Increased intake of the flavonoid apigenin, found in celery, parsley, and tomato sauce, may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by 20 per cent, suggests a new study from Harvard.

“Although none of the individual foods contributing to apigenin intake in this study population were significantly associated with ovarian cancer risk, there was a suggestion of an inverse association with increasing consumption of cauliflower, raisins, tomato sauce, and several other flavonoid-rich foods,” wrote lead author Margaret Gates.
Of all the cancers of the female reproductive system, ovarian cancer has the highest mortality.

In the UK, ovarian cancer causes more than 4,000 deaths per year, according to Cancer Research UK. While in 2003 in the US, a total of 14,657 women died from ovarian cancer, said the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance (OCNA).

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health.
Source: International Journal of Cancer
Volume 124, Issue 8, Pages 1918-1925
“Flavonoid intake and ovarian cancer risk in a population-based case-control study”
Authors: M.A. Gates, A.F. Vitonis, S.S. Tworoger, B. Rosner, L. Titus-Ernstoff, S.E. Hankinson, D.W. Cramer

Adopted from an article By Stephen Daniells, 30-Apr-2009 http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Celery-flavonoid-may-cut-ovarian-cancer-risk