Carrot Compound Lowers Cancer Risk 39719

Carrot Compound Lowers Cancer Risk

COLUMBUS, Ohio--Danish and English researchers have identified a chemical compound in carrots, called falcarinol, as responsible for lowering the risk of cancer by as much as one-third. Their research, published in the Feb. 9 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, involved 24 rats with precancerous tumors given either raw carrots, falcarinol supplements or just regular feed for 18 weeks. In the end, rats given carrots or falcarinol experienced one-third fewer incidence of cancer than rats on regular feed.

Epidemiological studies have reported high carrot consumption can lower the risk of cancer by as much as 40 percent, but the cancer-fighting component of carrots was never clearly identified. Many experts theorized beta-carotene was the key anticancer compound.

A chemical compound found in carrots and other plants, such as celery, parsnip and parsley, falcarinol primarily protects plants against fungal diseases, but researchers followed up earlier inconclusive research suggesting falcarinol as the key chemical.

The scientists, from the University of Newcastle and the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, cautioned the carrots used in the study were raw, and there is not yet any way of knowing if juiced or cooked carrots would produce the same effect. The mechanism behind falcarinols effect is also uncertain, and the researchers admitted such results in rats do not necessarily transfer to humans. They urged further study of carrots and other plants containing falcarinol.