These Bitter Foods May Help Treat Cancer

A team of researchers from University of California  and Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences have found a certain compound present in fruits and veggies like pumpkin, watermelon and cucumber  that may help treat cancer and diabetes. The study was published in the Journal Science. Using high-tech genomics, researchers have identified the genes responsible for the intense bitter taste of wild cucumbers. The team is of the opinion that the same compounds may also help treat cancer and diabetes.

 The experts specifically looked at wild cucurbits that includes cucumber, pumpkin, melon, watermelon and squash.  Wild cucurbits have been used by the Indians and the Chinese for medicinal purposes. They have been used for over thousands years to treat liver related diseases. Experts attempted at studying the fruit and leaves of wild cucurbits to find out more about a compound called cucurbitacins that renders bitterness to pumpkin, cucumber and other foods of the same family. Cucurbitacins were further studied to establish that the compound is capable of killing or suppressing growth of cancer cells.

Scientists explained that the presence of this bitterness as an element helps protect wild plants against their predators. William Lucas from the University of California, Davis, Sanwen Huang at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and their team employed the latest in DNA sequencing technology to identify the exact changes in DNA associated with bitterness.