Black rasberry extract might help prevent skin cancer

Black Raspberries Yield Possible Skin Cancer Treatment ScienceDaily 4/19/07 "Researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center say a topical compound made of black raspberries significantly slows the growth of squamous cell carcinomas of the skin in mice exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation, the most dangerous light in the solar spectrum...“In terms of shutting down the inflammatory response, we’ve never seen anything like it,” says Dr. Anne VanBuskirk...Many studies have demonstrated a link between inflammation and cancer. Normally, inflammation – the reddened area from a sunburn, for example – is tightly managed by a complex network of repair and growth factor mechanisms. VanBuskirk and others say that when these signals are mistakenly left on or shut off, perhaps as a result of DNA damage or oxidative stress, cancer can take root and grow... She says an extract of black raspberries (freeze-dried, ground up and suspended in KY jelly in their experiment) may be a good countermeasure because they contain anthacyanins, powerful antioxidants that give the fruit its rich, dark color. “In our experiments, the black raspberry treatment significantly reduced inflammatory damage and reduced tumor growth and spread.”...In the acute setting, the UVB rays produced significant edema and increased skin thickening by 67 percent in the mice treated with the gel alone. The myeloperoxidase levels rose 500 percent in that group. In the mice treated with the black raspberry gel, the scientists found that the skin thickened only 20 percent, and myeloperoxidase levels rose only 37 percent...“If repeated studies bear out these findings, it could mean that one day we may be seeing a topical gel that could be used after you get sunburned – one that not only eases pain, but also lessens any sun damage you might have already suffered.” ...“The berry extract is a natural product – it had no discernible side effects.” And not to worry about purple skin, either. VanBuskirk says the amount of raspberry extract needed for therapeutic benefit is so small it didn’t even stain the animals’ skin."

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