An Instagram reel posted in October 2026 claimed that a soil compound made melanoma cells “self-destruct” within 14 hours, and asked viewers to comment to receive a fulvic acid product. The claim traces back to a 2022 laboratory study on cancer cells grown in a dish.
What the 2022 study tested
Researchers at Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in Iran tested humic acid and fulvic acid on A375 human melanoma cells. Both are humic substances extracted from soil and peat. Their results were published in the Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences in April 2022.
The two compounds lowered cell viability in a dose-dependent way, with an IC50 of 50 micrograms per millilitre over 14 hours. IC50 is the concentration that cuts cell viability by half. Flow cytometry showed the cells stalled in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle and an increase in the sub-G1 fraction, a sign of programmed cell death (apoptosis).
Gene tests showed less BCL-2, a survival signal, and more BAX, a death signal. Atomic force microscopy found the treated cells became stiffer. The compounds also reduced expression of the Tyr gene, which is involved in skin pigment. The authors concluded that humic and fulvic acid could be considered in designing new anti-cancer and anti-pigmentation products.
What a lab-dish result can and cannot show
The study used cells in a dish at set concentrations. Many substances kill cancer cells in a dish, and most never become treatments. A lab result says nothing about whether a supplement swallowed by mouth reaches a tumour, at what dose, or whether it is safe at that dose. The study included no animals and no patients.
A 2025 laboratory study in Discover Oncology reported effects of fulvic acid on ovarian cancer cells. It, too, was done on cells, not people.
There is no published human trial showing fulvic acid treats melanoma or any other cancer. Claims in the reel that it “strengthens immune defences” and “carries out heavy metals” rest on lab, animal and small studies, not proof in patients.
Supplements: what testing found
Fulvic acid is a main component of shilajit, a resin used in traditional medicine and sold as a supplement. In September 2024 ConsumerLab tested shilajit products and found fulvic acid in all of them, but amounts ranged from 6.9 mg to 2,206 mg per serving. Lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury were below levels of concern at one dose a day in the products it tested. Quality can vary between brands.
What patients should know
Melanoma that is caught early is often cured with surgery, and advanced melanoma has proven options, including immunotherapy and targeted drugs. Researchers keep testing new compounds, and some lab leads do become medicines after years of trials. Fulvic acid is not at that stage.
People with cancer should not replace treatment with a supplement, and should tell their oncologist about any supplement they take, since some can interact with cancer drugs.
Sources
- Activation of apoptosis and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest along with inhibition of melanogenesis by humic acid and fulvic acid: BAX/BCL -2 and Tyr genes expression and evaluation of nanomechanical properties in A375 human melanoma cell line.
- Fulvic acid exhibits antitumor effects in ovarian cancer cells by upregulating cytochrome P450 family 1 subfamily A member 1 expression.
- ConsumerLab Tests Shilajit Supplements for Amounts of Fulvic Acid and Heavy Metals – ConsumerLab.com
- Fulvic Acid: Benefits, Safety, Side Effects, and Dosage
- Understanding Treatment of Advanced Melanoma and the Role of Autologous T-Cell Immunotherapy | CURE Connections | CURE
Photo: Alexignat (CC BY-SA 4.0)
