Aloe Vera

The plant Aloe (scientific name Aloe vera) is originally from tropical Africa, but it can now be found all over the world. It is a very common ingredient in many herbal remedies. It is believed that related species were traditionally used as an antidote to treat poison arrow wounds. We know that the Greeks and Romans traditionally used the Aloe vera plant, making a gel to treat battle wounds. Aloe vera was also commonly used during the Middle Ages, where it was a popular purgative. Aloe vera is also widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. In India too the Aloe Vera plant is widely used as highly regarded cooling tonic in gel form. In the 16th century, Aloe Vera reached the West Indies, where it also began to be widely cultivated. The character of Aloe Vera has been described in many ways. Its leaves are often described as hot, bitter and moist. Its gel is described as salty, bitter, cool and moist. The actions of Aloe Vera are described as purgative and healing. Aloe Vera has been known to promote bile flow, heal wounds, stop bleeding, expel worms, reduces blood sugar and cholesterol levels. It has also been known for its rejuvenating and anti-aging properties.

The most common way to prepare the Aloe Vera plant is as a gel. The gel is thick and mucilaginous, and many herbalists recommend that it be used as a first-aid cure for wounds, burns, and sunburn. Aloe Vera gel can also help heal extremely dry skin, and it can be used to treat fungal infections such as ringworm. Gel extracts of the Aloe Vera plant have been successfully used to treat mouth ulcers. Recent research has also shown that Aloe Vera gel may be helpful in treating breast and liver cancers, as well as HIV. In traditional Indian Ayruveda medicine, Aloe Vera gel is used as a tonic for excess pitta (fire element).

The leaves of Aloe Vera, although much less commonly used, can also be helpful for several conditions. The leaves of the Aloe Vera plant are believed to be a strong purgative. They can be prepared and used to treat chronic and stubborn constipation. It is also believed that the leaves of the Aloe Vera plant leaves can be used to stimulate bile flow and to aid digestions. They can also be used to treat poor appetite. One of the best things about the Aloe Vera plant is that they can be grown easily indoors as a houseplant in most temperate climates. There are several practical applications for the Aloe Vera plant. The Aloe Vera gel can be applied directly to burns, wounds, fungal infections, insect bites, and areas of dry skin. You can simply split the Aloe Vera leaf and apply the gel directly. You can also collect the gel from several split leaves of the Aloe Vera plant to make an ointment. The gel of Aloe Vera can also be inhaled as a steam inhalation to treat bronchial congestion. A tincture can also be made from its leaves and taken as an appetite stimulant.

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BROCOLLI MARVEL FOOD FOR DISEASE CONTROL

Reality can be painful. For one, there are certain instances wherein a single disease can prevent people from leading independent and quality lives. While this is already terrible news in itself, things can get worse. Sometimes, scientists would break the news that such a disease is not only debilitating and painful, the harrowing condition does not have a definitive cure as of the present.

A good example is osteoarthritis, one of the most common arthritis and age-related disorders that debilitate its victims worldwide. Statistics show that in UK and in America, it is the leading disorder that causes disability as evident in its extensive repercussions on the millions of people that suffer from the disease.

However, reality also presents endless possibilities — one of which is hope through effective treatment. A new landmark project in the UK, which significantly exhibits that hopeful possibility, is launched. Funded by the Diet and Health Research Industry and Arthritis Research UK, the new project will delve into the possibility of warding off and slowing the onset of osteoarthritis through a powerful compound of broccoli.

Landmark project: Protective effects of broccoli against Osteoarthritis

For those who suffer from the disease, and at the same time, are avid fans of incorporating broccoli into their diet– possible good news awaits.

Researchers from the University of East Anglia will conduct a 3-year pioneering project that will probe the possible preventive and protective effects of broccoli against osteoarthritis. Initial research conducted at the same university has already shown that a broccoli compound, sulforaphane, blocks the enzymes that cause the debilitating disease; and the new project aims to further flesh out how beneficial broccoli is, or can be.

