Health

Neurotoxicity

The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center cautions, "alkaloids extracted from graviola may cause neuronal dysfunction and degeneration leading to symptoms of Parkinson's disease".^[29] The compound annonacin, which is contained in the seeds of soursop, is a neurotoxin associated with neurodegenerative disease,^[30] and research has suggested a connection between consumption of soursop and atypical forms of Parkinson's disease due to high concentrations of annonacin.^[31]
In 2010 the French food safety agency (Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des aliments) concluded that, based on the available research findings, "it is not possible to confirm that the observed cases of atypical Parkinson syndrome […] are linked to the consumption of Annona muricata," calling for further study on potential risks to human health.^[32]

Alternative cancer treatment

The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center lists cancer treatment as one of the "purported uses" of soursop.^[29] According to Cancer Research UK, "Many sites on the internet advertise and promote graviola capsules as a cancer cure, but none of them are supported by any reputable scientific cancer organisations" and "there is no evidence to show that graviola works as a cure for cancer" and consequently they do not support its use as a treatment for cancer.^[2]
In 2008 a court case relating to the sale in the UK of Triamazon, a soursop product, resulted in the criminal conviction of a man under the terms of the UK Cancer Act for offering to treat people for cancer. A spokesman for the council that instigated the action stated, "it is as important now as it ever was that people are protected from those peddling unproven products with spurious claims as to their effects."^[33]
The Federal Trade Commission in the United States determined that there was "no credible scientific evidence" that the extract of soursop sold by Bioque Technologies "can prevent, cure, or treat cancer of any kind."