Purple Potatoes Suppressed Colon Cancer By Eliminating Colon Cancer Stem Cells

A study^[1] by Venkata Charepalli1 and his colleagues published on August 14, 2015 in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry showed that baked potatoes suppressed early and advanced human colon cancer cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in vitro and in mice.

The scientists used whole baked purple potatoes and baked purple potato extracts because people typically bake potatoes before consuming them, and they wanted to test if they maintained their anti-cancer properties after they were cooked. The study found that both the whole baked purple potato and the baked purple potato extract both suppressed colon cancer proliferation and caused cancer death.

Though the anthocyanin phytonutrients that give the purple potatoes their color are implicated as being the primary anti-cancer compound, the researchers believe several substances in the purple potato simultaneously operate on multiple pathways to colon cancer stem cells apoptosis, the programmed cell death (PCD). It is believed that anthocyanins and chlorogenic acid, and resistant starch work in tandem to create a synergy that increases their individual cancer killing abilities.

The researcher’s work with resistant starch showed that it served as food for gut bacteria, which they convert into beneficial short-chain fatty acids like butyric acid. Butyric acid suppresses chronic inflammation and promotes apoptosis in cancer cells.

Tags: anti-cancer