The bioactive compound can be acquired through consuming cruciferous vegetables, with broccoli as a notably rich resource. Broccoli consumption enables the blood to contain high levels of sulforaphane. However, whether the bioactive compound substantially and effectively gets into, or affects the joints in ample amounts or not remains unclear. The project will include investigations in relation to this.

During the 3-year study, the team of researchers from UEA will also examine other compounds that can be incorporated into one’s daily diet, in relation to how these can contribute to the fight against and prevention of osteoarthritis. The dietary compounds will include diallyl disulphide, which is acquired through high levels of garlic consumption, and which possibly slows down cartilage destruction.

A pioneering research

Former studies have already shown the potent healthy benefits of broccoli against cancer and other severe health conditions, but the new project is reportedly the first of its kind—through concentrating on the health of joints.

It will also initiate patient trials, which will enable the study to yield more accurate human-related results and assessments. Furthermore, the findings will likely provide a basis for developing new broccoli-related methods in osteoarthritis treatment and prevention.

The project offers benefits not only to the victims of disease, but also on a societal level. According to the study’s lead researcher, Professor Ian Clark: Because of UK’s aging population, it is crucial to formulate effective strategies that fight against age-related health conditions. He furthered that such measures will enhance the victims’ quality of life while simultaneously cutting down on society’s economic concerns.

The healthy benefits of broccoli

There are several cruciferous vegetables that are regularly consumed, but among these, broccoli reportedly proves to be the most concentrated or richest source of vitamin C—a key antioxidant. It also provides high amounts of flavonoids and carotenoids, vitamin E, minerals, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and several other healthy components that aid in preventing the development of severe conditions.

Heart ailments

The high content of fiber found in broccoli, along with beta-carotene and omega-3 fatty acids, significantly aid in reducing bad cholesterols. As such, these have potent contributions in heart health and function through its regulatory effects on blood pressure.

Cancer

There are several studies that have already established the strong links between cancer development and its risk factors such as chronic inflammation, insufficient detoxification, and oxidative stress.

Given these factors, a wide range of cancer types can be prevented through broccoli. Its antioxidant, pro-detoxification, and anti-inflammatory effects enhance its potent capacity for preventing and reducing risk of developing cancer. Risks are most notably reduced for the following types–  prostate cancer, bladder cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, and ovarian cancer. These findings show the excellent remedies that broccoli can provide in battling both fatal and debilitating diseases.

Stomach problems

Broccoli’s rich fiber content also enables it to treat a wide array of stomach disorders. Fiber’s key favourable effects include constipation treatment, water retention, and bowel formation. Other favourable contents of broccoli include magnesium and vitamins, which facilitate proper food digestion and enhance the body’s capacity of absorbing and optimizing food nutrients. It also provides anti-acidity benefits.

Detoxification enhancement

Detoxification is vital to eliminating toxins and dangerous substances that put cells at risk, and fortunately, broccoli is capable of altering certain activities in an effort to strengthen and regulate the 2-step detoxification process. Made from broccoli’s glucosinolate contents, isothiocyanates are active modifiers that can hamper the production of enzymes in the first phase; it can also modify enzyme activities in the second phase. Reportedly, optimal concentrations and combinations of glucosinolates are best acquired through broccolis among other sources.

Other sources of arthritis relief

All-natural approaches are potent measures for arthritis relief. As seen in the benefits of broccoli: One effective and fun, natural remedy is eating foods that are rich in anti-inflammatory and overall anti-arthritis compounds.

Copper

Copper has the capacity for pain and swelling reduction in relation to rheumatoid arthritis, another commonly debilitating arthritis disorder. The favourable effects result from the mineral’s anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory roles. It also enhances the activity of a particular enzyme called lysyl oxidase, which is necessary for collagen and elastin cross-linking— substances that provide and enhance elasticity, strength and structure in joints. A good source of this beneficial mineral can be found in sesame seeds.

Ginger

Gingerols found in ginger are potently active in their anti-inflammatory effects. These contents, through regular ginger consumption, strongly show why pain is reduced in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis patients. Based on the findings of two clinical studies, 75% of patients with arthritis experienced a significant reduction in arthritis-related swelling and pain. Simultaneously, all participants that suffer from muscular discomfort yielded improvements in pain reduction and mobility through regular consumption of ginger.

