Apple can protect against stomach cancer: Italian study
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-06-30 15:15

Eating at least two apples a day may reduce the risk of developing stomach cancer, Italian media quoted a new study from the University of Naples as reporting on Tuesday.

Italian researchers said in the study, soon to be published in the prestigious international gastroenterology journal GUT, substances in apples have a major protective effect on stomach.

They apparently achieve their beneficial effects by warding off damage produced by free radicals, the culprits in a number of processes including aging and the development of gastric tumors, the study aid.

The research team, led by Camillo Del Vecchio Blanco and Marco Romano of Naples' Federico II University, found that the benefits of apple extracts were due to their high content of anti-oxidants like catechin and chlorogenic acid.

The apple extract, along with the chlorogenic acid, was shown to inhibit the growth of stomach cancer cells.

"The next stage is to move on to testing in humans and measuring the effect of the active ingredients of apples as gastro- protective agents," Romano said.

"It is possible to conceive using these substances in other specific cases, such as when patients have to take anti- inflammatory drugs."

"In this case the apple extracts reduce the negative effects that these medicines have on gastric mucous, " he said.

Close

Today's Top News     Top Life News
Money Game: Rotating illusion of getting wealthy         More HIV, AIDS cases expected in Henan         EU ruling on China's market status 'unfair'         Piracy still plagues IT industry         Zeng: July 1 should be a day for celebration         Saddam to face charges in Iraq Thursday	Apple can protect against stomach cancer: Italian study       Husbands beating wives to be blacklisted       Seniors get hooked to Internet for cyber love       Lottery winner sold BMW, goes bush       Rat drug may boost sex drive in women       Saturn mission to reveal mysterious planet