Graviola cancer treatment and prevention, benefits, side effects, toxicity, safety and supplement dosage, how effective are these pills for cancer prevention or treatment?
Annona muricata

Graviola has been found in in vitro studies to have anti cancer potential. In Guadeloupe the fruit is eaten regularly and there is concern that consumption of this fruit on a regular basis for years and decades can lead to a Parkinsonian-like syndrome.

Botanical name
Annona muricata is the botanical name. It is also known as soursoup.

The fruit
Soursop (Annona muricata L.) is a highly aromatic fruit with white juicy flesh and native to tropical North and South America. The ripe fruits are highly perishable, as they become soft and easily bruised.

Dosage
Graviola supplements are sold over the counter in health food stores, online, and in some pharmacies. Graviola supplements are not expensive. A typical capsule has between 400 to 600 mg of the powder. Here are some products on the market that you can purchase:

Graviola (leaf) (powder) 375 mg
Soursop ( Annona muricata ) ( Leaf ) 500 mg
Graviola leaf and steam (soursop) 500 mg by Physician Formula, this is a reliable brand and is available on their website.
Annona muricata in a vegetable capsule (500 mg)

Purchase Graviola pills

I have purchased 500 grams of graviola from Raintree Nutrition, Carson City, NV. I was curious if there was a way to determine that the product that I received is in fact derived from the graviola tree? Worked in clinical research most of my adult career in Los Angeles, My partner has developed an aggressive from of prostrate cancer. Would like to administer this as a prophylaxis against metastasis.
   The only way to know is to send a sample to a lab that does HPLC testing.

Human studies
As of 2011, we are not aware of human studies with graviola as a treatment for cancer. Despite the lack of human studies in terms of cancer prevention or treatment, many websites promote graviola supplements to cancer patients based on traditional use and promising results of in vitro studies.

Antioxidant
Extracts of graviola possess potent in vitro antioxidant activity.

Cancer
Can sulforaphane from broccoli extract be used together with graviola herbal extract for cancer therapy?
    We have not seen such studies with this combination, but it is intriguing.

Colon cancer
I was operated on for colon cancer. I now have a colostomy bag and started chemo 2 weeks ago. I have had very few if any side effects from the chemo. thank goodness. I have been studying the effects of graviola on colon cancer and like what i read. I would appreciate your thoughts and can it be taken in conjunction with chemo.
    Since human research is not available regarding the role of this plant and its extract on various human cancers, it is not possible at this time to say whether this supplement is useful as an anti-tumor agent and whether it works well with chemotherapy.

Liver cancer
My Aunt has stage 4 Liver cancer. Do you think that graviola supplement pills can help her?
   It is not possible for us to predict since we have not seen human studies regarding the benefit of this herb for hepatic cancers.

Molluscicidal activity
An ethanolic extract of the leaves of graviola is toxic to adult forms of the snail Biomphalaria glabrata and to larvae of the brine shrimp Artemia salina.

Graviola side effects, caution, safety and toxicity
The benefits and side effects of graviola herbal supplements are not fully understood. Graviola may sometimes cause sleepiness or relaxation. Atypical parkinsonism in Guadeloupe has been associated with the consumption of fruit and infusions or decoctions prepared from leaves which contain annonaceous acetogenins, lipophilic inhibitors of complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain.

Atypical parkinsonism in Guadeloupe: a common risk factor for two closely related phenotypes?
Brain. 2007. Department of Neurology, Hospital of Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe..
In Guadeloupe, there is an abnormally high frequency of atypical parkinsonism. Only one-third of the patients that develop parkinsonian symptoms were reported to present the classical features of idiopathic Parkinson disease and one-third a syndrome resembling progressive supranuclear palsy. The others were unclassifiable, according to established criteria. We carried out a cross-sectional study of 160 parkinsonian patients to define more precisely the clinical phenotypes of the PSP-like syndrome and the parkinsonism that was considered unclassifiable in comparison with previously known disorders; and evaluate to what extent a candidate aetiological factor, the mitochondrial complex I inhibitor annonacin contained in the fruit and leaves of the tropical plant Annona muricata (soursop) plays a role in the neurological syndrome.  In conclusion, atypical Guadeloupean parkinsonism comprises two forms of parkinsonism and dementia that differ clinically by the presence of oculomotor signs, but have similar cognitive profiles and neuroimaging features, suggesting that they may constitute a single disease entity, and both were similarly exposed to annonaceous neurotoxins, notably annonacin.

I bought Graviola 6 bottles in 2010 & I'm taking it everyday 1 capsule for 5 days a week for 3 weeks. Recently I'm experiencing some side effects like heartburn even though I take it with food & supplementing myself with Probiotics everyday & taking Zantac or Nexium. Also my blood pressure is always high since I have taken Graviola. My BP is 159/80. I'm a hypertensive patient and taking Atenolol100mg, HCTZ 25mg, Cozaar 25mg everyday. The reason why I started taking it is because I was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 years ago, had double mastectomy, chemo, radiation. Currently taking Arimidex daily also. Do you think there is a drug interaction with it and my BP meds?
   it is so difficult to make a diagnosis in this case since there are many medications that can cause similar symptoms and no research has been done with such combinations.

Composition
Acetogenins, annonacin (90%), isoannonacin (6%) and goniothalamicin (4%). Acetogenins, such as annonacin, might be implicated in the etiology of Guadeloupean parkinsonism when the fruit is consumed for several decades.

MALDI-TOF MS profiling of annonaceous acetogenins in Annona muricata products for human consumption.
Molecules. 2009.
Annonaceous acetogenins are proposed as environmental neurotoxicants consumed through medicinal and alimentary habits and responsible for atypical parkinsonian syndromes observed in tropical areas. Potential sources of exposure still have to be determined, as, to date, only a few batches of products for human consumption were searched for these compounds. To assess the presence of acetogenins, we propose a fast, sensitive and accurate method of screening, using MALDI-TOF MS, with minimal sample preparation. Development of the technique is discussed. Its application to leaves of herbal tea, pulp and bottled nectar of Annona muricata is presented.

Combination with other dietary supplements
I recently bought a graviola supplement after hearing about it on Dr. Valerie Saxion’s program. But I read on another site a caution  when taken for cancer fighting purposes it ought not be taken concurrently with COQ10. If I recall correctly COQ10 increases ATP and thwarts the herb’s cancer fighting ability. Is this true? I have taken COQ10 for years and now take ubiquinol.
   A Medline search in 2011 did not reveal any studies that have combined these two nutraceuticals.