KOTTAYAM: Jackfruit, the state’s official fruit, is known for its nutritional value. However, recent claims over its medicinal value, which is being presented with the endorsement of a few modern medicine practitioners, has kicked up a row after a section of doctors have come out against the assertions for presenting it without irrefutable scientific support.
A recent study conducted by Dr Thomas Varghese, surgical oncologist at Renai Medicity, Kochi, along with James Joseph, a techie-turned-entrepreneur who claimed that consuming green jackfruit flour with pegfilgrastim (a medicine to stimulate white blood cells) would reduce chemotherapy-induced leukopenia (decrease in WBC count), has triggered discussions on misleading claims for cancer treatment. According to Infoclinic, a social media platform operated by a group of doctors to debunk unscientific information and superstitions related to health care,the study lacks proper scientific base and campaigning the findings through popular media will mislead people.
‘Study not in accordance with ICMR guidelines’
“As per our primary analysis, the study was not done in accordance with stipulated guidelines. The study didn’t have the registration of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). Moreover, Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) method has not been followed here, making room for bias in the study,” said Dr Navya Thaikkattil, am member of Infoclinic.
According to ICMR guidelines, all clinical research involving human participants, including any intervention such as drugs, surgical procedures, devices, biomedical, educational or behavioural research, public health intervention studies, observational studies, implementation research and preclinical studies of experimental therapeutics and preventives or AYUSH studies, may be registered prospectively with the Clinical Trials Registry - India (CTRI).
Another allegation raised by Infoclinic is that one of the co-authors of the article, titled ‘Efficacy of Jackfruit365 Green Jackfruit Flour Fortified Diet on Pegfilgrastim to Prevent Chemotherapy-Induced Leukopenia’, is the founder of a jackfruit flour company. Hence, a conflict of interest is evident. “Besides, huge differences can be noticed in various comparative parameters of the study, including type of cancer, medicines administered during treatment, number of chemotherapy cycles and even the male-female ratio. Stages of the disease and presence of other diseases among patients have not been considered here,” said Dr Deepu Sadasivan, admin of Infoclinic.
‘Claim that pectin prevents neutropenia unscientific’
Infoclinic also questions the claim made by the study that pectin, a polysaccharide present in green jackfruit flour, prevents neutropenia (low count of neutrophils, most common type of WBC). “There is no scientific basis for this claim as nowhere in the world has a study proven or even suggested that pectin will act on the bone marrow and increase WBC count, as the conclusion of the study says,” pointed out Infoclinic.
Though the authors categorised the study as observational, the methodology applied is clearly interventional. And it’s not the natural food substance that was provided to patients, but a particular commercial product to observe a medicinal property. Hence, the study must be registered under ICMR to ensure the rights of the patients.
While Infoclinic compared the claim with earlier campaigns for Mullatha and Lakshmitharu in cancer care, experts have caution against the social impact of arguments without a scientific base. “If a data is published without conducting proper scientific study, the persons behind it should be penalised. Otherwise, such propagandas will continue diverting patients from existing treatment, which is a criminal offence,” said Dr V P Gangadharan, cancer specialist.
‘Allegations are baseless’
Meanwhile, Dr Thomas Varghese dismissed the allegations stating that the criticisms have been made without reading the article in detail.“This is a peer-reviewed journal. We nearly took a year to complete the study and also tried it on a large sample before making the observation,” said Dr Varghese.