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Flores backs soursop cultivation for its health benefits, business
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Posted on Sep 02 2011
By Clarissa V. David
Reporter
Reporter
Mayor Donald G. Flores said the CNMI should look into growing graviola or soursop trees to produce tons of these fruits, which have been found to have anti-cancer properties.
Flores talked about the benefits of graviola at the proclamation signing for Prostate Cancer Awareness Month held at the mayor’s conference room on Wednesday.
Graviola is a heart-shaped fruit that’s green in color, and its tree is found in South America and several tropical islands, growing best in rain-forest climates.
According to Flores, he first learned about the cancer-fighting benefits of graviola from his uncle based in the U.S. mainland, Eddie Pangelinan, who battled prostate cancer himself.
Citing Internet sources, Flores said that extracts from the graviola tree, known as laguana in Chamorro, were shown to “effectively target and kill malignant cells in 12 types of cancer, including colon, breast, prostate, lung, and pancreatic cancer.
He said compounds found in a graviola tree were proven “to be up to 10,000 times stronger than Adriamycin, a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug.”
Additionally, these compounds “selectively hunts down and kills only cancer cells” and does not harm healthy cells, said Flores.
Flores disclosed that he has already communicated with the mayors of Rota and Tinian to discuss working together in developing a plan to get the public to plant “at least 10” graviola trees in their backyard and in government properties.
“We need to start planting this miracle fruit,” said Flores, adding that the tree planting will help realize the plan to produce between 20 to 30 tons of the graviola fruit.
Flores, in an interview, also said that he’s been in touch with a Korean investor who expressed interest in graviola production.
The mayor believes that graviola production will also “help our ailing economy.”
