Pawpaw for Cancer
Jay (Myrtle Beach, SC) on 02/04/2007:
A recently added supplement from the pawpaw tree has had 100 studies published concerning its effectiveness against cancer. The anti-cancer ingredients in pawpaw are annonaceous acetogenins. The most recent studies indicate that pawpaw twigs harvested in the springtime have the highest concentration of acetogenins. Pawpaw's main proponent is Dr. Jerry McLaughlin from Purdue University. Here's a link: Pawpaw Shows Promise in Fighting Drug-Resistant Tumors (http://www.purdue.edu/UNS/html4ever/9709.McLaughlin.pawpaw.html) I believe that the research with pawpaw was originally intended to result in an anti-cancer drug and this will probably happen in the near future. Since pawpaw is available as a food supplement and the tree grows like a weed in some states it can't be patented. That would be like getting a patent on apples or oranges. This means a drug company may produce an acetogenin anti-cancer drug but they can't corner the market on the acetogenins in pawpaw like they would normally prefer to do. We'll be hearing more about pawpaw in the years to come.
