Graviola is the delicious fruit of a tropical tree. Indigenous rain forest inhabitants have used the graviola tree and its fruit as powerful botanical medicines to treat cancer and other diseases for eons. Laboratory tests show that graviola possesses phytochemicals that combat cancer tumors. No human trials on graviola and melanoma have been concluded as of the time of publication, however. Do not use graviola to treat melanoma without discussing it with your physician.
Melanoma
Melanoma is a kind of skin cancer that involves melanocytes, the cells that produce melanin. Melanin is a pigment that determines the color of your hair, skin and eyes. Melanoma causes more deaths than does any other skin cancer. It is often detected because a mole begins to grow irregularly. Risk factors include extended and intense sun exposure, industrial chemicals such as asbestos and arsenic, heredity, and tanning beds, according to PubMed Health. People with blond or red hair, fair skin, and green or blue eyes are at increased risk, as are those with compromised immune systems.
Graviola
Graviola trees count as one of the many riches of the rain forest. Small in stature, these evergreen trees produce a fruit that is prized throughout the tropics. It is eaten raw or prepared as a drink or dessert. Graviola, or Annona muricata, also goes by the names guanabana and soursop. It belongs to the same botanical family as the American pawpaw tree. All elements of the tree, from its bark and root to its fruit and seeds, are employed as medicinal remedies by rain forest dwellers, according to Leslie Taylor, N.D., naturopath and author of the 2005 book "The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs."
Acetogenins
Graviola possesses bioactive plant chemicals called acetogenins. Acetogenins contain numerous therapeutic properties that support the folk use of graviola to treat cancer and viruses, Taylor states. Graviola extract successfully fought the herpes virus at the root of cold sores and genital herpes, according to an article by Barrie Cassileth in the September 2008 issue of "Oncology." Cassileth states that in test-tube research, graviola extract proved toxic to liver cancer and breast cancer cells. An article in the May 2011 issue of the "Journal of Asian Natural Products Research" also found that acetogenins effectively stopped malignant tumor cell growth. In addition, acetogenins acted against cervical cancer and leukemia cells in the laboratory.
Cautions
Graviola fruit has phytochemicals called annonacins. Research demonstrates that when daily doses of annonacins were fed to rats, brain injuries developed. The "Journal of Asian Natural Products Research" notes that the annonacins also kill cancer cells. Graviola needs to be tested and found safe and effective in human trials before it can be recommended as a melanoma treatment.
References
- PubMed Health: Melanoma
- "Journal of Asian Natural Products Research"; Annonaceae: Bio-resource for Tomorrow's Drug Discovery: Noushin Aminimoghadamfarouj, et al.; May 2011
- "Oncology"; Complementary Therapies, Herbs, and Other OTC Agents; Barrie Cassileth; September 2008
- "The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs"; Leslie Taylor; 2005
