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Chemical
in red wine, fruits and vegetables stops
cancer, heart disease, depending on the
dose...Research in the FASEB Journal lays
the groundwork for safe, new cancer therapy
The next cancer drug might come straight
from the grocery store, according to new
research published in the November 2007
issue of The FASEB Journal. In the study,
French scientists describe how high and low
doses of polyphenols have different effects.
Most notably, they found that very high
doses of antioxidant polyphenols shut down
and prevent cancerous tumors by cutting off
the formation of new blood vessels needed
for tumor growth. Polyphenols are commonly
found in red wine, fruits, vegetables, and
green tea.
At relatively low doses, the French
researchers found that the same polyphenols
play a beneficial role for those with
diseased hearts and circulatory systems by
facilitating blood vessel growth.
The amount of polyphenols necessary for this
effect was found to be the equivalent of
only one glass of red wine per day or simply
sticking to a healthy diet of fruits and
vegetables containing polyphenols. This diet
is known as the “Mediterranean Diet.”
This study also adds to a growing body of
research showing dose-dependent
relationships for many types of commonly
used compounds. For instance, research
published in the October 2006 issue of The
FASEB Journal shows that aspirin, through
different mechanisms, also has a
dose-dependent relationship for heart
disease and cancer.
"When it comes to finding treatments for
complex diseases, the answers are sometimes
right there waiting to be discovered in
unexpected places like the produce aisles
and wine racks of the nearest store,” said
Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of
The FASEB Journal. “But it takes modern
science to isolate the pure compound, test
it in the lab, and to go on from there to
find new agents to fight disease.”
According to the authors, the amount of
polyphenols necessary to obtain an
anti-cancer effect is the equivalent of
drinking about a bottle of red wine each
day. This amount of daily alcohol
consumption obviously is unhealthy, but the
research suggests that polyphenols extracted
from plants or red wine could be converted
into a pill that is highly likely to be
safe. Such a pill also would be relatively
easy and inexpensive to create and deliver.
“The use of plant polyphenols as therapeutic
tools presents important advantages,” said
Daniel Henrion, senior author of the study,
“because they have a good safety profile, a
low cost and they can be obtained everywhere
on the planet.”
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The FASEB Journal (www.fasebj.org)
is published by the Federation of American
Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)
and is consistently ranked among the top
three biology journals worldwide by the
Institute for Scientific Information. FASEB
comprises 21 nonprofit societies with more
than 80,000 members, making it the largest
coalition of biomedical research
associations in the United States. FASEB
advances biological science through
collaborative advocacy for research policies
that promote scientific progress and
education and lead to improvements in human
health.
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