Taiwan researchers find citrus extract can help protect heart during chemotherapy in mice
台灣研究人員發現柑橘萃取物有助於保護小老鼠化療期間的心臟
| TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese researchers report that hesperetin, a citrus extract, can reduce heart damage caused by the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin without affecting its anti-cancer effects in research on mice.
The study, which was published in the international journal Redox Biology, involved researchers from the National Health Research Institutes, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, and the Department of Life Sciences at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, per CNA. According to the researchers, doxorubicin is used to treat breast cancer, lymphoma, leukemia, and ovarian cancer. However, its cardiotoxic effects may cause issues with heart contraction and rhythm, and even lead to heart failure for up to 9% of patients worldwide. Yeh Chi-hsiao (葉集孝), a cardiac surgeon at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, added that the citrus extract helps reduce damage to cardiac muscle cells, offering a potential way to mitigate doxorubicin’s toxicity and lessen its impact on the heart. Fu Shu-ling (傅淑玲), a professor at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and one of the study’s researchers, offered evidence from animal trials. She said that they treated tumor-bearing mice with doxorubicin in animal experiments. After the mice were given injections of the citrus extract, their heart function improved significantly, and the tumor volume was also markedly reduced. Tsai Ting-fen (蔡亭芬), another professor at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and a study researcher, noted that while citrus peels contain hesperetin, it must be converted by intestinal probiotics to become effective. She suggested that using probiotics to produce this citrus compound as a dietary supplement could help advance the development of new chemotherapy drugs. In 2023, Tsai’s research also showed that hesperetin can help restore some functions in aging heart and muscle cells. Tsai said her team will continue studying the citrus compound, which may have the potential to slow down aging. |
|
| Carol Yang Taiwan News, Staff Writer | |
| 2025-10-28 |
