The trendy superfood 'red dates' from Asia kill cancer cells in the lab, new research suggests.

新研究发现，亚洲流行的超级食物红枣能杀死实验室里的癌细胞。

Jujube fruits, which are known as red dates due to them looking similar to the Middle-Eastern staple¹, programme lung, breast and prostate cancer cells to commit suicide, a study published in the journal Food & Function found.

一项发表在《食品与功能》期刊的研究发现，形似中东椰枣的红枣可以让肺部、乳房和前列腺的癌细胞“自杀”。

Red dates are thought to trigger cancer cell death by causing 'internal stress' in tumours², according to researchers from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

英国皇家化学学会的研究人员认为，红枣会引发肿瘤的“内部压力”，导致癌细胞死亡。

The results occurred after cancer cells were exposed to jujube in the lab. It is therefore unclear if the fruit helps to prevent or treat the disease in humans.

实验室内的癌细胞和红枣接触后产生了这一结果。因此不清楚红枣是有助于预防癌症，还是能够治疗癌症。

Jujube fruits, which are used in Chinese medicine to treat insomnia³, a loss of appetite and diarrhoea, are available in the UK for just 1.99 pounds for a 40g bag.

红枣在中医里被用来治疗失眠、食欲不振和腹泻，在英国一包40克红枣的价格是1.99英镑。

The researchers exposed human lung, breast and prostate cancer cells to eight compounds found in jujube fruits.

研究人员将人类肺部、乳房和前列腺的癌细胞与红枣中的8种化合物相接触。

Results suggest four of the compounds reduce the survival rate of these cells. In addition, three red-date compounds trigger cancerous cells to kill themselves.

结果显示，其中四种化合物能减少这些细胞的存活率。此外，红枣中的三种化合物还能让癌细胞自杀。

Internal stress caused by the compounds is thought to damage tumours' structures. The researchers believe jujube extracts could be used in cancer treatments in traditional Chinese medicine.

红枣化合物引发的内部压力会破坏肿瘤的结构。研究人员认为，红枣提取物可用于癌症的中医疗法。

They add, however, further research is required to determine how jujube fruit's compounds trigger cancer cell death.

不过他们也表示，还需要进一步研究才能确定红枣中的化合物是如何引发癌细胞死亡的。