Researchers have shown that treatment with peach extract inhibit breast cancer metastasis in mice.
Texas A and M AgriLife Research Research scientists say that the mixture of phenolic compounds present in the peach extract are responsible for the inhibition of metastasis.
Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos, a food scientist for AgriLife Research in College Station, said that cancer cells were implanted under the skin of mice with an aggressive type of breast cancer cells, the MDA-MB-435, and what we saw was an inhibition of a marker gene in the lungs after a few weeks indicating an inhibition of metastasis when the mice were consuming the peach extract.
He said that furthermore, after determining the dose necessary to see the effects in mice, it was calculated that for humans it would be equivalent to consuming two to three peaches per day.
The study was conducted using the peach variety Rich Lady. However, according to Cisneros-Zevallos, most peach fruit share similar polyphenolic compounds but might differ in content. The study also determined that the underlying mechanism by which peach polyphenols are inhibiting metastasis would be by targeting and modulating the gene expression of metalloproteinases.
The study has been published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.