<div>Eating red onions may help fight cancer, say scientists including one of Indian origin, paving the way for a natural pill that can treat the deadly disease.<div><br /></div><div>Onions activate pathways that encourage cancer cells to undergo cell death.</div><div><br /></div><div>They promote an unfavourable environment for cancer cells and disrupt communication between cancer them, which inhibits growth, researchers from University of Guelph in Canada said.</div><div><br /></div><div>Onions as a superfood are still not well known. They contain one of the highest concentrations of quercetin, a type of flavonoid, they said.</div><div><br /></div><div>The team found that red onions not only have high levels of quercetin, but also high amounts of anthocyanin, which enriches the scavenging properties of quercetin molecules.</div><div><br /></div><div>"We found onions are excellent at killing cancer cells," said Abdulmonem Murayyan, post doctoral student at University of Guelph.</div><div><br /></div><div>The team tested five onion types grown in Ontario and discovered that the Ruby Ring onion variety - that has hard, firm, tall globe-shaped bulbs with dark red colour features - has the strongest cancer-fighting power.</div><div><br /></div><div>"The next step will be to test the vegetable's cancer- fighting powers in human trials," said Murayyan.</div><div><br /></div><div>These findings follow a recent study by the researchers on new extraction technique that eliminates the use of chemicals, making the quercetin found in onions more suitable for consumption.</div><div><br /></div><div>Other extraction methods use solvents that can leave a toxic residue which is then ingested in food, said Suresh Neethirajan, professor at University of Guelph.</div><div><br /></div><div>"This new method that we tested to be effective only uses super-heated water in a pressurised container," he said.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Developing a chemical-free extraction method is important because it means we can use onion's cancer-fighting properties in nutraceuticals and in pill form," he added.</div><div><br /></div><div>While we can currently include this superfood in salads and on burgers as a preventative measure, the researchers expect onion extract will eventually be added to food products such as juice or baked goods and be sold in pill form as a type of natural cancer treatment.</div><div><br /></div><div>The study was published in the journal Food Research International.</div></div>
<div>Eating red onions may help fight cancer, say scientists including one of Indian origin, paving the way for a natural pill that can treat the deadly disease.<div><br /></div><div>Onions activate pathways that encourage cancer cells to undergo cell death.</div><div><br /></div><div>They promote an unfavourable environment for cancer cells and disrupt communication between cancer them, which inhibits growth, researchers from University of Guelph in Canada said.</div><div><br /></div><div>Onions as a superfood are still not well known. They contain one of the highest concentrations of quercetin, a type of flavonoid, they said.</div><div><br /></div><div>The team found that red onions not only have high levels of quercetin, but also high amounts of anthocyanin, which enriches the scavenging properties of quercetin molecules.</div><div><br /></div><div>"We found onions are excellent at killing cancer cells," said Abdulmonem Murayyan, post doctoral student at University of Guelph.</div><div><br /></div><div>The team tested five onion types grown in Ontario and discovered that the Ruby Ring onion variety - that has hard, firm, tall globe-shaped bulbs with dark red colour features - has the strongest cancer-fighting power.</div><div><br /></div><div>"The next step will be to test the vegetable's cancer- fighting powers in human trials," said Murayyan.</div><div><br /></div><div>These findings follow a recent study by the researchers on new extraction technique that eliminates the use of chemicals, making the quercetin found in onions more suitable for consumption.</div><div><br /></div><div>Other extraction methods use solvents that can leave a toxic residue which is then ingested in food, said Suresh Neethirajan, professor at University of Guelph.</div><div><br /></div><div>"This new method that we tested to be effective only uses super-heated water in a pressurised container," he said.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Developing a chemical-free extraction method is important because it means we can use onion's cancer-fighting properties in nutraceuticals and in pill form," he added.</div><div><br /></div><div>While we can currently include this superfood in salads and on burgers as a preventative measure, the researchers expect onion extract will eventually be added to food products such as juice or baked goods and be sold in pill form as a type of natural cancer treatment.</div><div><br /></div><div>The study was published in the journal Food Research International.</div></div>