A compound found in carrots has been found to have an effect on the development of cancer.

Falcarinol is a natural pesticide and fatty alcohol found in carrots, red ginseng, Panax ginseng and ivy. It protects roots from fungal diseases, such as liquorice rot that causes black spots on the roots during storage. Falcarinol is a polyyne with two carbon carbon triple bonds and two double bonds. Falcarinol can cause allergic and irritant contact dermatitis. 

The Study 

A team of researchers, from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in England and Denmark, found the natural pesticide falcarinol reduced the risk of cancer developing in rats by one third. 

The British Newcastle University Schools of Agriculture, Food and rural development found that boiling the carrots increased the anti-cancer fighter falcarinol by 25%. 

Falcarinol is a phytochemical that protects carrots from different types of fungal diseases. It is a non nutrients element that have powerful effects in deterring major illnesses. 

Although experts have recommended that people eat carrots for their anti-cancer properties, it has not been known exactly what component of the vegetable has this effect. Now they know, it’s the falcarinol in the carrots that makes them strong cancer fighters. 

While carrots lose vitamins and minerals in the cooking process, they have increased levels of phytochemicals. The heat kills the cells in the carrot during cooking so they lose the ability to retain the water inside them and this increases the concentration of falcarinol in the carrot. When the cell walls break down the vitamin C and sugars are lost because they are water soluble. 

The research team carried out tests on 24 rats with pre-cancerous tumours in laboratory conditions. They divided them into three groups and fed them different diets. 

The team found that, after 18 weeks, rats who ate carrots (the popular orange variety) along with their ordinary feed and the group which consumed falcarinol with their feed – in a quantity equal to that contained in the carrots – were one third less likely to develop full-scale tumours than the rats in the control group. 

Dr Kirsten Brandt, a senior lecturer with Newcastle University’s School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, carried out the research with the University of Southern Denmark and the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences. She said: “We already know that carrots are good for us and can reduce the risk of cancer but until now we have not known which element of the vegetable has these special properties. 


info from undergroundhealth.com