Indian bitter melon may harbour breast cancer cure

Washington, DC: An extract from bitter melon, a vegetable common in India and known as 'karela' in Hindi, helps trigger a chain of events that kills breast cancer cells and prevents them from multiplying, claims an Indian-origin researcher at Saint Louis University.

Ratna Ray, PhD., professor in the department of pathology at Saint Louis University and lead researcher, said she was surprised that the extract from the bitter melon she cooks in stir fries inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells.

"To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the effect of bitter melon extract on cancer cells," Ray said. "Our result was encouraging. We have shown that bitter melon extract significantly induced death in breast cancer cells and decreased their growth and spread."