An antioxidant in fruit can increase 40-fold the effectiveness of a chemotherapy drug for cancers of the head and neck, a University of Hong Kong study has found.
The antioxidant, lupeol, is particularly rich in mangoes, olive seeds, grapes and strawberries.
The researchers discovered for the first time that lupeol can significantly suppress the activation of a protein which helps cancer cells grow. It is particularly effective against cancers in the nose, mouth and nasopharynx.
People cannot treat cancers by eating fruit, although the scientists believe it can help prevent cancers.
Using mice, they compared lupeol with the conventional chemotherapy drug cisplatin in the treatment of tongue cancer.
Results showed that lupeol was three times more effective than cisplatin in suppressing the growth of cancer cells. When lupeol was added to cisplatin, the drug worked 40 times better.
