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Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Turmeric, cabbage can stop prostate cancer
By Zosimo T. Literatus, R.M.T.
Breakthroughs
The most accessible medicine are the best, especially for the economically challenged Filipinos.
And what has passed this test well is the curry spice turmeric, which you can find in any department store nationwide together with any, or a combination, of the following vegetables: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, or turnips.
In a recent study, led by Ah-Ng Tony Kong, turmeric (also known as curcumin) and phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), a substance particularly abundant in cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, watercress, winter cress, Brussels sprouts, kale, and kohlrabi, alone or in combination, prevents development of cancer in laboratory mice. Kong is a professor of pharmaceutics at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy in Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
In the study, Kong and colleagues employed mice that had been bred so that their immune systems would not reject foreign biological material; and they injected the mice with cells from human prostate cancer cell lines to grow tumors against which the natural occurring compounds could be tested.
During the test phase, the researchers injected the mice with turmeric or PEITC, alone or in combination, three times a week for four weeks, beginning a day before the introduction of the prostate cancer cells.
Results, published in the Jan. 15 issue of the journal Cancer Research, show that the injections of either the turmeric or PEITC significantly retarded the growth of cancerous tumors. The use of both PEITC and turmeric even produced stronger effects—they significantly reduced tumor growths more than it is capable of individually.
“The bottom line is,” says Kong, “PEITC and curcumin, alone or in combination, demonstrate significant cancer-preventive qualities in laboratory mice, and the combination of PEITC and curcumin could be effective in treating established prostate cancers.”
The wisdom of an old Chinese proverb strangely foresaw the same: “If you are willing to eat cabbage stalks, you can accomplish a hundred affairs.” But be wary about the “hundred affairs.” Nowadays, it could either mean a broken heart, broken home, or the ever-persistent pain of sexually transmissible disease. (For comments and suggestions, email to ztliteratus6046@lycos.com or text to 0927-979-3519.)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 5, 2006 issue)
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