Decoction of soursop, lemongrass and ash to treat all cancers: be careful of this dangerous remedy for your health 

A video having accumulated more than a million views on TikTok promises to cure all cancers with a concoction made from soursop leaves, lemongrass and wood ash. No scientific evidence establishes that such a preparation cures cancer in humans. In addition, prolonged use of this decoction exposes you to risks of toxicity, according to the experts interviewed by UniverSciences.

What does the video say

On the TikTok account angiesantepure, followed by 11,800 subscribers as of August 19, 2026, a video published on March 19 and pinned to the home page presents a remedy “ very effective » supposed to treat all types of cancer, particularly those of the prostate and uterus. The author of the video calling for massive sharing “ to save lives », presents the recipe as follows: boil in two liters of water for 45 minutes “a good amount” soursop leaves, lemongrass and wood ash. The mixture should be filtered and consumed in the morning on an empty stomach and in the evening before going to bed, one glass per dose.

The video has been viewed more than a million times and has more than 68,000 shares and thousands of comments as of August 19, the majority of which seem to support the remedy. Users even regret that the Ivorian host Nadiya Sabeh, who died of breast cancer in December 2025, was not able to benefit from this treatment. When asked about the duration of treatment, the author mentions a period of 90 to 180 days, or three to six months before recovery.

Real virtues of soursop and lemongrass, far from a drug against cancer

The leaves of soursop (Annona muricata L.) and of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) are rich in secondary metabolites, responsible for their biological activities, explains to UniversSciences Dr Tanou Valdez Bah, researcher attached to the Institute for Research and Development of Medicinal and Food Plants of Guinea (IRDPMAG). The secondary metabolites are organic substances produced by plants to protect themselves against certain insects and pathogens. Clinical trials have notably documented the anti-tumor action (against tumors) of secondary metabolites in chemotherapy. This is particularly the case of this study published in the American journal National Library of Medicine on the anticancer activity of secondary metabolites extracted from an endophytic fungus present in the bark of Pongamia pinnata, whose findings reveal that these extracts display significant anticancer activity and could constitute a therapeutic agent for the treatment of leukemia.

The lemongrass is particularly rich in essential oil whose main constituents are citral, myrcene, geraniol, limonene, monoterpenes (secondary metabolites) with anti-tumor properties. It also contains flavonoids and antioxidant compounds.

For the Pr Bangaly Traore, head of the cancer department at theDonka national hospital of Conakry and president of the Guinean Cancer Society, “there are virtues (in soursop and lemongrass) to inhibit the growth of cells, but that does not make them anti-cancer drugs”. He specifies that there is no established scientific evidence that “those plants” treat cancer patients.

This opinion is corroborated by several recognized scientific works. For example, in this article of Cancer Research UK, a British international organization dedicated to cancer research, it is stated that it there is no clinical evidence that soursop cure cancer. According to the text, prolonged use of the plant can damage the kidneys and liver. A article published in 2022 in the scientific journal MDPI, confirms the anticancer potential of soursop, but only in cultured cells and animal models. A thesis of pharmacy published in 2023 on dumas devoted to the inventory of these properties leads to the same observation: the observed effects remain preclinical. The same goes for lemongrass, whose main compound, citral, causes cancer cells to self-destruct in the laboratory, including breast cancer cells. according to a study published in Pubmed.  

Professor Bangaly Traoré recognizes, however, that there are anticancer drugs derived from certain plants, citing for example the vincristine, a natural organic substance which is used in the composition of medicines prescribed particularly in the treatment of lymphomas and leukemias.

Vincristine is obtained from the leaves of the Madagascar periwinkle, a flowering plant found on Red Island. Other molecules like vinblastine or even the vindoline also extracted from Madagascar periwinkle are known for their effects in the treatment of certain cancers.

But between the plant and the medicine there is several successive test phases including tests on cells in culture and then on animals, to measure effectiveness; then the search for the right dosage and the analysis of the side effects before the trial in humans, where we compare benefits and risks. Marketing authorization is the last step supervised by pharmacovigilance which monitors the performance and limits of the drug.

The dangers of consuming wood ash

Resulting from the complete combustion of wood, wood ash is often usedin agricultural practices, particularly gardening for these fertilizing properties. Its food use is strongly discouraged. Mixed in water, it releases potassium hydroxide or potash, a caustic substance corrosive can cause burns to the mouth, esophagus and stomach. We have not found any reliable data proving its action in the treatment of cancer.

