Are lemons a scientifically proven natural chemotherapy? No, that's not true: Even though lemons demonstrate certain properties that are beneficial for human health, no evidence supports this claim. A study referred to in a video on TikTok claims that their findings suggest a potentially feasible approach to fight cancer using the combination of natural agents and chemotherapy. So, contrary to the claim made in the video circulating on social media, the study never suggested eliminating the traditional chemotherapy treatment or using lemon juice alone.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by @profdrmirjana on January 17, 2024, under the title (translated from Serbian to English by Lead Stories staff) "NATURAL CHEMOTHERAPY. SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN." It opened (as translated):
When it comes to the anti-carcinogenicity of lemon itself, science has established that, and in fact, the latest research shows that there are some so-called nanovesicles. These are small bubbles, the size of the thickness of the cell membrane ... These bubbles, they move between cells, they are intercellular bubbles. Science has established that these vesicles carry a large amount of proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. So far, lemons have been found to contain around 500 or something types of protein in those nanovesicles and they help communication between cells to be as good as possible and science has found that they help in the fight against cancer. This is a study from 2015 done by Italian doctors, the study was published and it is the first one of its kind, which found exactly which part carries these anticancer properties ... So when you drink lemon juice, when you use the lemon and honey elixir or when you put lemon in your salad, know that you are taking in powerful anti-carcinogenic agents, all of which have a strong effect on strengthening your immunity and on your health ... Therefore, we can say that lemon juice is a kind of natural chemotherapy and let's never forget that!
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Mar 11 09:19:54 2024 UTC)
The person speaking in the TikTok video refers to a 2015 study (archived here) on nanosized vesicles derived from lemon juice. Nanovesicles (archived here) are nanosized cellular structures, consisting of fluid enclosed by a lipid bilayer, that transport materials (archived here) within the cytoplasm. They are involved in metabolism, transport, buoyancy control and enzyme storage, and can also act as chemical reaction chambers. The study in question was done on mice. The results showed that, by using an in vitro approach, isolated nanovesicles inhibit cancer cell proliferation in different tumor cell lines.
Furthermore, the study demonstrated that lemon nanovesicles suppress chronic myeloid leukemia tumor growth in vivo by specifically reaching the tumor site. However, this does not mean that lemon juice alone can be used individually as a chemotherapy treatment, as the post claims. The study itself noted that combined with chemotherapy, lemons could be beneficial in fighting cancer:
All together, these findings highlight an alternative approach for cancer treatment, focused on using nanoparticles from natural substances, thus suggesting that the combination of natural agents and chemotherapy could be in the next future a feasible approach to eradicate cancer.
Additionally, this research does not support the claims made in the post, because eating lemons, drinking lemon juice or pouring some lemon juice over a salad is not the same as extracting nanovesicles from lemon and taking them intravenously, as was done in the study, so there is much less evidence of this approach being beneficial for people with cancer.
Lemons contain certain substances (archived here) that are considered to be beneficial for our health, such as vitamin C (archived here) and flavonoids (archived here), and some research suggests that citrus fruit could possess (archived here) anti-cancer properties (archived here). The beneficial compounds in lemon juice (archived here) have shown promise in certain studies, but the levels found in foods may only enhance the body's ability to fight off cancer. However, no studies have ever been done that would compare the effectiveness of lemon to chemotherapy. Also, no reputable scientific or medical studies have provided any evidence (archived here) that lemon alone can cure cancer as a form of chemotherapy, or replace it.
