THINKED TV

Student-researchers from the Quezon Science High School found that chemical compounds in cassava leaves have the potential to fight breast cancer.

Cassava leaves’ extract possessed compounds, such as Ephedradine A and (25R)-Spirostan-3 12-dione, that successfully eliminate cancer cells without damaging the healthy ones on a given concentrated cassava leaves extract, according to the study.

This was inspired by another study that used cassava leaves to fight another human breast cancer cell line called SK-BR-3.

The researchers dried, pulverized, and macerated the cassava leaves into various solvents to study potential cancer-fighting properties.

“We discovered that it took 4.6 times more extract to kill normal cells than breast cancer cells. So, that means that although our extract is crude, meaning not really purified, it can somehow discriminate between what cells are healthy and what cells are not,” Gabrielle Shinyo, one of the researchers, explained.

The researchers said they used extracted compounds that were identified through MTT Assay by measuring absorbance on the cell and showed anticancer effect in the laboratory through in-vitro by combining the cassava leaves extract on MCF-7 breast cancer line.

Through in-silico test, the extracted compounds were good at binding with the cancer cells and blocking the “on switch”, like Estrogen Receptor 5U2B, preventing the cancer from spreading and growing, the researchers added.

Their research paper was approved by a panel of doctors from the National Kidney and Transplant Institute when they were still Grade 9 students.

The study was conducted with the assistance of a professor from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of the Philippines Manila.

Student-researchers Gabrielle Shinyo, Emmanuelle Reign Tica, and Bryce Ethan Cruz presented their findings at the prestigious American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025 on April 29, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

“Hopefully, in the future, this study can be sort of a starting point that could pave the way for a better, safer, and cheaper cancer treatment,” Tica said.

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