Cancer does not exist in the singular

The video promises to cure all cancers, and this is where the reasoning breaks down. For Professor Traoré, this argument shows the level of ignorance of cancer by the author of the video who belongs neither to the medical profession nor to a recognized framework of traditional medicine practitioners. “When we make the list, we won’t finish listing the types of cancer. If we say, for example, breast cancer, there can be more than forty types of breast cancer. So each patient has their own cancer, and their own treatment”, notes the oncologist.

According to the ARC foundation, a French organization for cancer research, more than 200 types of cancer have been identified worldwide, divided between “solid, hematological and metastatic cancers”. Solid cancers are solid tumors forming in the body's tissues; Hematological cancers affect the cells and organs of the blood and we speak of metastatic cancer when the tumor grows in another part of the body where it started. TheInternational Agency for Cancer Research list dozens of cancers and their various subtypes. “Today, cancer is not generally treated. The treatment is adapted to the person, their needs, and their type of cancer. I am a cancer specialist, I treat a lot of cancers but I do not have the skills or the knowledge to treat all types of cancer”, underlines Professor Bangaly Traoré emphasizing the logic of modern medicine.

It’s in the comments that the most serious things happen. To an Internet user who asks how long to drink herbal tea, the author responds: “90 days and check, if you are not completely cured, continue for another 90 days”, assuming that if the remedy does not work, it is never because it is wrong. You have to persevere to get healing.

Six months is also the period during which a patient can delay a diagnosis, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. For Professor Traoré, this mechanism is one of the main obstacles to the fight against cancer in Guinea: “This is one of the barriers to cancer treatment. Sometimes cancer is diagnosed early, but because of what they hear in the neighborhood, we listen more to the one who is not a doctor than to the one who is in the field”. The oncologist says that many patients abandoned their treatment with their doctor to turn to plant medicine before returning to the hospital. The specialist speaks of “truly disastrous returns” for these people who return to care with advanced stages of their illness.

This phenomenon is documented elsewhere. In Reunion, a study published in the Journal of Respiratory Diseases showed that a quarter of patients treated with chemotherapy for bronchopulmonary cancer regularly consumed soursop for anticancer purposes, with the risks of interactions still poorly assessed.

A mixture that is not without risk

The preparation itself worries the specialist: “This is where you have to be even more careful, because you never know what mixtures will do to the liver. There can be interactions, even with the medications we take. So it can be toxic to the liver”. He specifies: “An active ingredient contained in a product can inactivate the active ingredient of the drug which is active on the disease. And sometimes, this can lead to the development of resistance in cancer cells”.

Unlike improvised remedies, medications go through a systematic assessment of these risks: “In modern medicine, these interactions are analyzed and studied. When you take a medication, you take the form, you see the adverse effects, the side effects, the possible complications, the possible interactions.”

Two factual elements reinforce this caution. Soursop leaves contain annonacin, a substance whose neurotoxicity is recognized by theHANDLES, boiling them for 45 minutes amounts precisely to concentrating these compounds.

Asked about this protocol, Dr Valdez, from IRDPMAG, explains: “We studied a plant belonging to the same family as soursop, Annona senegalensis, on several human tumor lines. Our results showed an interesting antiproliferative activity against cancer cells, through the induction of oxidative stress and the arrest of the cell cycle in G2/M phase. This work remains preclinical but contributes to the identification of new phytomedicine candidates from Guinean biodiversity. »

The right reflex

Professor Traoré is not calling for censorship or trial, but for the correction of the message: “It’s more information that needs to be corrected. The message must be corrected. Give the virtues, do not say that it is an anti-cancer drug. It can help prevent. So the information must be reviewed, corrected and disseminated. » He recommends that content creators contact the relevant services when dealing with health topics, especially if they are followed and listened to by thousands of people. “Ignorance kills. Ignorance is an obstacle to the fight against diseases, especially cancer. concludes the oncologist.

Eating fruits and vegetables, drinking lemongrass infusion, consuming soursop: none of this is harmful in a balanced diet, and it even helps in prevention. But no herbal tea cures cancer, replaces the diagnosis, nor justifies abandoning treatment. Faced with a worrying symptom, the first action is not to boil leaves: it is to consult.

This article was written by Aissatou Barry and Alpha Oumar Bagou Barry, with the support of Africa Check as part of its Fact-Checking Support Grant Program.