Punica granatum and myeloma

PubMed is such a fabulous treasure trove. A few days ago, I came upon a new, promising study on the devastating effects that extracts of the non-edible parts of a plant called Punica granatum had on U266 myeloma cells. The extracts not only stopped the myeloma cells from proliferating, but also took a hatchet to ’em, finishing them off for good: goo.gl/dYlXuK Yes indeedie…Using more technical words, the extracts triggered apoptosis in this myeloma cell line… Okay, and now it’s time for me to fess up…the joke’s on me! I mean, even though I studied Latin for many years, up to, and including, my last year in Italian high school, I didn’t recognize that Punica granatum meant pomegranate! Silly me! And to think I’ve actually written FOUR medical-related posts on pomegranates (just search my blog for “pomegranate,” using the handy “Search” box on the upper right). Feeling a bit silly, now. Oh well, life goes on.    Anyway…Unfortunately, the anti-myeloma activity of this shrub/tree apparently isn’t in the fruit, but, as mentioned above, in extracts that came mainly from its stems and leaves, So the photo I took of two lovely pomegranates that we ate a few months ago is just for show, just to give some color to my post… The study concludes the following: “The data suggest that the extracts can be envisaged in cancer chemoprevention and call for further exploration into the potential application of these plant parts.” In...
Source: Margaret's Corner - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Blogroll Source Type: blogs