If you don't mind a nice wedge of homemade rhubarb crumble or pie, with a nice splodge of ice-cream or custard, then this new research from the UK might make your day.

Scientists have found that rhubarb contains high levels of cancer-fighting chemicals and that cooking it helps to increase their concentration, the UK's Daily Telegraph reported.

The chemicals, called polyphenols, can kill off or stunt the growth of cancer cells and researchers hope that by extracting the chemicals from the plant they can develop new and less toxic treatments for cancer, including leukaemia.

The research team from Sheffield Hallam University, who focused on a particular variety of the vegetable known as British garden rhubarb — a variety specifically grown in South Yorkshire — said they now hope to discover the best combination of rhubarb's polyphenols and chemotherapy agents needed to kill cancer cells.

Previous research, the Daily Telegraph reported, focused on Oriental medicine rhubarb, which has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years. This is the first study to focus on British garden rhubarb.

"Our research has shown that British rhubarb is a potential source of chemicals that may be used to develop new anti-cancerous drugs," Dr Nikki Jordan-Mahy from Sheffield Hallam University's Biomedical Research Centre said.

"Rhubarb has been shown to have some very interesting polyphenols that have anti-cancerous properties. Eating a nice crumble will be good for you," Dr Jordan-Mahy told the Daily Telegraph.

"But if we can extract the polyphenols they may be useful in helping to fight cancer along with chemotherapy. Current treatments are not effective in all cancers and resistance is a common problem, as is toxicity."

The study's findings, carried out in conjunction with the Scottish Crop Research Institute and funded by Sheffield Hallam University's Centre for Food Innovation, were published in the UK journal Food Chemistry.

The Australian Government's Cancer Australia agency reports that current cancer rates in Australia predict that one in three men and one in four women will develop cancer by the age of 75. By age 85 this risk increases to one in two for men and one in three for women.