A new study has revealed that natural RoseHip, the fruit of the rose plant, extracts shows promising results for preventing breast cancer.

The extract significantly reduced the growth and migration of cells from a type of breast cancer known as triple negative. This particularly aggressive form of cancer does not respond to most available treatments and tends to affect young women as well as those who are African-American or Hispanic.

The scientists treated tissue cultures of triple negative breast cancer cells with several concentrations of rosehip extract. Exposure to the highest concentration (1.0 mg/ml) decreased triple negative breast cancer cell proliferation by 50%.

The effect was reduced with decreasing concentrations. The highest concentrations of rosehip extracts (.025 to 1.0 mg/ml) decreased triple negative breast cancer cell migration by 25 to 45%. Additional experiments revealed that the extract appears to work by reducing MAPK and Akt, two enzymes that are known to promote cell growth in triple negative breast cancer. The extract also enhanced the ability of the commonly used breast cancer chemotherapy drug doxorubicin to decrease cell proliferation and migration in the tissue cultures, suggesting rosehip extract might be a beneficial addition to the overall treatment regimen for patients with triple negative breast cancer.

Rosehips, the round part of the rose flower located just below the petals, are used as a natural source of vitamin C in tea and other foods. For the experiments, the researchers used pure rosehip, which can be purchased as a supplement in pill or liquid form.

The breast cancer research grew out of previous studies in which the investigators used rosehip extract to successfully prevent cancer cell growth in the brain, one of the places to which triple negative breast cancer tends to spread. They would also like to test the extract’s effects on prostate cancer cells.