Antioxidant Found in Wine Combats Leukemia
Researchers at the University of Pittsburg have made a surprising discovery. Cyanidin-3-rutinoside, or C-3-R, a modified anthocyanidin found in wine, as well as different fruit and vegetables, targets and kills leukemia cells, but doesn’t harm healthy cells. This is an attractive alternative to fighting leukemia over chemotherapy and radiation which kill healthy cells as well.
Leukemia is responsible for roughly 22,000 deaths a year in the United States. These cancer cells attack blood forming cells in bone marrow. Dr. Yin, co-author of the study, is the associate professor of pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
According to Dr. Yin, these results indicate that C-3-R has the promising potential to be used in leukemia therapy with the advantages of being highly selective against cancer cells. “Because this compound is widely available in foods, it is very likely that it is not toxic even in purified form. Therefore, if we can reproduce these anti-cancer effects in animal studies, this will present a very promising approach for treating a variety of human leukemias and, perhaps, lymphomas as well.
Read [Eureka Alert]