Cinnamon

Findings from a study conducted at Copenhagen University reportedly revealed that the combination of honey and cinnamon powder led to substantial arthritis pain reduction. Links point to the anti-inflammatory components of cinnamon, which aid in reducing muscle and joint stiffness. As such, the combination of honey and cinnamon powder is one of the potent measures for arthritis relief.

Salmon

Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids— healthy and multi-beneficial polyunsaturated fats that have very potent anti-inflammatory effects. The benefits are made possible through omega-3 fatty acids’ role in hampering cytokine and enzyme production, which are substances that severely affect the cartilage. Simultaneously, these beneficial fatty acids enhance both the immune and circulatory system of the body.

Spinach

Spinach enjoys a noble reputation of combating heart ailments and a wide range of cancer types. In addition to this, its nutrients are also capable of decreasing inflammatory activities that cause and worsen joint health and arthritis symptoms. Such beneficial nutrients contained in spinach include vitamin C, vitamin K, and beta-carotene.

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Could hot cocoa be the next “wonder drug” for high blood pressure?

According to recent estimates, nearly 1-in-4 Australian adults has high blood pressure. But for the Kuna Indians living on a group of islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama, hypertension doesn’t even exist. So what makes these folks practically “immune” to hypertension–and lets them enjoy much lower death rates from heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and cancer?

Harvard researchers were stunned to discover it’s because they drink about 5 cups of cocoa each day. That’s right, cocoa! Studies show the flavonols in cocoa stimulate your body’s production of nitric oxide–boosting blood flow to your heart, brain, and other organs. But that’s not all. A Harvard Medical School professor claims cocoa can also treat blocked arteries, congestive heart failure, stroke, dementia, even impotence!

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Questions for the Doctor

Finding The Essence Of Essential Oils

Dear Dr. Cutler,

I have been hearing a lot of hype about essential oils lately. Some are claiming that these oils can help with a variety of problems ranging from improving skin problems to decreasing joint pain and swelling. Could you give me your take on essential oils—where they come from and what they can possibly do for my health?

Dear Myra,

There are only 700 plants and trees that can be processed to obtain their essential oils. The “essences” that plants contain protect them from disease and parasites. And oils like frankincense and myrrh shield the plant or tree from extreme sunlight.

The essential oils are found in various parts of the plant—in the flower of the rose, in the leaves of basil, in the wood of sandalwood or in the rinds of fruit. The essences of the trees and plants are turned into essential oils through steam distillation, cold pressing or solvent extraction—methods that are expensive and time-consuming. For example, to produce 4 to 5 teaspoons of rose essential oil, it takes more than 220 pounds of rose petals… for 1 quart of rosemary essential oil, it takes 500 pounds of rosemary… and 1 quart of thyme essential oil requires at least 1 ton of thyme.

But these aromatic essential oils absorb rapidly through your skin and tissues and stimulate multiple organ systems within your body. If they are used in massage therapy, essential oils have an aromatherapy effect because they are absorbed not only through your skin, but through the olfactory nerve in your brain where they can influence other nerves. This contributes to a decrease in stress, clarity of the mind and an improvement in your mood. And as you breathe, the oils are drawn into your lungs and rapidly absorbed into your bloodstream.

What does this mean for your health? For many acute illnesses, essential oils can be as effective as potent prescription drugs. However, for chronic conditions, they have much slower and less dramatic healing effects. Numerous studies have proven that these oils can be used to…

• Fight microbial infections
• Reduce pain dramatically

If you want relief for heartburn pain, for example, rubbing a few drops of peppermint oil into your upper abdomen can create first a deep heat inside your body and then resolve your heartburn in a matter of a few minutes.

All the best!

Michael Cutler, M.D.

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Gumbi Gumbi & the cancer sure claim

Gumbi Gumbi: Rare member of family Pittosporaceae

Gumbi Gumbi is a medium to large tree, native to certain areas of Australia only, and very sparsely found. Because of its scarcity, but similarity in appearance to other species, it is often confused with trees more widely found.

