products that claim to diagnose and treat or prevent cancer. Make sure you buy any food supplements from a trusted source and contact your pharmacist before using them.
Muricata Side Effects and Risks
Muricata supplements are commonly found in some Caribbean countries for people with breast, colon and prostate cancer. However, it carries some risks. When using for a long time, it may result in;
- Neurological problems
- Liver and kidney toxicity
- Nerve cell damage
- Myeloneuropathy (which may lead to Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms)
Steer clear of Muricata supplements if you;
- have liver or kidney disease
- have a low platelet count
- are pregnant
- take blood pressure medications
- take medications for diabetes
- have low blood pressure
But if you get any unusual symptoms, stop taking Muricata and see your doctor right away.
Conclusion
The FDA (U.S food and drug administration) regulates dietary supplements as food rather than as a medicine. They do not meet the same safety and effectiveness requirements as drugs. Even though some research shows the real potential of Muricata, the treatment of any type of cancer has not been approved. You should not replace it with your doctor- approved treatment plan.
If you would like to use Muricata as an additional therapy, talk to your oncologist. They can help you through individual benefits and risks.
References
- Science Direct – Annona muricata: Is the natural therapy to most disease conditions including cancer growing in our backyard? A systematic review of its research history and future prospects. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1995764517306302
- Pinto, Q. De, M. Cordeiro, De Andrade, F. SRM Ferreira, H. Filgueiras, et al.Annona muricata J.T. Williams (Ed.), Annona species, taxonomy and botany inter-national centre underutilised crops, University of Southampton, Southampton (2005), pp. 3-16 https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-79961242089&origin=inward&txGid=fa9c9af1a1426e97a1f127118d256845
- BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine – Anti-cancer effect of Annona Muricata Linn Leaves Crude Extract (AMCE) on breast cancer cell line. https://bmccomplementalternmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906-016-1290-y
- gov – Effect of Annona Muricata Leaves on Colorectal Cancer Patients and Colorectal Cancer Cells https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02439580
