Kinki University

Hagihara Farm Production Institute Co., Ltd.

Mie University

Tomohiro Itoh

Toshiharu Hashizume

Gengo Kashiwazaki

Yoshimi Utaka

Keigo Taneda

Satoru Hirabayashi

Takashi Kitayama

Phytol contained in watermelon sprouts is known to have a cancer cell growth inhibiting effect. However, there is a problem that an amount of phytol to be taken for exhibiting cancer cell growth inhibition is large. A cancer cell growth inhibiting composition comprising at least one of compounds having a structure represented by Formula (1), Formula (2), Formula (6), Formula (7) or Formula (8), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof as main components has a higher cancer cell growth inhibiting effect than phytol.

Cancer cell growth inhibiting composition and processed food

A so-called molecular-targeted drug acting on a signal transduction pathway in a cell has been developed. However, a side effect of the molecular-targeted drug is not negligible for a patient. Thus, there has been a demand for a substance that exhibits a significant growth inhibitory effect on a cancer cell with fewer side effects as a health food and a pharmaceutical composition. It has been found that a hexane extract fraction of a watermelon sprout has an effect of specifically inhibiting the cell growth of the cancer cell and such an effect is primarily caused by phytol and lutein. A processed food and pharmaceutical composition having these substances as main components can exert an anticancer action without causing side effects.

Processed food and pharmaceutical composition having watermelon sprout-derived substances as main ingredients

Growing community of inventors

Mie, Japan

Tomohiro Itoh