Blue is the new green when it comes to the war on cancer according to researchers from Ohio State University. A team lead by Monica Giusti have been researching the rich red, purple and blue pigments found in vegetables such as red cabbage, egg plant, elderberries and bilberries. In lab tests they found that these antioxidant compounds restricted the growth of cancers, in some cases killing them off entirely.
The Guardian newspaper reports that compounds from high pigment purple fruit and vegetables such as purple-hued corn and chokeberries arrested the growth of human colon cancer cells in a test tube suspension, killing 20%, while extracts from fruit and veg less rich with the purple pigment such as radishes slowed growth by 50% to 80%. In a second study by the same team, colon tumors in rats fed extracts of bilberries and chokeberries were reduced by 60% to 70% compared with a control group. The key to repeating these results in humans outside of the lab lies in finding a way of preserving the effectiveness of the antioxidant compounds as they pass through the highly acidic digestive system.
Meanwhile scientists from the National Cancer Institute are sticking with their greens. In a study (reported in the Daily Mail) involving 29,000 men who were monitored over a four-year period, researchers found that eating broccoli twice a week could reduce the chances of developing the deadliest form of prostate cancer by 50%; less aggressive tumors were reduced by 45%. Cauliflower was found to be even more effective, reducing the risk of tumors developing by 52%.
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