Can graviola cure cancer?

Graviola is a substance that comes from a tree in the rain forests of Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. Its scientific name is Annona muricata. It is also known as custard apple, cherimoya, guanabana, soursop and brazilian paw paw. In many countries, people use the bark, leaves, root, and fruits of this tree for traditional remedies. The active ingredient is thought to be a type of plant compound (phytochemical) called annonaceous acetogenins. People in African and South American countries have used graviola to treat infections with viruses or parasites, rheumatism, arthritis, depression, and sickness. We know from research that some graviola extracts can help to treat these conditions. In laboratory studies, graviola extracts can kill some types of liver and breast cancer cells that are resistant to particular chemotherapy drugs. But there havent been any large scale studies in humans. So we don't know yet whether it can work as a cancer treatment or not. Overall, there is no evidence to show that graviola works as a cure for cancer. Many sites on the internet advertise and promote graviola capsules as a cancer cure, but none of them are supported by any reputable scientific cancer organisations. We know very little about how graviola affects the body. But we do know that it may cause nerve changes, causing symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease. So it may have harmful side effects for some people. Always talk to your doctor before taking any kind of complementary or alternative therapy. Graviola costs more than 5 for 100 capsules. The manufacturers advise taking 2 capsules, 3 to 4 times a day. So 100 capsules could last less than 2 weeks. We do not support the use of graviola to treat cancer. Our advice is to be very cautious about believing information or paying for any type of alternative cancer therapy on the internet. You may find it useful to read our section about searching for information on the internet.

GRAVIOLA TREE "10000 TIMES STRONGER KILLER OF CANCER THAN CHEMO" - FACTS ANALYSIS
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July 07, 2012

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STORY:
"10000 times stronger killer of Cancer than Chemo".. do share it.. can save many lives, fill up hopes and build confidence in the patients... The Sour Sop or the fruit from the graviola tree is a miraculous natural cancer cell killer 10,000 times stronger than Chemo. Why are we not aware of this? Its because some big corporation want to make back their money spent on years of research by trying to make a synthetic version of it for sale. So, since you know it now you can help a friend in need by letting him know or just drink some sour sop juice yourself as prevention from time to time. The taste is not bad after all. Its completely natural and definitely has no side effects. If you have the space, plant one in your garden. The other parts of the tree are also useful. The next time you have a fruit juice, ask for a sour sop. How many people died in vain while this billion-dollar drug maker concealed the secret of the miraculous Graviola tree? This tree is low and is called graviola ! in Brazi l, guanabana in Spanish and has the uninspiring name soursop in English. Read more

HOAX OR FACT:
Mixture of hoax and facts.

ANALYSIS:
The message claims that Graviola, also called Soursop is a miraculous, natural cancer cell killer which is 10,000 times stronger than Chemotherapy. It is a fact that Soursop has certain health benefits, attributed to its anti-parasitic, anti-microbial and anti-depressive properties, and recent studies have shown that it MAY have chemotherapeutic potential, but the part of the message saying it is natural cancer cell killer, 10,000 times stronger than Chemotherapy, is a certain hoax.

ABOUT GRAVIOLA (SOURSOP)

Soursop (scientific name - Annona muricata), also called Graviola (Portuguese), is a fruit that generally grows in the rain forests of Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. It has other names like thorny custard apple, cherimoya and brazilian pawpaw. In various languages, this fruit is referred as: guanabana (Spanish), corossol (French), aluguntugui (Ghana), sorsaka (Papiamento), adunu (Acholi), guyabano, guanavana, durian benggala, nangka blanda, sirsak, toge-banreisi, nangka londa and zuurzak. In India, it is less known as shul-ram-fal and hanuman fal, and as mullaatha in Malayalam. The bark, leaves, root and fruits of this tree are used for traditional remedies in many countries. Graviola extracts are used for treating infections of viruses or parasites, rheumatism, arthritis, diarrhea, dysentery, depression and sickness.

GRAVIOLA AND CANCER

The idea that Soursop can fight cancer effectively started after a research at Purdue University's School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The research concluded that the active components of the tree are a unique phytochemical substances known as annonaceous acetogenins, which MAY have chemotherapeutic potential, especially with regard to multi drugresistant cancer cells. But these tests were only confined to test tubes, no large scale clinical trials were conducted on humans to determine the safety and efficacy of Graviola for treating cancer. Therefore, there is no significant evidence to show that Soursop works as a cure for cancer. There is evidence indicating that the fruit's extracts selectively inhibit the growth of human breast cancer cells by downregulating expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in vitro and in a mouse model, but the effect has not been studied in humans.

POSSIBLE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF GRAVIOLA

Studies show that use of Soursop can have certain adverse effects in some people, especially movement disorders and nerve damage that is similar to Parkinson's disease, which is due to the very high concentration of annonacin. Graviola also has few other side effects like lowering the blood pressure, so it should not be taken by people with low blood pressure or heart complications. The antimicrobial properties of Soursop can also kill beneficial bacteria on the skin, in the vagina and gut, which can lead to infections in long term use.

CONCLUSION
Therefore, the message saying that Graviola, i.e Soursop is 10,000 times more effective cancer killer than chemo is a hoax. However, you can find thousands of websites online selling it as a miracle fruit. We advise people not to believe them blindly, but consult a doctor or oncologist before using it.

Update: 22 Apr 2013

We thank Mr. Kevin Kuin who has shared his mother's Cancer experience through comments. Mr. Kevin Kuin said: Living in a farm village in Sarawak, my family grows many types of fruit trees including this Graviola tree. My late mother the only person in my family fond of them and we would keep them just for her. But she died of cancer in 1996 although she never stop eating this fruit until she was found to have cancer in 1995. I don't mean to be negative here but will want to understand how this fruit will have prevented cancer from my late mother.

References:
Purdue University Research on Graviola Soursop Health Benefits All about Soursop Soursop effects on nerves Anti-hyperglycemic effects of Graviola Soursop anti-depressive effects