Abstract:
By serendipity, researchers in Sweden found that
breast (human) milk induced apoptosis in cancer cells and
left healthy cells intact. Alpha-lactalbumin, isolated from
the casein component of milk, was identified as human
milk’s cancer-killing protein. In this follow-through study,
human milk and three types of carabao’s milk (pure breed,
native, and cross breed) were tested for apoptotic potential
on HeLa cancer cells. Per cent mortalities of the HeLa cells
were determined using trypan blue exclusion. The
anticancer potential of human milk casein isolate was
confirmed, with HeLa cell mortalities as high as 93% to
100%. Other mammalian milk forms, excluding those from
the carabao, have been tested but none induced cell suicide
in cancer cells. First-time tests on carabao milk conducted
in this study reveal no significant apoptotic potential
against HeLa cells. However, a consistent increasing trend
in the per cent mortality of HeLa cells resulting from
treatment with casein isolates from the three types of
carabao’s milk was found to follow the order: cross breed,
native, and pure breed. The analysis of variance of the
completely randomized design indicate that there is a
significant difference among treatments.