Many people believe there to be as many as six varieties with only one having medicinal properties and another being toxic. Our investigations and experimentation with propagation suggests this is not the case at all. We believe there is only one true Gumbi Gumbi.

Currently Gumbi Gumbi is extremely rare, as only one tree is found growing naturally in an average of 400 sq/km (250 sq/miles) and it is not being farmed to any large extent. One significant reason for its rarity is that Gumbi Gumbi saplings and young trees are commonly ravaged by wildlife and roaming farm stock, such as Kangaroos and cattle, prior to reaching maturity. Animals instinctively know what is good for them, as did the early indigenous people. We modern people, on the other hand, are only now beginning to understand.

Gumbi Gumbi trees are by nature very slow growing and difficult to propagate. In order to ensure the required properties are inherent within trees grown in other than their naturally occurring environment; certain conditions have to be met. Mature trees develop a taproot to 60 feet in natural conditions. Many people have attempted to grow Gumbi Gumbi from seeds and saplings and failed to attain mature trees.

Scientific Analysis

Tests undertaken using Leaf and Leaf Extract from Gumbi Gumbi Natural plantation (Central Queensland, Australia)

Summary
Gumbi Gumbi contains significant amounts of elements known to aid in benefiting health.

Further testing has also shown Gumbi Gumbi to be very high in Saponins. This assists with the delivery of the inherent benefits of Gumbi Gumbi Leaf when used as a tea as per our brewing instructions.
TEST REPORT — Chemical Analysis
Gumbi Leaf: 5 July 2006

TEST REPORT — Chemical Analysis
Gumbi Tea: 21 September 2006

Note:
Concentrations in ppm are equivalent to mg/Kg or mg/L
N.D. = Not Detected

Constituent Summary of extracts of Pittosporum Angustifolium (gumbi gumbi)

Saponins:

The major constituent of gumbi gumbi extract was found to be saponin (a sulphonated di- or tri- terpene). Saponins are natural detergents found in plants (that is, they contain water soluble and fat soluble components and dissolve in water to form a stable soapy froth).

Saponins have commercial uses in a number of applications such as in beverages such as root beer and slurpies (to provide the foamy “head”). Saponins have also found application as emulsifiers for photographic film preparations and cosmetics (such as shampoos and lipsticks) and as industrial frothers for ore separation. Saponins also have anti bacterial and anti-fungal properties1. Saponins decrease blood lipids, lower blood glucose response, and as an antidote to acute lead poisoning2.

Extracts containing saponins currently have a wide application. For example, they are used in animal livestock production facilities for ammonia and odour control as well as in gut bacteria control. Certain saponins form strong insoluble complexes with cholesterol which has application in cholesterol lowering in humans. Bile acids metabolised by bacteria in the colon form secondary bile acids, some of which are known promoters of colon cancer. The feeding of saponins to laboratory mice has shown a reduction in the formation of preneoplastic colon lesions1. This has a potential in the prevention and treatment of colon cancer in humans. Saponins also have application as use for adjuvants in vaccines (adjuvants increase immune-stimulation, by using saponins their emulsifying properties can also be utilised).

Saponins are highly toxic to cold blooded animals and some have been identified in snake venom, starfish, and sea cucumber. Some are toxic to humans.

Tannins:

The term tannins is widely applied to large polyphenolic compounds that contains sufficient hydroxyl and/or carboxyl groups to form complexes with proteins and other large molecules. Tannins are classified into two groups — notable hydrolysable tannins, and condensed tannins. The term tannin refers to the use of tannins in tanning animals hides.

Tannins are almost ubiquitous in the plant kingdom. They are astringent and bitter in taste. Their astringency causes the dry and puckery feeling in the mouth following consumption of red wine, strong tea or un-ripened fruit.

They are also predominantly responsible for the colour of the above and hydrolysable tannins have long-term antioxidant properties (the reaction of hydrolysable tannins in red wine is attributable to the “maturing” of the wine). Tannins are found in fruits, berries, smoked foods, beer and wines (more tannin is found in red wines than in white), citrus juices, condiments (such a cloves, tarragon, vanilla and cinnamon), legumes, and chocolate3. Tannins have shown potential antiviral, antibacterial, and anti parasitic properties. They have also been studied for their effects on the treatment of cancers and their inhibitory effect on HIV.

