Maple Syrup Isn't Just A Sweet Treat Anymore. Scientists Have Discovered It's Medicine

by N/A, 8 years ago | 2 min read

Medicine is created to make you feel better. When you have an ailment, medicine comes to the rescue. Much the same, syrup was created to make you feel better. Sure, it just makes you feel better because of it's sugary-deliciousness, but what's the harm in combining the latter with the former, i.e. medicinal syrup? There's no harm at all, and scientists in, you guessed it, Canada have done the research to prove this is actually already a thing that exists.

You don't s-eh?

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*Sorry for the pun*

Science Health Canada Food/Cooking Alternative Medicine Non-Premium

So, you like some flapjacks, eh (that's the last time I'll do that, I promise)? Well, if the answer is yes–how could it not be?–start sending your thank you's to Quebec City’s Université Laval because they just cracked the medicinal code.

Quebecol not only sounds like it comes from the root of all things Canada, it pretty much does. It's a chemical compound that is only found in maple syrup, but not in the sap, which means it is created during the extraction or processing stages of making that oh-so-delicious liquid topping we all adore.

As researchers began testing quebecol, they noticed the presence of anti-inflammatory molecules. What this means is that could potentially be used as an anti-cancer drug. Let me rephrase: maple syrup kills cancer (citation needed)!

The research team from Quebec City’s Université Laval released a press release stating:

"Macrophages usually react by triggering an inflammatory response. But if the culture medium contains an anti-inflammatory molecule, this response is blocked."

Macrophages are blood cells, and those Petri dishes containing quebecol stopped inflammation before it even started. You can read their entire findings in their write-up over in the Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

They state, "This paves the way for a whole new class of anti-inflammatory agents, inspired by quebecol, that could compensate for the low efficacy of certain treatments while reducing the risk of side effects." Translation: "DRINK UP!"