B2G2, the most active component of grape seed extracts was found to be effective in killing prostate cancer cells leaving the healthy cells unharmed.
Besides skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer among American men. More than 230,000 cases are reported each year in the United States alone. Scientists have been working hard on finding a cure for this otherwise fatal disease.
In a new study, University of Colorado Cancer Center found that B2G2, the most active component of grape seed extracts, was found to be effective in killing prostate cancer cells, leaving the healthy cells unharmed, reveals a press statement.
"We've shown similar anti-cancer activity in the past with grape seed extract (GSE), but now we know B2G2 is its most biologically active ingredient which can be synthesized in quantities that will allow us to study the detailed death mechanism in cancer cells," said Alpna Tyagi, PhD, of the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy in the statement.
Over the last decade, Tyagi and a team of researchers from the University have conducted various studies to prove the effectiveness of GSE against cancer cells. However, prior to this new study, they weren't sure which component of GSE was most efficient in fighting cancer.
B2G2 is a complex mixture of polyphenols. Though the component is very effective, it is also very expensive and takes a long time to be isolated from grape seed extracts. Owing to these two factors, further exploration of B2G2 has been limited. In order to overcome this hurdle, researchers decided on synthesizing B2G2 in the lab and were successful in doing so.
With the synthesized B2G2, the researchers were able to clearly prove the effectiveness of the component.
"Our goal all along has been a clinical trial of the biologically active compounds from GSE against human cancer. But it's difficult to earn FDA approval for a trial in which we don't know the mechanisms and possible effects of all active components. Therefore, isolating and synthesizing B2G2 is an important step because now we have the ability to conduct more experiments with the pure compound. Ongoing work in the lab further increases our understanding of B2G2′s mechanism of action that will help for the preclinical and clinical studies in the future," Tyagi concluded.