Alkaloids:

Alkaloids are naturally occurring chemical compounds containing basic nitrogen functionality.

There are three main types of alkaloids — true alkaloids, proto alkaloids, and pseudo alkaloids. Both true alkaloids and proto alkaloids are derived from amino acids, while pseudo alkaloids are not derived from amino acids.

Alkaloids are alkaline and they are reactive compounds that have pharmacological effects at low doses and are used as medications and recreational drugs. Cocaine, caffeine, nicotine, and Quinine are all examples of alkaloids. Alkaloids form water soluble salts and may exist in the free-state, as salts, or as N-oxides — depending on pH or physiological conditions. These properties make them have enormous application as medications.

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News in Science

Mangrove bark dulls the pain

Wednesday, 23 June 2004 Judy Skatssoon
ABC

The bark of the freshwater mangrove, which is found in monsoonal areas, is used as a painkiller in Aboriginal medicine (Image: Len Webb Collection, Griffith University)

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Related Stories

• Farming Native Plants & Animals
• What is Gumbi Gumbi?
• What is gumbi gumbi? ABC Central Queensland 11 Jun 2004
• Farming native plants & animals, Earthbeat Radio National 8 Mar 2003
• Plundering the plants, Background Briefing Radio National 13 Oct 2002

Queensland researchers are working to develop a new pain-killing drug from a native Australian plant traditionally used by Aboriginal people.

Professor of chemistry at Griffith University Ron Quinn is identifying and testing compounds from the freshwater mangrove Barringtonia acutangula for their analgesic properties.

The mangrove, which is also known as the Indian Oak or Kandu almond, grows by creeks and lagoons and is distributed throughout east Asia, south-east Asia, eastern Africa, the south-west Pacific and northern Australia.

Quinn said he first learned of the plant’s analgesic potential after hearing about an Aboriginal man in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia whose finger had been bitten off by a crocodile.

“He used the bark of the tree, chewed it around in his mouth and then put it on the wound,” Quinn said.

It was unclear whether the benefit came from chewing the plant or using it as a poultice on the wound.

Quinn said researchers had isolated several compounds from the plant’s bark and tested them on rats.

One compound showed signs of being effective when administered orally.

“We started out looking at the crude extract and we’ve isolated some components of it and we’ve now tested a couple of these and found one of them is actually active in the animal model,” he said.

He said a A$174,500 (US$119,000) grant from the latest round of National Health and Medical Research Council development funding, announced earlier this month, would enable more detailed testing of the plant and help assess its commercial potential.

A large-scale extraction and isolation process would obtain the compounds in large enough quantities to allow them to be pharmacologically evaluated as potential analgesic drugs.

“There’s an unmet need in management of pain so there’s a potential market opportunity,” he said.

“It will depend a bit on the precise mechanism and precise biology that we see.”

Quinn said the active compound appeared to be novel and structurally unrelated to opiate painkillers.

Quinn said Griffith University held a provisional patent on several compounds extracted from the plant and hoped to develop a drug under a joint agreement with the local Aboriginal people, who would receive 50% of any returns once the product was brought to market.

Human trials remain some years away.

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What is Hoodia Gordonii?

Latin Name: Hoodia gordonii
Other Names: hoodia, xhooba, !khoba, Ghaap, hoodia cactus, South African desert cactus

Hoodia (pronounced HOO-dee-ah) is a cactus-like plant that grows primarily in the semi-deserts of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola.

In the last few years, hoodia has been heavily marketed for weight loss and has become immensely popular.

Although there has always been a demand for diet pills, after the ban on the herb ephedra, the market was particularly ripe for the next new diet pill.

Much of hoodia’s popularity stems from claims that the San Bushmen of the Kalahari desert relied on hoodia for thousands of years to ward off hunger and thirst during long hunting trips. They were said to have cut off the stem and eat the bitter-tasting plant.

Hoodia gordonii grows in clumps of green upright stems. Although it is often called a cactus because it resembles one, hoodia is actually a succulent plant.

