Natural Food Products Can Treat Cancer
Roderick H. Dashwood, Ph.D.,
Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University
NIEHS Grant P30ES000210
Combinations of natural food compounds and chemotherapy drugs provide promise as powerful and potentially less toxic chemotherapeutic treatments strategies according to researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute. A recent study supported by NIEHS, found that chlorophyllin, a derivative of chlorophyll, was 10 times more potent in killing colon cancer cells than the commonly used chemotherapeutic agent hydroxyurea.
The study, carried out in human colon cancer cell lines, found that chlorophyllin kills cancer cells by causing a disruption in cell division. The cells tend to be stalled in the S-phase of cell division when DNA replication occurs. The compound then induces apoptosis in a cytochrome c-independent manner resulting in cell death.
Chlorophyllin is inexpensive and has been proven in other NIEHS-funded research to be an effective treatment for aflatoxin-induced liver cancer. It can be ingested at relatively high levels without causing toxicity; however, it is poorly absorbed in the gut. Levels needed for therapeutic purposes as well as delivery systems are currently under study.
The researchers point out that other dietary cancer fighters show promise. Organic forms of selenium have shown promise in targeting colon and prostate cancers.
Citation: Chimploy K, Díaz GD, Li Q, Carter O, Dashwood WM, Mathews CK, Williams DE,Bailey GS, Dashwood RH. E2F4 and ribonucleotide reductase mediate S-phase arrest in colon cancer cells treated with chlorophyllin. Int J Cancer. 2009 May 11;125(9):2086-2094.
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