The role of raspberries in preventing cancer

Raspberries look like strawberries. In fact, raspberries are as delicious as strawberries and have anti-cancer properties.

Raspberry

Raspberry? Many people may have a hard time understanding this unfamiliar term. What is a raspberry? Raspberry, also known as raspberry, tray, and raspberry, is a perennial deciduous shrub of the genus Rubus in the Rosaceae family. There are more than 750 species. It is named raspberry because its fruit shape, color, and taste are similar to strawberries but it grows on trees. This fruit contains a large amount of anti-aging substances such as vitamin C, E, superoxide dismutase, and γ-aminobutyric acid, as well as anti-cancer substances such as tannic acid. The content of vitamin E and tannic acid is the highest among all fruits. In the United States, red raspberries are regarded as cancer killers, and people praise them as "rubies".

Raspberries' anti-cancer effects

Experts tried to mix tannic acid in raspberries with liver cancer cells and found that the former could significantly inhibit the growth of the latter. Later, experts focused their research on the medicinal value of natural plants and found that grapes and apples can prevent the proliferation of cancer cells. With the support of the National Natural Science Foundation, the Ministry of Personnel Returned Overseas Students Funding Fund, and Heilongjiang Province Science and Technology Research Fund, the expert group has carried out the "Research on the Mechanism of Raspberries in Preventing and Inhibiting Liver Cancer" from the perspectives of medicine, nutrition, botany, cytology and molecular biology in recent years.

It is well known that oxidative damage to genetic material is one of the causes of the vast majority of tumors. The results of the study showed that as the concentration of phytochemicals in raspberries increased, the ability to resist oxidative damage also increased. The inhibition rate of raspberry extracts at different concentrations on the liver cancer cell line HepG-2 showed a gradual increase, with the highest inhibition rate reaching about 90%. In a stable rat primary liver cancer model established using chemical poisons aflatoxin and diethylnitrosamine, as the concentration of raspberry extract increased, the tumor diameter on the liver of the experimental group rats became smaller, the number of tumors decreased, the tumor formation rate decreased, and the degree of nodules was reduced. At the same time, proteomic studies have shown that there are two protein spots that are very likely to be protein targets for raspberries to prevent liver cancer.

Experts have pointed out that there are currently two synergistic risk factors that greatly increase the chance of developing liver cancer: chronic infection with the hepatitis B virus and chronic exposure to aflatoxin, a highly toxic liver toxin produced by molds that contaminate staple foods. One of the important ways to reduce the impact of these two carcinogenic factors is chemoprevention, which is to counteract the harm of aflatoxin by taking medication or food supplements.

In the future, using the phytochemical components extracted from raspberries and rationally combining them to form preventive agents will be very helpful in preventing the occurrence of liver cancer, inhibiting its development, and improving the survival rate of patients with this disease.

How to consume raspberries and other fruits properly?

Experts recommend: First, eat at least two kinds of fruits such as raspberries, grapes, apples or oranges every day. If you eat them with three or more vegetables such as cauliflower, tomatoes, carrots, etc., the effect will be better; second, after soaking and washing fruits such as raspberries, grapes, and apples, it is best to eat them whole without peeling them; third, people at high risk of liver cancer should consume no less than 200 grams of raspberries every day, and eat them between meals. The effect will be better if eaten with two other fruits and two vegetables.