Avocado Discovery May Point to Leukemia Treatment

Published recently in Blood, the University of Guelph study highlights a compound only found in avocados – avocatin B – that inhibits the enzyme VLCAD, which is highly prevalent in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Because the cancer cells rely on this pathway to survive, scientists are hoping to hold human clinical trials to gauge whether avocatin B can be used as a safer, less toxic treatment than traditional chemotherapy.