MAKÜ'lü Scientists Conducted a Study That Could Be Hopeful for Colon Cancer

Academicians from Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hulusi Dinçoğlu and his team, conducted a study that could offer hope for the treatment of colon cancer. The TÜBİTAK-supported study revealed that the components of the black elderberry fruit have the potential to destroy cancerous cells.

Black Elderberry Against Colon Cancer

Colon cancer is known as one of the most common and deadly cancers worldwide. In February 2023, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hulusi Dinçoğlu, Head of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Faculty of Health Sciences, and his team began studies on the 'black elderberry fruit,' a fruit they thought could be effective in colon cancer due to its antioxidant and immune system-regulating effects.

After conducting these studies with their own developed synthesis method, Prof. Dr. Dinçoğlu and his team concluded that the components of the black elderberry fruit have a lethal effect on colon cancer cells. This feature of the black elderberry fruit, which can grow naturally in many places in our country, could be used in the treatment of colon cancer in future studies.

Providing information about the TÜBİTAK-supported project, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hulusi Dinçoğlu said, “We conducted a study on whether the compounds called anthocyanins found in the structure of the black elderberry fruit are effective against cancer. We started this study with our team last year. In this study, unlike similar studies, we used a more innovative and green technology synthesis method. This method is one we developed ourselves. With the method we used, we were able to extract in pure form the compounds in the structure of the black elderberry fruit that we thought could be effective against cancer. This result was already a very productive step for the current stage of our study and was successfully concluded. In the next step, we examined the structural properties of these compounds. We successfully completed this process as well, and in the subsequent process, we conducted studies on how these compounds affected colon cancer cells through laboratory experiments and cell tests. This process progressed with many tests and methods conducted in the laboratory, and the data we obtained as a result of our study revealed that the compounds we obtained from black elderberry fruits with our own extraction method showed a lethal and destructive effect against colon cancer cells. In the study, the 'Phase 1' stage has been completed. In the next stages, experiments on animals and clinical tests will be conducted,” he said.

Journey to Healing from Nature

The black elderberry fruit grows naturally, especially in Burdur and its surroundings. This fruit is also found in the southern and Central Anatolia regions of our country. Although not yet widely used commercially, black elderberry has started to attract attention in recent years due to its potential health benefits.

Studies Will Be Completed and Transition to Industrial Stage

Prof. Dr. Dinçoğlu stated that black elderberry could be effective not only in the treatment of colon cancer and that after the positive results obtained from the studies conducted in this field, they aim to transition to the industrial stage and product development.