An extract from grape seeds forces laboratory leukemia cells to commit cell suicide, according to researchers from the University of Kentucky. They found that within 24 hours, 76 percent of leukemia cells had died after being exposed to the extract.

Grape seed extract has also been found to kill cells from other kinds of cancer, including skin, breast, colon, lung, stomach and prostate cancer.

"What everyone seeks is an agent that has an effect on cancer cells but leaves normal cells alone, and this shows that grape seed extract fits into this category," said the study's lead author, Xianglin Shi.

Shi pointed out that the work does not mean people should eat grapes, grape seeds or grape skin in excess to prevent cancer.

A news release said that the work confirmed what others have found about some extracts and cancer, but went further by discovering the chemical process at work.

The finding was reported in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.