How Tart Cherry Capsules Could Help Fight Cancer

Although they are small, tart cherries pack quite a healthy punch. They contain over 17 natural compounds that work synergistically to promote a healthy body. And now a concentrated form is available that gives you the benefit of the whole cherry in a much more convenient capsule called Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry Capsules.

Not only is the tart cherry a potent antioxidant, it also contains high concentrations of a compound that appears to have the potential to help prevent, stabilize and possibly eliminate cancer although more research is needed to confirm initial findings.

According to Raymond Hohl, M.D., at the University of Iowa, a natural compound found in tart cherries perillyl alcohol (POH) shuts down the growth of cancer cells by depriving them of the proteins they need to grow. He went on to say that It works on every kind of cancer weve tested it against.1

The new star in anti-cancer research

The tart cherry is quickly becoming the star of POH research, although smaller levels of POH have also been found in the essential oils of lavender, peppermint, sage, and lemon grass. POH is a member of a new class of anti-cancer agents called monoterpenes. Monoterpenes are found in the highly concentrated volatile, aromatic essences of plants the essential oils. Theyre formed in the mevalonic pathway in plants the same pathway that makes cholesterol in animals and humans.

Early on, researchers realised that some aspects of cholesterol metabolism were involved in cancer growth: This pathway appears to affect rapid cell growth called proliferation.2

Then they discovered that plant monoterpenes not only interfered with animal cholesterol synthesis and reduced animals cholesterol levels, but that they also reduced tumour formation in the animals by helping to halt proliferation.3

With this new awareness researchers began to focus on two specific monoterpenes limonene and POH. When they compared the two, their studies showed that POH was five times as active in regressing tumours as limonene.4,5 The exact actions of monoterpenes is still unknown, but POHs ability to block the pathway leading to cell proliferation might explain it.

When the DNA in a human cell becomes damaged, the cell malfunctions. Its growth goes unregulated, and if this cell isnt capable of initiating its natural self-destruction sequence (apoptosis), the result is often cancerous growth. It appears that POH might step in and regulate the growth and apoptosis processes that the malfunctioning cell cant.

This idea is backedup by several animal trials, where POH has been shown to prevent carcinogenesis, the process by which normal cells are transformed into cancer cells. POH has shown chemopreventive activity in liver cancer in rats, pancreatic cancer in hamsters, non-melanoma skin cancer in mice, and breast cancer in rats.6-9 And the percentages are nothing to brush off. Take the last example breast cancer in rats where POH slowed the growth of 81 per cent of small tumours and up to 75 per cent of advanced tumours.

Human trials have also had some encouraging results. In one National Cancer Institute-sponsored trial performed at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in the US, researchers found evidence that POH may slow or even reverse the progression of colorectal cancer.10

In the human trials, there does seem to be one problem, in the form of stomach upset. Although some researchers felt that the soya used in the original POH test formula may be the real cause. When they varied the formula and participants took it with food the results were better.

Andy LaPointe, CEO and founder of FruitCeuticals, who manufactures Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry Capsules, was asked if hed had any similar feedback regarding stomach upset. He said he hadnt. In fact, there havent been any reports of side-effects.

Get your share of the antioxidant gold mines mother lode

LaPointe claims that one of the major benefits his product offers over other cherry products is that the whole cherry is used even the skin. Many liquid cherry concentrations discard this part of the fruit, but, in fact, its the skin that contains the beneficial anthocyanins, which LaPointe described as the potential mother lode in a gold mine of antioxidants.

Anthocyanins are naturally occurring compounds that impart colour to fruit, vegetables, and plants. They are thought to play a major role in the high antioxidant activity levels observed in red and blue fruits and vegetables.

In the manufacturing process, the stem and the pit are removed, then the cherries are dried, ground up, and put in a vegetarian capsule. (The pits are actually used in another product sold by FruitCeuticals: a neck-supporting pillow.)

LaPointe was careful to point out that Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry Capsules are really intended for use as a daily supplement to assist with overall maintenance of a healthy body. But the promising research emerging about POHs potential role as an anti-cancer agent make this product an exciting find.11

Get the benefits of cherries now even before the proof is official

More research needed is the recurring theme when it comes to tart cherries benefits. Although the initial studies results look promising, keep in mind that as far as POH in cancer treatment goes, this application is still being researched.

But one thing is certain: knowing the potential of POH in tart cherries may put you ahead of the curve and enable you to get all these potential benefits just by using it as a daily supplement.

What to take for best results

Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry Capsules provide 850 mg of the whole Montmorency tart cherries. The suggested daily dose is two capsules per day. While no side-effects were reported from users of the Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry Capsules, in human trials some patients taking POH did report stomach upset.

Cherries can help boost your insulin production by up to 50 per cent

If all of this isnt enough to impress you, theres a new study out of Michigan State University that adds another potential benefit to the list: the compounds in tart cherries also show promise for both the prevention of type 2 diabetes and for helping to control blood glucose levels in people who already have the disease.12

According to a peer-reviewed study, researchers tested several types of anthocyanins extracted from tart cherries against mouse pancreatic-beta cells, which normally produce insulin. After the cells were exposed to high concentrations of glucose, the ones that have been pre-treated with the cherry anthocyanins showed a 50 per cent increase in insulin levels compared with the untreated cells. The increase shows that the cells were producing insulin more effectively and using it more efficiently.

The researchers dont know exactly why these anthocyanins boost insulin production, but the lead researcher commented Were excited with the laboratory results so far, but more studies are needed.


1. http://www.eurohealth.com.ph/rtcls_hn1.htm
2. J Nutr 1994;124: 607-14
3. Biochim Biophys Acta 1999;1,449(2): 137-149
4. Crowell PL, et al. Antitumor effects of limonene and perillyl alcohol against pancreatic and breast cancer. Dietary Phytochemicals in Cancer Prevention and Treatment. New York: Plenum Press, 1996
5. Cancer Lett 1995;96: 15-21
6. Cancer Res 1995;55: 979-83
7. Cancer Lett 1995;96: 15-21
8. Cancer Res 1998;58: 711-16
9. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 1994;34: 477-83
10. Clin Cancer Res 2000;6: 390-96
11. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2004;311(2): 568-75
12. J Agric Food Chem 2005;53(1): 28-31