{"entity":{"id":"graviola","kind":"technology","name":"Graviola (soursop)","aka":["Annona muricata","Soursop","Guanabana","Brazilian paw paw"],"tldr":"Graviola is a tropical tree whose fruit is soursop, and its leaf extracts are widely sold online as a natural cancer cure. They kill cancer cells in laboratory dishes, but there are no human studies, and animal studies raised concern about nerve damage.","summary":"Graviola leaf, stem and seed extracts are sold as dietary supplements and promoted as an alternative cancer treatment; in some Caribbean countries it is among the most common herbal remedies used by people with prostate, breast and bowel cancer. Memorial Sloan Kettering's About Herbs summary states that clinical evidence is lacking: extracts show activity against many cancer cell lines in the laboratory but human studies have not been done. Compounds in the plant (annonaceous acetogenins) caused nerve damage in preclinical studies, and MSK notes it is unclear whether this neurotoxicity applies to people, as one systematic review found leaf extract had a favourable profile; more studies are needed on both safety and efficacy. In animals graviola lowered blood sugar and blood pressure and so may add to diabetes and blood pressure medicines, and it altered the distribution of radioactive tracers used in nuclear imaging. Eating the fruit is harmless; using extracts in place of treatment is the danger.","status":"concept","asOf":"2026-11-04","links":[{"label":"MSK About Herbs: Graviola (page last updated 14 April 2026)","url":"https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/graviola"}],"tags":["complementary","supportive-care","evidence:insufficient"],"related":["lions-mane-mushroom","cancell-protocel"],"cancers":[],"sections":["supportive-care"],"technologies":["alternative-medicine-instead-of-treatment","integrative-oncology"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["unproven-diet-claims"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-misinformation"],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"Acetogenins inhibit mitochondrial complex I and are cytotoxic in cell culture; the same mechanism is the likely cause of the neurotoxicity seen in animals.","strengths":["Fruit is a safe food"],"limitations":["No human studies of anticancer effect","Possible nerve toxicity","May interfere with nuclear imaging"]},"route":"/technologies/graviola/","neighbours":{"technology":[{"id":"alternative-medicine-instead-of-treatment","kind":"technology","name":"Alternative medicine used instead of standard treatment","route":"/technologies/alternative-medicine-instead-of-treatment/"},{"id":"cancell-protocel","kind":"technology","name":"Cancell, Cantron and Protocel","route":"/technologies/cancell-protocel/"},{"id":"integrative-oncology","kind":"technology","name":"Evidence-based integrative oncology","route":"/technologies/integrative-oncology/"},{"id":"lions-mane-mushroom","kind":"technology","name":"Lion's mane mushroom","route":"/technologies/lions-mane-mushroom/"}],"section":[{"id":"supportive-care","kind":"section","name":"Supportive Care & Survivorship","route":"/fronts/supportive-care/"}],"term":[{"id":"unproven-diet-claims","kind":"term","name":"Unproven diet claims (alkaline, juice, 'anti-cancer' diets)","route":"/terms/unproven-diet-claims/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-misinformation","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Misinformation and unproven therapies","route":"/bottlenecks/b-misinformation/"}]}}