Soybean Extract Found to Contain Anti-Cancer Compound

Researchers at the University of Illinois have determined in laboratory tests that an ethanol extract of soybean molasses can repress cancerous damage to normal body cells, according to Science Daily magazine.

Michael Plewa, team leader and geneticist in the university's crop sciences department, said the extract comes from byproducts at crop-processing plants.

"During crop processing, raw materials are modified by mechanical disruption, chemical extraction and changes in temperatures and pressures. Agents you take out of plants for food or processing products may not necessarily be the ones that are actually in the plants or seeds themselves. They may have been modified."

In a study published in Agricultural Research magazine, the University of Illinois researchers said the soybean extract contained an active compound, phytochemical complex 100 (PCC), that has chemicals known as saponins. The PCC was found in laboratory tests to suppress growth rates of cancer cells. Also, soy protein was found to reduce the growth rate of human colon cancer.Researchers said the soy protein finding was not surprising because of previous documented studies showing that soy-derived isoflavones have positive anti-cancer effects.

Funding for the research came from the U.S. Soybean Board and Illinois Soybean Operating Board, and collaborative work is continuing with a British company, BIBRA International, and with Archer Daniels Midland Co. in Decatur, IL.