Bitter Melon Discovered to Kill Cancer Stem Cells: Cancer stem cells are the toughest part of any tumor to kill because they are highly resistant to any treatment and can regenerate themselves even after most of the tumor has been destroyed (causing the cancer to come back years after an apparent remission). Only a few natural products have been shown to kill cancer stem cells, and researchers discovered this amazing property of bitter melon very recently in this study. First, bitter melon extract was seen to slow the growth of colon cancer cells by 97% in vitro. But then more amazingly, the natural extract also decreased the cancer “regrowth” from stem cells by 70%, and killed 86% of the cancer stem cells outright. Bitter melon (Momordica charantia) is widely cultivated and eaten across Asia and Africa, and has already been used for centuries in tradition medicine for its many health benefits (antiviral, antioxidant, anti-diabetes). Bitter melon has also shown activity against cancers of the breast, prostate, colon, pancreas, liver, and stomach as well as leukemia, and has also shown great promise for treating diabetes. More recently, bitter melon juice was shown to reduce the size of cancerous pancreatic tumors in mice by 64% (compared to controls) at a dose equivalent to just six grams of powdered juice for a 75kg human adult.