Bokbunja, which ‘overturns the urinary bladder’, really had an immunity-boosting effect

Bokbunja (覆盆子·Rubus coreanus MIQ) is named because eating this makes the urine stream stronger and overturns the urinary cavity. Because the fruit ripened in May of the lunar calendar is dark red, it is also called Oh Pyoja, Daemaek Mae, Sapjeon Pyo, and Disaster Pyo.

In old literature, such as , bokbunja is introduced as an antiperspirant, antipyretic, and tonic. In particular, it has been used as an aphrodisiac because eating bokbunja increases the amount of semen and urine. Antioxidants such as polyphenols and vitamin C contained in bokbunja improve health by removing free radicals, which are the main culprit in damaging the inner wall of blood vessels and causing arteriosclerosis, but the scientific basis for this is minimal.

However, research results have shown that the oil extracted from raspberries (Bokbunja seed oil) actually has the effect of increasing immunity and killing cancer cells.

Su-dong Kim, head of Advanced Medical Bio ICC Center at Ajou University, and Professor Dong-wook Park, Professor of Advanced Medical Bio ICC, said, “As a result of administering oil (Bokbunja seed oil) extracted from Korean Bokbunja seeds to human leukocytes, ‘interferon gamma (IFN-γ)’, a type of cytokine, was detected. increased by 26% compared to the control group.” Cytokines are signaling substances that control and stimulate the body’s immune system.

Center Director Kim’s research team also said, “As a result of injecting cancer cells into human leukocytes administered with Bokbunja seed oil, about half of the cancer cells were killed.”

For the research, the research team administered 10 μl of bokbunja seed oil diluted 1/50 of 0.2 μl (microliter, 1/100,000 L) to white blood cells, a collection of immune cells such as T cells, B cells, NK cells, and dendritic cells. did.

As a result, interferon gamma, a type of cytokine that commands the removal of pathogens and cancer cells, increased by 25.8% compared to the control group.

The research team also administered leukocytes mixed with 10 μl of bokbunja seed oil diluted in the same amount to cancer cells, and as a result, 48.2% of cancer cells were killed, 16% more cancer cells were removed than the control group (32%), and NK, an immune cell, was also killed. The amount of cells increased by about 6%.

Kim Su-dong, head of the ICC center who led the research, said, “As a result of this experiment, Bokbunja seed oil not only activates human immune cells to increase immunity, but also significantly increases the number of NK cells and enhances the ability to remove cancer cells.”