The artificial sweetener Stevia may help prevent one of the world’s deadliest cancers, a new study suggests.
Researchers in Japan collected samples from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana, a plant native to tropical and subtropical South America.
The plant is used to make the sugar substitute Stevia, which can be 50 to 300 times sweeter than sugar and has no calories.
After fermenting the leaves with Lactobacillus plantarum — the same bacteria used in yogurt and fermented vegetables — the team found fermented Stevia proved effective at killing pancreatic cancer cells.
Compared to non-fermented Stevia, fermented varieties (FSLE) destroyed more cells of pancreatic cancer, which kills eight in 10 Americans affected within five years.
It also left healthy cells virtually untouched and neutralized free radicals, which cause harmful inflammation throughout the body.
Artificial sweeteners like Stevia have long been under fire for being linked to health issues like strokes, heart disease and some forms of cancer.
However, the science on sugar substitutes and alternatives is murky, while decades of research does show the harms of traditional sugar are much clearer.
A study shows the sweetener Stevia may help stave off pancreatic cancer (stock image)
The researchers said the findings could eventually turn the tide for pancreatic cancer, which is on the rise and most often only detected after it has spread throughout the body.
Narandalai Danshiitsoodol, study co-author and associate professor in the Department of Probiotic Science for Preventive Medicine at Hiroshima University, said: ‘Globally, the incidence and mortality rates of pancreatic cancer continue to rise, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 percent.’
In the US, approximately 67,440 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year, and about 51,980 people die from it, according to the American Cancer Society.
Pancreatic cancer is highly invasive and prone to metastasis, meaning it more commonly breaks away from the primary tumor and spreads throughout the body.
It shows significant resistance to existing treatments, such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, thus the need for anti-cancer compounds was sought after in less conventional methods like medicinal plants.
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That’s where Stevia and fermentation comes in.
In the study, published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, researchers fermented Stevia leaf extract and compared it to unfermented extract.
The technique is called microbial biotransformation, which has emerged as a valuable technique for improving the efficacy of natural plant extracts. It involves the use of microbial enzymes – bacteria and yeast, for example – to modify bioactive compounds and enhance their potency.
Stevia turned out to be most potent when fermented for 72 hours, without oxygen, at 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) – the body’s natural, healthy temperature.
The team found Stevia killed pancreatic cancer (PANC-1) cells more efficiently than the non-fermented extract.
At the same time, it barely touched healthy HEK-293 (healthy) cells, even at high doses.
The extract also slowed cancer cell growth and made them lose shape, preventing them from sticking together and spreading.
Additionally, fermented stevia proved to be a potent antioxidant. Cancer arises from oxidative stress, which damages cells and DNA.
In lab tests the Stevia extract neutralized free radicals more effectively than non fermented varieties, eradicating 94 percent of them in one test.
The chart shows survival rates for pancreatic cancer, per the National Cancer Institute
Fermentation likely created new compounds. The researchers suspect chlorogenic acid that is in the original stevia transformed into chlorogenic acid methyl ester (CAME), a more active form. The raw extract had none of this, by comparison.
It’s thought that CAME shut down cancer cells by blocking their cell cycle and making them commit apoptosis, molecular steps that lead to its death.
Danshiitsoodol said: ‘This microbial transformation was likely due to specific enzymes in the bacteria strain used.’
The Hiroshima University team plans to study FSLE in mouse models next, which will help determine how well CAME works in a living system and identify safe, effective doses.
Over time this could potentially lead to a natural and easy way to combat one of the world’s deadliest cancers.
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