It’s a fantastic tongue twister and a compelling endorsement of colourful food: purple potatoes pack powerful cancer prevention punch.
Experiments conducted at Penn State University have shown that baked purple potatoes suppress the development of colon cancer tumours in petri dishes and in mice.
The results demonstrated that chemicals in the potatoes target cancer stem cells.
Aram Vanamala, an associate professor of food sciences at Penn State, said attacking cancer stem cells is critical in disease prevention.
“You might want to compare cancer stem cells to roots of the weeds,” Vanamala said.
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“You may cut the weed, but as long as the roots are still there, the weeds will keep growing back and, likewise, if the cancer stem cells are still present, the cancer can still grow and spread.”
The Penn State scientists said a number of substances in purple potatoes, including anthocyacins and cholorogenic acid, suppress colon cancer stem cells.
The researchers said baked purple potatoes could potentially be used in general cancer prevention and help patients in remission remain free of cancer.
Based on the mouse studies, humans would have to eat one large purple potato per day to get the necessary dose of beneficial compounds.
The scientists plan to test purple potatoes on other forms of cancer and evaluate its ability to prevent cancer in human trials.
