This Sugar Substitute May Help Kill Cancer Cells: Study Suggests - Video

In a new study, researchers from Hiroshima University have found that stevia, commonly known as a zero-calorie sweetener, may possess potent anti-cancer properties when fermented with specific probiotic bacteria. Published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, the study revealed that fermented stevia extract selectively kills pancreatic cancer cells while leaving healthy kidney cells unharmed.

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest forms of cancer, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10%. “Pancreatic cancer is highly invasive and prone to metastasis, showing significant resistance to existing treatments, such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. As such, there is an urgent need to identify new and effective anticancer compounds, particularly those derived from medicinal plants,” said study co-author Narandalai Danshiitsoodol, associate professor in the Department of Probiotic Science for Preventive Medicine.

To enhance stevia’s bioactivity, the research team fermented its extract using Lactobacillus plantarum SN13T, a probiotic strain isolated from banana leaves. This fermentation process, known as microbial biotransformation, can structurally alter natural compounds to produce more potent bioactive metabolites.

The study compared the effects of fermented and non-fermented stevia extracts on pancreatic cancer (PANC-1) cells and non-cancerous human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cells. “Our findings indicate that FSLE (fermented stevia leaf extract) demonstrates significantly greater cytotoxicity than the non-fermented extract at equivalent concentrations,” said corresponding author Masanori Sugiyama, professor at Hiroshima University. Importantly, the fermented extract (FSLE) showed minimal toxicity toward healthy cells.

Further analysis identified chlorogenic acid methyl ester (CAME) as the key compound driving anti-cancer effects. “Our data demonstrate that CAME exhibits stronger toxicity to cells and pro-apoptotic effects which encourage cell death on PANC-1 cells compared to chlorogenic acid alone,” Danshiitsoodol added.

The team plans to investigate these effects in animal models next. “The present study has substantially enhanced our understanding of the mechanism of action of the Lactobacillus plantarum SN13T strain in the fermentation of herbal extracts, while also offering a valuable research perspective on the potential application of probiotics as natural anti-tumor agents,” Danshiitsoodol concluded.

Reference: Rentao Zhang, Narandalai Danshiitsoodol, Masafumi Noda, Sayaka Yonezawa, Keishi Kanno, Masanori Sugiyama. Stevia Leaf Extract Fermented with Plant-Derived Lactobacillus plantarum SN13T Displays Anticancer Activity to Pancreatic Cancer PANC-1 Cell Line. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2025; 26 (9): 4186 DOI: 10.3390/ijms26094186