Cancer fighting: Garden rhubarb Pic: © Dieter Weber
Eating rhubarb baked in a crumble may also be the best way to take advantage of its health benefits, and could lead to the development of new cancer treatments.
Researchers at SCRI, Scotland's leading centre for crop research in Invergrowrie, have found that baking British garden rhubarb for 20 minutes dramatically increases its levels of anti-cancer chemicals, according to findings published in the Journal Food Chemistry.
These chemicals, called polyphenols, have been shown to selectively kill or prevent the growth of cancer cells - and could be used to develop new, less toxic, treatments for the disease, even in cases where cancers have proven resistant to other treatments.
The scientists at SCRI were involved in a joint study with researchers at Sheffield Hallam University.
Academics are now hoping to use the results to study the effect of rhubarb's polyphenols on leukaemia.
They aim to discover the best combination of polyphenols and chemotherapy agents to kill leukaemia cells, even those previously resistant to treatment.
It is the first time the benefits of British garden rhubarb, specifically a variety grown in South Yorkshire, have been studied.
Previous research has focussed on Oriental medicinal rhubarb, which has been recognised for its health benefits and used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years.
Dr Gordon McDougall from SCRI's Plant Products and Food Quality programme said: "Our research has shown that British rhubarb is a potential source of pharmacological agents that may be used to develop new anti-cancer drugs.
"Current treatments are not effective in all cancers and resistance is a common problem. Cancer affects one in three individuals in the UK so it's very important to discover novel, less toxic, treatments, which can overcome resistance."
