Eating Sour-sop to Beat Diabetes, Heart Disease, Cancer
Researchers have shown that a meal of sour-sop could be the cure for diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and diarrhea. They are known for their succulent white endocarp. They are replete in southern Nigeria. The fruit-pulp is soft with an agreeably sour flavor. It is usually eaten raw but unfortunately contains a quantity of fiber. It may be more acceptable after some preparation, that is either as juice, ice-cream, jellies but not jams. Commonly called Sour-sop, Annona muricata is a plant, which belongs to the family Anonaceae. H. M. Burkill in the Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa described the Sour-sop plant as "a small tree attaining a height of about eight meter. A native of tropical America, but now widespread in the tropics, it is thought to have reached Africa (Angola) by 1686. The trunk and timber do not appear to have any particular uses."
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Sour-sop is a medicinal plant that has been used as a
natural remedy for a variety of illnesses. Several studies by different
researchers demonstrated that the bark as well as the leaves has
anti-hypertensive, vasodilator, anti-spasmodic (smooth muscle relaxant) and
cardio depressant (slowing of heart rate) activities in animals.
Researchers have confirmed the anti-viral activity of
ethanolic extracts of Sour-sop against Herpes simplex virus. Extracts of Sour-sop
have been shown to have anti-parasitic, anti-rheumatic, astringent,
anti-Ieishmanial and cytotoxic effects. Sour-sop has also been shown to be
effective against Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) cancer cell lines. Extracts of
Sour-sop were also shown to be effective against the cancer cell line U973, and
hematoma cell lines in-vitro. Extracts were also shown to be lethal to the
fresh water mollusk, Biomphalaria glabrata, which act as a host for the parasitic
worm Schistosoma mansoni. But recent studies have described how extracts of
Sour-sop reduces blood sugar in diabetics by improving insulin production,
Improves cardiovascular health by reducing blood fats, treat drug resistant
cancer, stop diarrhoea in children, among others.
Nigerian researchers have evaluated the effects of
methanolic extract of Sour-sop leaves on the pancreatic islet cells of
streptozotocin induced- diabetic rats. The results of the study indicated that
Sour-sop extract treatment decreased the blood glucose concentration of
diabetic rats due to the regeneration/proliferation in the pancreatic Beta
cells (Beta-cells).
The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine
system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several
important hormones, including insulin, glucagon and somatostatin, as well as an
exocrine gland, secreting pancreatic juice containng digestive enzymes that
pass to the small intestine. These enzymes help in the further breakdown of the
carbohydrates, protein, and fat in the chyme.
Beta cells (beta-cells, Beta-cells) are a type of cell in
the pancreas in areas called the islets of Langerhans. They make up 65-80 per
cent of the cells in the islets. Beta cells make and release insulin, a hormone
that controls the level of glucose in the blood
.... Streptozotocin (Streptozocin, STZ, Zanosar) is a
naturally occurring chemical that is particularly toxic to the
insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas in mammals. It is used in medicine
for treating certain cancers of the Islets of Langerhans and used in medical
research to produce an animal model for Type 2 diabetes.
Streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia in rats is considered a
good model for the preliminary screening of agents active against Type 2
diabetes and is widely used. Generally, destruction of Beta-cells starts three
days after STZ administration and reaches its peak at three to four weeks in
rats. Streptozotocin-induced diabetes in
laboratory animals has been widely used for research on diabetes and its
long-term complications.
Sour-sop has been found to contain numerous bioactive
compounds useful for the management of various ailments including Diabetes
Mellitus (DM), Type 2 diabetes, in folkloric medicine. The management of DM
depends on continuous hypoglycemic therapy, which may not be consistently
adhere to by the patient. The researchers therefore, investigated whether or
not extracts of Sour-sop could provide lasting hypoglycemic control through
regeneration of the destroyed Beta-cells of the pancreatic islets of
experimentally induced diabetic Wistar rats.
Nigerian researchers have used the fruit juice of Sour-sop
to stop diarrhea in children and adults. The study, titled "Use of Sour-sop
and Sweetsop Juice in the Management of Diarrhea in Children", was
published in Journal Diarrheal Disease Resident by Dr. Ifeoma B. Enweani of the
Department of Microbiology Faculty of Natural Sciences, Edo State University,
Ekpoma, Edo State.
The juice was administered onto 25, children aged six- 20
months and five adults With acute watery diarrhea. Children with prolonged diarrhea,
malnutrition, or other major systemic illnesses were excluded. Five mL of the
juice was administered on to the patients three times daily for up to 72 hours.
The fruit juice was able to resolve the diarrheic condition
at 48 hours. This conforms to the report that at 48 hours 42 per cent of the diarrheic
patients treated with smectite were free from diarrhea. Zinc available in the
juice had been reported to bring about significant reduction in intestinal
fluid loss. This suggests that Sour-sop juice can be used as, a complementary
source for Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) in the management of diarrhea in
children and adults. This could reduce morbidity and mortality rate in
children, especially in the developing nations.
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