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Soursop is a tropical fruit that grows in any season and is harvested from the trees before it has fully ripened.
Soursop is a fruit that provides the body with plenty of energy in the form of carbohydrates, vitamins A, C, D, B12, and B6. It's rich in fiber and minerals such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium. It also contains amino acids. It can be consumed as a juice or simply eaten straight.
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The fruit's popularity, often found in soursop tea, gives the mistaken impression that soursop can be used to treat or even cure cancer. A major scientific research report found laboratory studies of soursop promising. However, human research was needed to confirm its potential usefulness.
This report cited a 1997 study, which said that soursop compounds were tested on cultured breast cancer cells and were found to be up to 250 times more effective at killing cells than some drugs currently used in chemotherapy.
Dr. Wong Seng Weng, consultant medical oncologist and medical director of The Cancer Center in Singapore, said the limited data on the anticancer properties of substances extracted from soursop data are based on laboratory studies using cultured breast cancer cells.
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“There have been no further scientific developments, which would require animal testing before human testing,” the renowned Asian doctor said.
Most molecules discovered in research, based on laboratory models, fail in the long and arduous process of drug development, Wong said. "I would strongly caution against using soursop or its extracts as a substitute or complementary treatment in cancer treatment," he warned.
“Some of the substances found in soursop can pass from the bloodstream to the brain and cause neurological damage”
Soursop extracts, sold everywhere and even online, are made from fruits, leaves, roots or bark.
The prestigious Cancer Research Institute in the United Kingdom warns that many websites promote the sale of soursop capsules as a cancer cure. However, none of them are backed by reputable scientific organizations that research cancer.
