Prickly pears may possess substances that could contribute to curing cancer and help diabetes patients, according to the results of a study published by the University of Malta and a local biotech company.

It focused on the benefits of Tex-OE, a patented natural plant extract made from the skin of Opuntia ficus indica, produced by the Institute for Cellular Pharmacology.

This product is neither a medicine nor a vitamin supplement, but is sometimes referred to as a nutraceutical.

The institute, which collaborated with the University’s Anatomy Department, said Tex-OE accelerates the body’s response to stress by inducing the production and release of heat shock proteins, allowing healthy cells to better survive chemotherapy.

Thanks to a €100,000 grant from the Malta Council for Science and Technology, three effects of the extract were investigated over three years.

Project coordinator Charles Saliba said that in the heat shock protein tests, the product did not seem to enable tumour cells to survive as well, so by administering it with drugs, such as Cisplatin and Vincristine, chemotherapy would mostly kill cancer cells.

During a presentation at the MCST headquarters in Bighi, Mr Saliba said the study also focused on the effects of Tex-OE on diabetes, whose sufferers are more prone to infectious diseases. The extract reduced the risk of such complications.

The third area of the study was in stem cell transplants from bone marrow, cord blood and fat, which are used to treat conditions such as leukaemia, cancer and certain degenerative diseases.

Tests carried out on cord blood using Tex-OE demonstrated that stem cell populations increased, which is important because the amount of stem cells in a unit is only sufficient to treat a person weighing up to 50 kilograms.

This might prove to be a breakthrough in the future since stem cell treatments are still in their infancy.