# Singapore team: cyclodextrin food additive reduced lymphoedema swelling in mice over eight weeks

- Published: 2026-11-14 01:37 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: lymphoedema treatment, cyclodextrin, food additive, lymphatic vessels, cholesterol in tissue, study in mice, National University of Singapore, breast cancer complications
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-afd18c9d44587c5356251681_singapore_team_cyclodextrin/

**Researchers at the National University of Singapore report that injected cyclodextrin, a starch-derived food additive, reduced swelling in mice with lymphoedema. Human trials are still needed.**

![Singapore team: cyclodextrin food additive reduced lymphoedema swelling in mice over eight weeks](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/5e45b2bbf383d586.jpg)
*SGUL lymres, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0*

Scientists at the National University of Singapore report that cyclodextrins, compounds used as food additives, reduced swelling and inflammation in mice with lymphoedema, according to dailymail.com's account of a study published in Nature [1]. The work was done on animals. Lymphoedema is severe chronic swelling of the arms and legs, and up to 450,000 people in the UK live with it, many after cancer treatment [1].

## Why lymphoedema develops

Lymph nodes filter waste from lymph fluid before it joins the bloodstream. Surgical removal of the nodes or radiotherapy can damage the lymph system and block it, leading to a chronic build-up of fluid [1]. About one in five people develop lymphoedema in the arm after breast cancer treatment [1].

Treatment options are limited. Patients are first advised to wear compression sleeves or stockings daily, or to use manual lymphatic drainage massage regularly [1]. Surgery to reconstruct lymphatic vessels is available on the NHS at around £15,000, and liposuction is not widely available there [1].

The Singapore team analysed skin tissue from women with lymphoedema who were being treated for breast cancer. Reduced lymphatic flow was associated with large amounts of cholesterol accumulating in the surrounding tissue [1]. According to the authors, this cholesterol plays an active part in the condition: it caused inflammation and scarring of the vessels, which blocked the normal flow of lymph [1].

## Cyclodextrin in mice

Cyclodextrin is formed from starch. The food and drink industries use it to improve smell and taste by trapping unwanted odours, and to remove cholesterol from dairy products by encapsulating cholesterol crystals in its hollow interior [1].

The researchers injected cyclodextrin into the affected area of mice with lymphoedema at regular intervals over eight weeks. Swelling and inflammation were significantly reduced. The compound also appeared to help regenerate damaged lymphatic vessels, with a gradual reversal of symptoms [1].

Babak Mehrara of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, who wrote a review of the study for Nature, noted that fluid accumulation causes inflammation, which inhibits existing lymphatics and leads to further fluid build-up [1]. Professor Kefah Mokbel of the London Breast Institute called the findings a new therapeutic avenue, but said carefully designed human trials are needed to establish safety and efficacy [1]. He added that statins are unlikely to work, since they act on cholesterol in the bloodstream rather than in the lymph nodes [1].

## Sources

1. [dailymail.com](https://www.dailymail.com/health/article-16058129/cheap-everyday-cure-lymphoedema-swollen-limbs.html)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-afd18c9d44587c5356251681_singapore_team_cyclodextrin/