Thread: Graviola
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Old 05-05-2010, 01:27 PM   #3
StephN
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Re: Graviola

Hi Rhonda -

The link lead me exactly Nowhere.
I do recall conversations here and the warnings against this sounding loud and clear.

Here is what Dr. Weil had to say in Nov. of 2007:

The idea that graviola is an effective cancer fighter comes from research at Purdue University's School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences on the active components of the tree, unique substances known as annonaceous acetogenins. The Purdue investigators found them to be potent inhibitors of cancer cells while leaving normal cells alone. They also found the compounds to be effective against drug-resistant cancer cells.


But these were in vitro results - that is, the results of adding the annona derivatives to cancer cells growing in test tubes. This is a long way from clinical trials to determine the safety and efficacy of these compounds in people with cancer. In fact, I have found no human studies at all of graviola, for treatment of cancer or anything else. We do not even have basic safety data on graviola extracts. What's more, there is no way to tell whether commercially available graviola contains any of the compounds studied at Purdue. Indeed, the compounds used in the test tube studies didn't come from the custard apple tree at all, but from the leaves of annona glabra, a related tree that grows in Florida and produces a fruit called pond apple.

Dr. Low Dog says she wouldn't take or recommend graviola or its extracts as a dietary supplement. I agree.
Andrew Weil, M.D.
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Last edited by StephN; 05-05-2010 at 01:35 PM..
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