At CANCERactive we have told you that chokeberry, curcumin, fish oils, echinacea choline and inositol and CoQ10 all had a positive effect with brain tumours according to UK research.
A decade later, researchers from the Department of Natural Sciences at Middlesex University have shown that both chokeberry extract (Aronia melanocarpa) and turmeric (Curcuma longa) can work together to stop the spread of malignant cancer cells, as well as induce cancer cell death (apoptosis). (Oncology Reports)
The research evaluated the effects of both Aronia and curcumin on a specific glioblastoma line of brain cancer cells known as U373. The researchers looked at these two natural compounds because they had already established that both herbs possess unique anti-cancer properties.
The Aronia berry, which is rich in anthocyanin flavonoids and other antioxidants and nutrients, does kill the U373 cancer cell line; and the polyphenol curcumin, also induces apoptosis in U373 stopping it from producing new cells and spreading.
"The aim of this study was to extend our previous research to evaluate the therapeutic potential of these two agents by testing their ability to induce apoptosis in an established glioblastoma cell line (U373)," wrote the authors in their abstract. "Taken together, the comparative data suggest that both curcumin and chokeberry extract may exhibit their anti-cancer potential by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting invasion by reducing MMPs (matrix metalloproteinase) gene expression".
Meanwhile: Significant new research published in the Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand found that curcumin is able to repair and even regenerate the liver tissues in diabetic rats. Researchers at the Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok administered curcumin to rats afflicted with diabetes and whose livers demonstrated the characteristic pathology and destruction of tissues and microvasculature. The curcumin was able to trigger a significant reversal of the condition.