Kuala Lumpur Making a breakthrough in the treatment of cancer, a team of UAE University researchers has discovered that manuka honey could effectively inhibit the growth of a variety of cancer cell types including breast, skin, and colon cancer.
Though the honey, obtained from nectar collected by honey bees from manuka trees found in New Zealand, has been recognised for its anti-bacterial and wound healing properties for many years, it has never been investigated for its potential effects on cancer cells, said a UAE University official.
The research has also highlighted the honey’s potential property of reducing the toxic side effects associated with chemotherapy treatment in cancer patients. Lead researcher Basel Al Ramadi said that the team used three different cancer cells in the research.
“[It] demonstrated that the addition of exceedingly small amounts of manuka honey, as little as 1.0 per cent, can stop the growth of cancer cells,” Gulf News quoted him as saying.
The researchers then carried out an extensive series of experiments to uncover the molecular basis of manuka’s anti-cancer activity.
They found that manuka honey induces the death of cancer cells through the same physiological process used by the human body to maintain normal cell numbers.
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