In a screening conducted in 1976, the leaves and stem of graviola have shown active toxicity against cancer cells and researchers have watched closely these developments.
So far, specific acetogenine in of graviola and extracts of graviola have been reported to be selectively toxic in vitro on tumor cells: lung carcinoma, breast cancer, prostate adenocarcinoma, pancreatic carcinoma, adenocarcinoma of the colon, liver cancer, lymphoma, adenocarcinoma of the breast.
Researchers in Taiwan reported in 2003 that annonacin, a acetogenina extracted from graviola, is toxic against cancer cells from ovaries, cervix, breast, gallbladder, and skin, in small doses of administration, saying "annonacin is a promising anti-cancer agent and which deserves to be studied on animals and hopefully in clinical trials ".
A study was published in March 2002 by Japanese researchers which studied acetogenine different, found in various plant species. They were inoculated laboratory animals with lung cancer cells. 1/3 did not receive any treatment (control group), 1/3 have received chemotherapy and 1/3 have received acetogenina of graviola. At the end of 2 weeks, 5 of the 6 animals in the control group were alive and their tumors were measured. Chemotherapy-treated group showed a reduction with 54.6% of tumor mass compared to the control group, but ½ of the animals died due to toxicity. Animals which have received graviola extract was all alive and tumor was inhibited with 57.9% and free of toxicity. These results i have led researchers to conclude:they suggest that annonacin is much less toxic to laboratory animals. Considering the antitumor activity and toxicity, annonacin can be used to develop anti-cancer agents.
Use in current practice
Research on Cancer and the Annona plant family is continued by several pharmaceutical companies but also universities to investigate, test, patent and try to synthesize these new chemicals.
In fact, graviola resemble with another medicine called Taxol. From the moment you researchers found antitumor effects in the bark of Pacific Tisa and the new medicinal product taxol was discovered in the bark of this tree - have passed 30 years of studies by numerous pharmaceutical companies, government agencies and universities before that first Taxol - approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be sold to a cancer patient. With graviola, it has taken researchers almost 10 years to synthesize with successfully the chemical substance. This acetogenina has a center waxy and unique molecular energy, properties that have failed in previous attempts and a pharmaceutical company has stopped the studies. Today scientists have the ability to recreate these substances and other ancetogenine in the laboratory, the next step is to change this substance to become a new substance that can be patented and transformed into a new anticancer medicine (because the substances derived from natural plants cannot be patented).
Until now scientists attempt were foiled - every time you have change the chemical substance enough, that it can be patented, lost much of antitumour activity.
Just as in the development of taxol, you might as government agencies to make a step forward and to launch studies on humans with synthesized substances unpatentable natural (which will allow pharmaceutical companies to develop a chemotherapy using researches) to make accessible the therapy patients. During this time, many patients and medical practitioners not wait ... they add leaf and stem of the plant in their treatment protocols complementary of cancer.
While researches confirmed that these acetogenine antitumor is found in high concentrations in seeds and roots, other alkaloids from seeds and roots have demonstrated neurotoxic effects.
Studies have suggested that these alkaloids may be related to the atypical appearance of Parkinson's disease in countries where seeds are used as anti-parasite remedy. Therefore the use seeds and root of graviola is not recommended at this time.
Maybe - if enough people would believe that it is possible that treatment of cancer to stand locked in rainforest - we take the necessary measures to protect what's left of it before being destroyed.
