As you peel your way around an orange, scoop up a segment of a juicy pink grapefruit, or taste the delicious citrus flavor of a tangerine in your mouth, you probably don’t think about their anti-tumor compounds. But apparently nature does! A flavonoid called naringin, found mainly in the skin and flesh of these fruits, shows enormous promise in both lab and animal studies involving a number of cancers. These include cervical, gastric, prostate, breast, colorectal, osteosarcoma, bladder, ovarian, melanoma, glioma, lung, esophageal, thyroid, and liver cancer.
In this recent review of the research on naringin’s anti-tumor effects, the authors highlight the numerous ways it interacts with cells.
The connection between cancer, citrus fruit and cells
Our bodies are made up of cells that carry out many essential functions in a highly regulated and orderly manner. These functions depend on intricate communication processes, chemical reactions, and signaling pathways within and between cells. And of course, every cell contains our DNA, which is made up of genes inherited from our parents.
One of the important functions of a cell is to replicate itself through a process of division in order to keep the body healthy. Damage and faulty signals can distort this process, causing mutations.
The cell (or even many cells) may start growing and replicating out of control, not repairing itself when it should, and even not dying when it should. This can result in cancerous cells forming lumps or tumors and spreading (metastasizing) to other parts of the body.
Naringin and Cancer
Cancer cells replicate by dividing. Studies have shown that naringin can inhibit this proliferation, as well as the growth of tumors, in a time-dependent manner. Cells have cycles which determine how and when they start dividing; this often requires many signaling pathways. Naringin stops several of the phases within these cycles, particularly with respect to the proliferation of tumor cells.
Cells have a finely tuned mechanism called apoptosis that controls the process of cell death. When they’re damaged or undergo mutation, it’s important that they are either repaired or eliminated in order to maintain overall health.
One of naringin’s anti-tumor effects is its ability to induce tumor cell death by influencing several key pathways involved in apoptosis.
Autophagy helps to remove garbage from your cells
One of reasons cancer can be so hard to treat is its ability to metastasize, or spread to other areas of the body. Naringin inhibits the invasion and metastasis of tumor cells through the regulation of the migration process.
Damaged, dying, or dysfunctional components of cells disrupt their normal functioning and must be removed. The process of autophagy is the cell’s way of removing the garbage so that it can maintain its function and integrity. Removing all this waste protects the cell from possible mutation and cancer cell formation. Naringin helps to induce autophagy and therefore protect the cell.
Naringin, the citrus fruit compound vs other natural compounds
Natural substances can have many benefits, either as an adjunct to pharmaceutical therapies or on their own. This is partly due to their bioavailability and biocompatibility as well as the body’s ability to recognize them.
In many studies, naringin has been shown to be anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antioxidant. It even helps with blood sugar control. But how does naringin stack up against other natural substances like curcumin, baicalin, and quercetin?
Naringin has a number of advantages:
- It is absorbed more rapidly into the bloodstream.
- It can exert a therapeutic effect throughout the body.
- It is absorbed via the intestine and liver, which helps improve its effectiveness.
- It is safe, well tolerated, and reliable.
- It can be used along with chemotherapy drugs and may even help to mitigate adverse reactions.
Naringin’s Future as an Anticancer Compound
The authors of the review suggest that this cirtrus fruit compound naringin demonstrates very strong potential when it comes to both improving and extending the lives of cancer patients. Unfortunately, most naringin studies have been conducted in labs or on animals. The authors say that more human studies are needed.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, naringin has long been used in combination with other herbs. This could be an interesting avenue for further exploration: understanding whether its healing properties are amplified in combination with other herbs.
