A recent study has found that grape-seed extract may be what the medical community has been looking for to help eradicate cancer cells. In fact, the study concluded that grape-seed extract can indeed kill leukemia cancer cells.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Kentucky, is causing quite a bit of interest within the medical community and has been published in an American Association for Cancer Research journal called Clinical Cancer Research. The study was led by Xianglin Shi, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Kentucky, in the Graduate Center for Toxicology Department.

Many researchers are trying to find something that can eradicate cancer cells, with the stipulation that the same thing that can eradicate cancer cells will not have a negative effect (or any effect) on normal cells. Many are saying that grape-seed extract is the answer, though some think it is too soon to tell and are not sure the extract is chemo-protective.

During the study, Shi exposed leukemia cells to grape seed extract at different doses. In one of the high doses the extract caused apoptosis, which is the cell signaling pathway associated with the use of the extract causing death of the leukemia cancer cells. During they study they also found that grape seed extract had no affect on normal cells at all. In addition, within 24 hours of exposure to grape seed extract, over 75 percent of leukemia cells had died.

After the results, researchers wanted to find out how grape seed extract provoked apoptosis. To find out they used genetic and pharmacologic approaches to uncover that grape seed extract powerfully activates JNK (a regulating protein for the apoptotic pathway), as well as the JNK pathway. The JNK pathway controls the cell cycle.

More studies will be done to decide whether or not grape seed extract will be incorporated into leukemia and other cancer treatment and prevention. Many in the medical community are hopeful that the extract will indeed help eradicate cancer cells.