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Environmental Disease
Published in Gary S. Moore, Kathleen A. Bell, Living with the Earth, 2018
Gary S. Moore, Kathleen A. Bell
Dietary factors also play an important role in cancer risk. Diets that are limited to 20 percent fat or less of total calories have shown dramatic decreases in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) circulating in the blood from the high 20s (indicating dangerous cancer activity) to levels of 0.4–2.5 (suggesting the tumors were no longer growing).60 High fat intake has been linked with increased risks to colon and prostate cancer, while being excessively overweight encourages the growth of endometrial cancer.72 The precise mechanism for how low-fat diets may lower risk to cancer is unknown, but studies on mice suggest that calorie restriction boosts apoptosis and gene repair.60 Apoptosis may also be triggered by butyric acid produced when bacteria ferment fiber in the gut. Consumption of high-fiber foods instead of refined flour and processed foods also appears to reduce the risk of cancer.72 Cruciferous vegetables including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and Brussel sprouts all produce a powerful isothiocyanate anti-carcinogen known as sulforaphane. Sulforaphane appears to increase the production of detoxifying enzymes that quickly jettison cancer-promoting substances from the body.73 Fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants such as vitamins C and E protect against a variety of cancers by reducing free radical damage to DNA or to membranes that would otherwise increase the access of environmental toxins. Garlic and onions have a long history of medicinal use throughout the world. Both garlic and onions have strong antimicrobial activity and also increase production of detoxifying enzymes through the allylic sulfides (allium) in the plant tissues. Many fruits, vegetables, and nuts contain ellagic acid, which binds to DNA preventing the powerful carcinogen aflatoxin from forming a DNA adduct. Research in Sweden has shown that human breast milk contains a protein with anti-cancer activity. This protein seems to be a natural protection in infants from cancer and other diseases such as bacterial infections. In laboratory tests this protein seems effective against many different types of cancer cells.74
Folic acid engineered sulforaphane loaded microbeads for targeting breast cancer
Published in Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition, 2023
Zafar Khan, Abdulsalam Alhalmi, Neha Tyagi, Wasi Uzzaman Khan, Afsana Sheikh, Mohammed A. S. Abourehab, Kanchan Kohli, Prashant Kesharwani
Sulforaphane (SFN) or 1-isothiocyanato-4-(methanesulfinyl) butane is a sulphur-rich compound having powerful anti-carcinogen activity and antioxidant properties. It is mostly present in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, and other cruciferous vegetables [19–21]. The mechanism by which it exhibits chemo-preventive or chemotherapeutic effects includes modulation of phase 1 and phase 2 xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes as well as direct inhibition of carcinogen binding to DNA. As a result, it reduces the mutation rate by inhibiting DNA adduct formation. Sulforaphane has been found to promote apoptosis, toxifies potential carcinogens, suppress cell cycle progression, and inhibit angiogenesis of human breast cancer cells. It inhibits the expression of estrogen receptor alpha in breast cancer cells [22–25]. Designing a novel pharmaceutical formulation necessitates a systematic and frenetic plane including assets (manpower, time, and money) as well as number of experimental runs. We have previously developed SFN decorated gold nanoparticle and investigated its effect on tumor selectivity and tumor reduction efficiency. The developed preparation revealed enhanced distribution, significant cell reducing effect and increased retention at the site of tumor [26]. Another study reported the synergistic effect of selenium nanoparticle in conjugation to SFN, wherein high tumor accumulation and improved anti-cancer effect was reported [27].
Inflammatory bowel disease: why this provides a useful example of the evolving science of nutrigenomics
Published in Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2020
Brassica vegetables are generally recommended to be part of a healthy diet plan (Folkard et al. 2015). This group includes broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese greens, rocket, watercress, horseradish and wasabi. These vegetables contain many significant nutrients, including dietary fibres, antioxidants such as vitamin A and C, folate and vitamin K, minerals such as potassium, calcium, selenium and zinc, as well as various phytochemicals that are generally considered beneficial to health (Ferguson 2001). Sulforaphane is a compound produced by the hydrolytic conversion of glucoraphanin after the ingestion of cruciferous vegetables, particularly broccoli and broccoli sprouts. This compound has been extensively studied due to its’ apparent health-promoting properties in disease, limited toxicity in normal tissue, and some apparent anticancer effects (Folkard et al. 2015). It does, however, have a somewhat bitter taste, which some people find offensive (Laing et al. 2013). Brassica were another group of vegetables associated with tolerance or intolerance in various CD patients, with beneficial effects relating to carrying 37 different SNPs, or detrimental effects associated with 64 SNPs. Two of these effects, one in the deiodinase iodothyronine, type 1 (D101) gene and another in the HLA (major histocompatibility complex, class II, DO alpha) gene remained significant after multiple testing corrections (Laing et al. 2013). Information on the genotype of these two genes could be especially important in providing the correct dietary advice for CD patients. Probiotics and prebiotics, which modulate the gut microbiota, also appeared beneficial in several patient groups (Baker et al. 2009; Huebner et al. 2011; Gentschew and Ferguson 2012; Laing et al. 2018, 2019).