(Defeat Diabetes® News) -- A recent study has found that certain chemical compounds found within black raspberries help prevent the growth of cancerous cells within the esophagus of rats.

 

The "chemopreventative agents" found by researchers are known as anthocyanins, and are a specific type of flavonoid. Flavonoids in general are considered to contain large amounts of antioxidants, whose proposed health benefits may include prevention of heart disease through limiting inflammation, and prevention of cancer through the elimination of free radicals. The specific types of flavonoids, and the optimal amounts to consume in order to achieve the desired health benefits, are unknown or controversial. Chocolate, wine, and many types of fruits, such as blueberries, cherries and black raspberries contain flavonoids, with black raspberries being of primary focus in the current study.

 

It was found, through administration of anthocyanin-rich extracts (containing equivalent amounts of the flavonoid as whole black raspberries), that anthocyanin had the effect of both stifling the growth of cancerous esophagus cells, and hastening "apoptosis," which is the actual killing of the harmful cells.

 

While eating diets rich in anthocyanins, namely through the consumption of whole black raspberries, might help prevent cancer of the esophogus, the future utilization of the chemopreventative abilities of anthocyanin itself could be the most important thing to come from this study. Says Dr. Gary Stoner of the future prospects of his research, "now that we know the anthocyanins in berries are almost as active as whole berries themselves, we hope to be able to prevent cancer in humans using a standardized mixture of anthocyanins. The goal is to potentially replace whole berry powder with its active components and then figure out better ways to deliver these components to tissues, to increase their uptake and effectiveness. Ultimately, we hope to test the anthocyanins for effectiveness in multiple organ sites in humans."