It takes about five years before hoodia gordonii’s pale purple flowers appear and the plant can be harvested.

There are over 13 types of hoodia. The only active ingredient identified so far is a steroidal glycoside that has been called “p57″. Currently, only hoodia gordonii is thought to contain p57.

What is the History of Hoodia Gordonii?

In 1937, a Dutch anthropologist studying the San Bushmen noted that they used hoodia gordonii to suppress appetite. In 1963, scientists at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa’s national laboratory, began studying hoodia. They claimed that lab animals lost weight after they were given hoodia gordonii.

The South African scientists, working with a British company named Phytopharm, isolated what they believed to be an active ingredient in hoodia gordonii, a steroidal glycoside, which they named p57. After obtaining a patent in 1995, they licensed p57 to Phytopharm. Phytopharm has spent more than $20 million on hoodia research.

Eventually pharmaceutical giant Pfizer learned about hoodia and expressed interest in developing a hoodia drug. In 1998, Phytopharm sub-licensed the rights to develop p57 to Pfizer for $21 million. Pfizer returned the rights to hoodia to Phytopharm, who is now working with Unilever.

Much of the hype about hoodia started after 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl and crew traveled to Africa to try hoodia. They hired a local Bushman to go with them into the desert and track down some hoodia. Stahl ate it, describing it as “cucumbery in texture, but not bad.” She reported that she lost the desire to eat or drink the entire day. She also said she didn’t experience any immediate side effects, such as indigestion or heart palpitations.

Where is Hoodia Gordonii Found?

Hoodia gordonii is sold in capsule, powder, liquid, or tea form in health food stores and on the Internet. Hoodia is also found in the popular diet pill Trimspa.

Despite its popularity, there are no published randomized controlled trials in humans to show hoodia is safe or effective in pill form.

One study published in the September 2004 issue of Brain Research found that injections of p57 into the appetite center of rat brains resulted in altered levels of ATP, an energy molecule that may affect hunger. The animals receiving the P57 injections also ate less than rats that received placebo injections. However, this was an animal study and injections in the brain are different from oral consumption, so it cannot be used to show that oral hoodia can suppress appetite in humans.

The manufacturer Phytopharm cites a clinical trial involving 18 human volunteers that found hoodia consumption reduced food intake by about 1000 calories per day compared to a placebo group. Although intriguing, the study wasn’t published or subjected to a peer-review process, so the quality of the study cannot be evaluated.

What are the Side Effects of Hoodia?

There are some potential side effects of hoodia that you should be aware of. What are Hoodia’s Side Effects and Safety Concerns?

How do I Know if it’s Pure Hoodia?

There are widespread reports of counterfeit hoodia products. Mike Adams of News Target, estimates that 80% of hoodia products are contaminated or counterfeit. It’s impossible to know if a hoodia product contains pure hoodia and the active ingredient, unless it has been tested by an independent laboratory.

After looking at hoodia buyer’s guides, hoodia ratings, and hoodia comparisons on the Internet, my advice is that you be very cautious. Most of these sites have been secretly created by companies selling hoodia. They explain why the hoodia in other products is inferior, even though there are no published reports showing that one is more effective. Q&A: How Do I Know if it’s Pure Hoodia or a Fake?

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Plant Extract May Be Effective Against

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Science (July 11, 2010) — A South Dakota State University scientist’s research shows an extract made from a food plant in the Brassica family was effective in alleviating signs of ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel condition, in mice.

The ongoing study by associate professor Moul Dey in SDSU’s Department of Health and Nutritional Sciences — funded by the National Institutes of Health — moves on now to examine the potential use of the plant extract against colon cancer.

“There is an established link between ulcerative colitis and colon cancer. People who have ulcerative colitis are at significantly higher risk to have colon cancer,” Dey said. “Whether this plant extract might help with colon cancer symptoms directly or perhaps delay the onset of colon cancer in ulcerative colitis patients, we don’t know the answers to those questions, but it is something we would like to look into.”

Dey and her team will carry out that research over the next two and a half years as she continues her work on a Pathway to Independence award for promising young scientists. That National Institutes of Health grant of nearly $900,000 over five years was awarded to Dey for work she began as a researcher at Rutgers University.

