Grape seed extract is a novel treatment approach for prostate cancer, according to scientists at Korea University. In a new study, recently published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, the investigators identified several specific anticancer activities of grape seed extract. The findings suggest grapes help fight prostate cancer.
One finding was that grape seed extract significantly inhibits an activity called histone acetylation (HAT), a complex biologic process that is associated with cancer. Grape seed extract reduced HAT by 30 to 80 percent in laboratory experiments.
The scientists also showed that grape seed extract reduced cancer cell growth and inhibited the growth of androgen-dependent human prostate cancer cells.
Several previous studies have shown that grape seed extract provides protection against prostate cancer. In research published in Pharmaceutical Research, for example, researchers administered gallic acid, an active component of grape seed extract, to mice designed to have androgen-dependent and androgen-independent human prostate cancers. The gallic acid inhibited prostate cancer cell growth and induced apoptosis in both groups of the treated mice when compared with control mice.
Overall, a number of research findings have revealed how grape seed extract can promote prostate cancer cell death and cell atrophy, as well as inhibit the growth and spread of prostate cancer. This latest study from Korea adds to these findings, as the authors concluded that grape seed extract possesses therapeutic benefits against prostate cancer.
Read more in our Prostate Cancer Health Center.
References
Kaur M et al. Gallic acid, an active constituent of grape seed extract, exhibits anti-proliferative, pro-apoptotic and anti-tumorigenic effects against prostate carcinoma xenograft growth in nude mice. Pharmaceutical Research 2009 Sep; 26(9): 2133-40
Park SY et al. Grape seed extract regulates androgen receptor-mediated transcription in prostate cancer cells through potent anti-histone acetyltransferase activity. Journal of Medicinal Food 2011 Jan-Feb; 14(1-2): 9-16
