Fighting cancer cells with the help of gold and red grapes
New research shows that the compound in red grapes along with gold particles can fight cancer cells in the laboratory.
Studies over the past few decades have shown the effectiveness of nanotechnology in combination with chemotherapy,
which can reduce the side effects on healthy tissues from targeting cancerous tumors.
In 2012, a team of researchers at the University of Missouri found that a combination of green tea
and gold nanoparticles could kill prostate cancer cells after reducing the dose of chemotherapy drugs.
Inspired by the research, researchers at the Sankara Netraya Ophthalmology Hospital in India used compounds in red grapes to fight cancer cells.
The results show that the anticancer efficacy of red grape compounds is similar to that of green tea,
and that it has the potential to produce clearer images on scan.
These images better help doctors closely monitor how cells change before and after treatment.
The combination of red grape extract with gold chloride led to the formation of gold nanoparticles;
These nanoparticles, when exposed to breast cancer cells in the laboratory, are able to quickly kill these cells, which is a targeted treatment.
This technology can be used to diagnose and treat different types of cancer.
The compounds in red grapes also have other medical uses and can be useful for patients with symptoms such as nausea,
cholera and liver problems.