Natural Agents and Chemo Drugs become Partners in Cancer Treatment
Research published in the Journal of Cancer presented a study made by scientists from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University regarding the fact that there are some natural food agents that could treat cancer. The research was funded by National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The scientists were helped in their study by persons from the New York Medical College and the Penn State College of Medicine.
The food compounds were known for their capacity to prevent malign tumors to appear, but it researchers look for ways in which these healthy agents can be combined with the chemotherapy cancer treatments in order to counteract the illness. The researchers from Linus Pauling Institute monitored the functioning of chlorophyllin and discovered that by each additional dose taken it was more than ten times efficient in treating colon cancer than the traditional chemotherapeutic medicine used in cancer treatments, hydroxyurea.
Even though the two treatments have the same end result by stopping the cancer cell in their division, the methods by which they accomplish this differ. This information means that chlorophyllin and other mixes of natural products could be designed to complement the traditional chemotherapy drug administration in order to fasten and streamline the treatment against cancer. Moreover, the natural foods do not leave unwanted side-effects and they may diminish the negative effects of chemo treatments when used in parallel.
The idea of bringing together the natural compound with the chemotherapy seems a very good and efficient one as the team of researchers led by Professor Rod Dashwood who is director of the Cancer Chemoprotection Program in the Linus Pauling Institute. The top researcher explains: “We conclude that chlorophyllin has the potential to be effective in the clinical setting, when used alone or in combination with currently available cancer therapeutic agents. Most chemotherapeutic approaches to cancer try to target cancer cells specifically and do something that slows or stops their cell growth process. We’re now identifying such mechanisms of action for natural compounds, including dietary agents. With further research we may be able to make the two approaches work together to enhance the effectiveness of cancer therapies.”
The chlorophyllin is soluble in water. It derives from the chlorophyll which is the substance that gives the plants the green pigment. It aids in the process of photosynthesis and, thus, in plant development and evolution by transforming the energy of the sun in nourishment for the plants. The chlorophyllin has no price and experiments made on animals and clinical information regarding human beings state that this substance can be drank at pretty much high levels without having a toxic effect for the organism.
Stalling and even stopping the division of cancer cells is one of the researchers` main concerns. New research proved that normal and healthy doses of chlorophyllin affected the way colon tumor cells synthesize. The substance slowed the malign cells from duplicating DNA, thus, multiplying. This represents an important discovery because timing is of the essence when dealing with cancer. Dealt with in incipient phases, malign cell duplication can be slowed down, impair which finally leads to the death of the cancer cells.
Huge levels of chlorophyllin have reduced the level of an enzyme that is fundamental in the synthesis of the DNA, ribonucleotide reductase. This reduction of the enzyme is also accomplishe by the chemo drug hydroxyurea, but this has certain side-effects.“In cancer research right now there’s interest in approaches that can reduce ribonucleotide reductase. At the doses used in our experiments, chlorophyllin almost completely stops the activity of this enzyme”, explained Professor Rod Dashwood.
Despite this, more studies need to be made both in vitro and on animals by combining the traditional chemotherapy drugs with chlorophyllin and observe their effects. This research needs to be done in order to pass down to clinical trial and observe the effects on people due to the fact that there may be a question mark regarding the natural substance. It is unknown which quantity of chlorophyllin needs to be given to people due to the fact that our gastrointestinal tract absorbs small quantities of this substance. Further research needs to be done in order to discover the optimum quantity of the natural compound that can be taken by cancer suffering patients.
In Carcinogenesis and Cancer Prevention Research issues, the scientists from Linus Pauling Institute published a study about other food agents that have the same abilities as chlorophyllin. Selenium in organic form can destroy colon and prostate tumor cells. These types of cancer represent two of the most deadly types in the United States and are responsible for 18% and 9% for the deaths caused by cancer illness in the year 2009.
Garlic and Brazil nuts contain quantities of organic selenium. The researchers extracted the natural compound and transformed the selenium in cancer cells in order to metabolize. They behaved like HDAC inhibitors which through some processes suppressed the DNA activation of the genes of the cancer cells leading to the destruction of the malign cells. As Dashwood states: “Whether it’s HDAC inhibition leading to one manner of cancer cell growth arrest, or loss of ribonucleotide reductase activity leading to another, as seen with chlorophyllin, there’s significant promise in the use of natural products for combined cancer therapies. These are areas that merit continued research.”
More information about chlorophylls and organic selenium agents can be retrieved on the Internet at the following address: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter.