As a researcher at Rutgers starting in 2004, Dey developed a mammalian cell-based screening platform and screened nearly 3,000 plant extracts for potential anti-inflammatory activity. A plant-derived compound called Phenethylisothiocyanate, or PEITC, was one among others that showed potential anti-inflammatory activities. The NIH funded Dey’s proposal to study it further.

PEITC is found in the Brassica genus of plants, which includes cabbage, cauliflower, watercress and broccoli. Barbarea verna, also known as upland cress or early wintercress, a herb that is used in salads, soups, and garnishes, is one of the richest sources of dietary PEITC in Dey’s study.

Scientists had already studied the compound for its anticarcinogenic properties prior to Dey’s investigation on its anti-inflammatory activities.

“I tested this substance in a mouse model that is already established and widely used. What we found is that it not only alleviates several clinical signs of ulcerative colitis — for example, it attenuates the damage that occurs in the colon tissues and colon epithelium, as well as the clinical signs like diarrhea and blood in stool. The weight loss is a major sign in colitis and that was alleviated, too.” However, she noted that although mammalian animal models are routinely used for an initial test of biological effects of compounds targeted for potential human use, obtained results may not always repeat in humans.

Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, is a set of chronic and relapsing inflammatory disorders of the intestine that affects an estimated 2 million people annually in the United States. Two common forms of IBD are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

When Dey and her colleagues looked into the mechanism by which the compound might be working against IBD, they found that it downregulates many of the genes that are known to be upregulated in human patients with colitis. That means the compound acts on cells to decrease the quantity of cellular components such as specific proteins that are produced abundantly in colitis patients. One such protein is a novel transcription factor. Transcription factors are one of the groups of proteins that read and interpret the genetic “blueprint” in the DNA.

“We are excited about these findings and our next step would be to see how this plant and the compounds from this plant may be effective against colon cancer, alleviating colon cancer or preventing the onset of colon cancer,” Dey said.

“I am not a cancer biologist per se. My interests are really in cellular mechanisms of inflammatory diseases. The only reason we are going to study colon cancer in this particular project is because ulcerative colitis is very closely linked to colon cancer.”

Colon carcinogenesis is highly preventable, yet colon cancer has one of the highest death rates among all cancers due to typical late diagnosis.

Since people already eat vegetables containing PEITC, there is a long history of human consumption with no adverse effects.

“Obviously the dose we are testing is significantly higher than what we eat in a vegetable, but we have done multiple safety tests and found that this dose is safe in animals,” Dey said.

Dey has no plans to test the extract in humans as part of the current project, but said additional tests would be required if the extract leads to new drugs or treatments in humans.

Dey’s co-authors are Peter Kuhn of Phytomedics Inc., of Jamesburg, N.J.; David Ribnicky, Kenneth Reuhl and Ilya Raskin of Rutgers University, and VummidiGiridhar Premkumar, who is currently at University of Cincinnati

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Substance may block cancer cell growth

COLUMBUS, Ohio (UPI) — A substance produced when eating broccoli and Brussels sprouts may block the growth of cancer cells, U.S. researchers say.

Scientists at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center say study evidence suggests the substance, indole-3-carbinol, known as I3C, may have anti-cancer effects, a university release said Tuesday.

The laboratory study discovered a connection between I3C and a molecule called Cdc25A, which is essential for cell division and proliferation, the release said.

“Cdc25A is present at abnormally high levels in about half of breast cancer cases, and it is associated with a poor prognosis,” says study leader Xianghong Zou, assistant professor of pathology at the Ohio State University Medical Center.

The study, published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, said I3C destroyed the molecule and blocked the growth of breast cancer cells.

The molecule also occurs at abnormally high levels in cancers of the prostate, liver, esophagus, endometrium and colon, in non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and in other diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Xianghong noted.

“I3C can have striking effects on cancer cells,” he said, “and a better understanding of this mechanism may lead to the use of this dietary supplement as an effective and safe strategy for treating a variety of cancers and other human diseases.”

Copyright 2010 by United Press International

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