Carrot compounds and cancer in lab and animal studies
What it found
Compounds from carrots, including falcarinol and falcarindiol, have shown anticancer effects in lab tests on cancer cells and in some animal studies.
The authors say more research is needed before these compounds could be used in cancer treatment.
What they found
Studies in people
Carrot intake and cancer risk
Some studies in people found that eating more carrots was linked to a lower risk of some cancers, including lung and stomach cancer. A Danish study of 57,053 people found a link between carrot intake and fewer colorectal cancer cases.
Animal and lab studies
Falcarinol and falcarindiol in cells
In lab tests on human colorectal cancer cells, high concentrations of falcarinol stopped cell growth and increased cell death, while low concentrations encouraged growth. Falcarinol was more cytotoxic than falcarindiol, and combining them enhanced the effect.
Falcarinol and falcarindiol in animals
In rats with induced colon cancer, falcarinol and falcarindiol reduced early precancerous lesions in a dose-dependent way. A daily intake of more than 30 g of raw carrots may provide a preventive dose in humans, according to the authors.
Falcarindiol in mice
In mice with human colon cancer tumours, daily falcarindiol injections significantly slowed tumour growth from week 2 onward. It did not harm normal rat intestinal cells in lab tests.
Beta-carotene in cancer cells
In lab tests, beta-carotene reduced the growth of prostate and breast cancer cells at high doses, but at low doses it encouraged prostate cancer cell growth. It also reduced the spread of neuroblastoma cells in lab and animal studies.
Other carrot compounds
Anthocyanins from black carrots were toxic to several cancer cell lines in lab tests, including brain cancer cells. Carrot pectic polysaccharide reduced proteins involved in metastasis in lab studies.
What the authors conclude
“These properties make these compounds very attractive as potential candidates for cancer treatment, although contrasting data have been reported for some of them.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say that more investigations are needed into the major bioactive compounds in different carrot tissues and genotypes, and into how to process and extract them.
- They advise that more studies are needed on how these compounds work against tumour cells, including their pharmacokinetics and mechanisms of action.
- They note that although preclinical trials of acetylenic oxylipins showed anticancer properties without significant toxic side effects, none have yet been tested in clinical trials.
How it was done
Plants are a valuable source of drugs for cancer treatment, and carrot has been investigated for its health properties. The authors wanted to review the chemical composition of carrot and the anticancer characteristics of its compounds.
The authors reviewed studies on the chemical composition of carrot and the functional properties of edible and wild carrot subspecies. They focused on compounds with anticancer characteristics and discussed their potential use in new cancer treatments.
What it can’t tell you
- Most of the evidence comes from lab tests on cells or from animal studies, so it cannot show what happens in people.
- The studies in people can show a link between carrot intake and cancer risk, but they cannot prove that carrots cause the lower risk.
- The authors say that more research is needed before any of these compounds could be used to prevent or treat cancer in humans.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems-IRET-CNR, Italy; Institute of Genetics and Biophysics-IGB-CNR, Italy
The paper
- Title
- Chemical Composition, Functional and Anticancer Properties of Carrot
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Mandrich L, Esposito AV, Costa S, Caputo E (2023). Chemical Composition, Functional and Anticancer Properties of Carrot. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). doi:10.3390/molecules28207161Free full textPubMed 37894640DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error