Grape-based compounds may kill colon cancer stem cells
Sourc:The SiteAddtime:2019/7/15 Click:0
According to a group of researchers, compounds in grapes may kill colon cancer stem cells in culture dishes and mice.
Jairam KP Vanamala, an associate professor of food science at Penn State University, said that these compounds, resveratrol, are found in grape skins and seeds and may eventually lead to treatment to help prevent colon cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States.
"The combination of resveratrol and grape seed extract is very effective in killing colon cancer cells," said Vanamala, a faculty member at the Hershey Cancer Institute in Pennsylvania. “And what we are learning is that the combination of these compounds is not toxic to healthy cells.”
The researchers reported their findings in a recent issue of BMC Supplemental and Alternative Medicine, which they believe may paved the way for compounds to clinical trials of human colon cancer, the second most common cancer in women. the third. man. If successful, these compounds can be used in birth control pills to help prevent colon cancer and reduce the recurrence of disease in colon cancer survivors.
"We are particularly interested in targeting stem cells because cancer is driven by cancer stem cells according to cancer stem cell theory," Vanamala said. “Even after invasion and metastasis, cancer stem cells are able to self-renew, differentiate cells and maintain their stem cell-like characteristics.”
According to the researchers, when taken at low doses alone, resveratrol and grape seed extracts are less effective at inhibiting cancer stem cells than when they are combined.
Vanamala said that the combined effects of grape seed extract and resveratrol may provide clues as to why plant-based diet cultures tend to have lower colon cancer rates. These diets can naturally provide a shotgun for cancer prevention by using a variety of beneficial compounds to target multiple pathways for cancer stem cells to survive.
“This is also well integrated with the botanical diet, which allows people to obtain different types of plants, different parts of plants and different colors of plants,” Vanamala said. “This seems to not only help promote bacterial diversity, but also help prevent chronic diseases and eliminate colon cancer stem cells.”
If successful in human trials, these compounds can be taken at low doses using currently available grape seed extract and resveratrol supplements, and grape seeds can also be found in wine.
